Sermons

Amazing Grace

The Rev. Beth Ellis
Given at St. Dunstan's - Carmel Valley, California

Think of the one thing in your life you've done
Of which you're most ashamed.
It's not hard, is it?
Often because we can't seem to let it go.
We've done something that we cannot fix or take back
And though we understand figuratively the notion
Of God's forgiveness and grace
We just can't seem to accept it.
Yet, God's grace is everywhere, in every age.
Today we've heard how it saved Nineveh from certain doom
And blessed the latecomers to the vineyard with
Overflowing, certainly unearned, wages for their labor.

Have you known God's grace in your life? Have you witnessed its transforming power? Sure, we can name it, describe it as "The unmerited love of God" We claim grace as the gift of Jesus to us from the cross But have we truly accepted it? Have we known it intimately? Let me assure you, that until we have looked ourselves honestly in the eye Until we have stood at the feet of our judge but found instead a Savior God's grace will remain for us only an idea and not a reality.

We never know democracy so well as the first day we cast a vote. We never know accomplishment so well as the day of commencement. We never know complacency so well as the day it is torn from us by war. We most certainly never know God's grace until the moment We have been convinced of our guilt, and are set free by forgiving love.

There are those who know grace well: Corrie Ten Boom forgave her Nazi concentration camp officer, As Fr. Jeff told us last week. Nelson Mandela forgave his jailers in apartheid-run South Africa. John Newton, a former slave trader -turned- Episcopal priest, wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace" After accepting the forgiveness of God and the slaves he set free.

The people of Nineveh admitted and repented their sins And God spared their whole city. The laborers in the vineyard of today's Gospel Were given much more than their labors had earned.

Grace, however, is not reserved for the elite. In fact, it shows up often in our own lives In the hands of our loving God who is anxious for us to accept it. The question is not, "Where is grace?" but "Will we accept it for real?" Grace is being given what we do not deserve and moreover, it isn't tidy. Grace doesn't arrive neatly wrapped as a present And a thank-you note in dignified hand won't suffice. We cannot be casual, reserved or even dignified where Such a miracle is at hand!

People who really get grace-who really get it- Are knocked off their feet-- like Saul was thrown from his horse They're shaken and dismayed and incoherent Because grace doesn't make sense and it can't be expected. And they are forever changed. Grace will overflow from them to those around them.

So if we expect to be forgiven, we don't get it. If we never truly accept the forgiveness of others, we don't get it. If we refuse to forgive ourselves, we don't get it. Grace comes from God And is manifested in the wounded heart of our neighbor. They, in turn, choose to love with God's abundant heart The one who knows their guilt and it sets them both free. The evidence of grace-the "consequence", if you will, Is transformation and freedom to live in joy and not fear.

Once we've truly known grace in our lives We leave behind the chains of old wounds and grudges And begin to glimpse ourselves as the people God has always known we could be. In truth, the heart we were born with isn't big enough To contain the overflowing abundance of God's grace.

Our heart has to be replaced with God's heart- Much like the way the heart of the Grinch from Dr. Suess' story Was transformed and grew 3 sizes when he learned finally To let go of spite and jealousy.

Now, to the real question-the challenge: For the things of which we are most guilty; For the wounds inflicted felt most deeply; Will we risk letting God's grace enter in to transform and heal us? Will we let it move through others and receive it? Will we let it move through us and pass it on? I pray we will choose to undergo God's "heart transplant." I pray we will choose the life of grace, abundantly.

Amen

Sermons

Amazing Grace

The Rev. Beth Ellis Given at St. Dunstan's - Carmel Valley, California

The Rev. Beth Ellis
Given at St. Dunstan's - Carmel Valley, California