But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.
(1 Corinthians 15:10a) On a yearly basis, we celebrate Easter and then, fifty days later, we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. As crucial and vital as those two dates on the Christian calendar are, we quickly move on from Resurrection Sunday and return to our “business as usual” mindset. In some Christian traditions, the Church celebrates a season called Eastertide, fifty days of celebration and feast following Easter, the high point of the Church calendar. During Eastertide, the Church celebrates the many encounters that the resurrected Christ had with many persons. Paul recollects that Jesus appeared to Cephas. He appeared to the twelve. He appeared to 500 sisters and brothers. He appears to His half-brother James. He appeared to the apostles, to men and women. And finally, Paul says Jesus appeared to the least of the apostles: Paul himself. Paul is writing to the Corinthian community where leaders have questioned his apostleship and authority, and rightly so. Perhaps you have never heard of the fifty days of celebration after Easter. I want to invite you to linger gently in the wave of Eastertide, and what it means to us. As we linger there: Jesus appears. He appeared to the faithful and the fearful. He appeared to the bold and the betrayers. He appeared to blood family and spiritual family. He appeared to one and He appeared to 500. He appears and He appeals: “Believe that I am risen indeed.” Jesus walks through walls in the Gospels, cooks breakfast fish for His friends and is always the first to take the initiative to restore sight to His traumatized friends. You and I are also invited to linger here: By the grace of God… His grace towards you and me… but the grace of God. Grace appeared. The least of the apostles believes he is unfit to be an apostle. But by God’s grace, Paul appears struck by grace, this gritty grace that does not let a murderous religious fanatic continue with threats. If it is good news to Paul, it’s good grace for me. The grace of God is greater. The grace of God is gritty. Grace-giving and grace-receiving are part of the tough fibers that hold a community together. This particular community in the church at Corinth needs a leader that has received that gritty grace that won’t let him go. This is a grace that is still resurrecting you and me today. Reflect on a time when you received God’s unmerited grace and how that experience felt for you. And linger there, in the presence of His gritty grace. Because it is by His grace that we are saved, are being saved and will be saved. God of all grace, You shower us with Your grace. May we awake each day with the new manna of grace to receive and extend. May Your grace land on our souls like fresh dew of the morning. May we take ahold of Your gritty grace so that it would rub off on the stranger and the friend we meet each day. And may we wear grace on our face. Amen. Comments are closed.
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