Surprised By Grace

Change....It’s a scary word for a lot of folks.  It upsets the comfort of what we’ve always known, always believed and always done.   Discomfort often leads to fear, fear can make people angry, and that much more opposed to change.  But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over my lifetime, it’s that change happens whether we like it or not.  Kids grow up and move away, parents get older and die, houses need painting, downsizing happens to the best of us, people get sick, move away, grow apart.  Nothing in this life is static.  We all live with change but when we’re walking with the Lord, it’s not always a bad thing.   

Our mission as United Methodists is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  Transformation denotes change, in a big way.  In order to transform anything, change needs to take place.  If we stay the same, there is no transformation and the work of Jesus doesn’t get done.

The bible is loaded with stories of transformation and change.  From the earliest stories of Abram and Sarai traveling to a far off land and receiving new names along the way, to the transformation of 12 ordinary men into the first evangelists of the Gospel, God is in the business of changing people and circumstances in order to bring his kingdom into our midst.  

The past ten months have seen so much change in our world.  You might say that almost everything has had to change to accommodate the safety measures we’ve been asked to abide by, in our attempts to ‘flatten the curve’ of the pandemic.  It’s mindboggling how much has changed in just under one year and very unsettling to think about when or if we will ever see ‘normal’ again.  But then again, what is normal and why do we humans believe that things can and will always stay the same?  See above; change always happens.

Which brings me to the point of this message.  If God is in the business of change, why are we so afraid of it?  Let’s think for a minute about the role of the Holy Spirit in our world.

“We believe the church needs to pray for a sensitivity to be aware of and to respond to manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our world today.  We are mindful that the problems of discerning between the true and fraudulent are considerable, but we must not allow the problems to paralyze our awareness of the Spirit’s presence; nor should we permit our fear of the unknown and the unfamiliar to close our minds against being surprised by grace.”

-The United Methodist General Conference

Surprised by Grace – I love that phrase.  It makes me think of Matthew, the sinful tax collector being called into ministry;  the woman caught in adultery being set free from a certain fate of stoning; Peter who denied Jesus three times while he was being tried and beaten, going on to be the Rock upon which Jesus built his church!  Talk about being surprised by Grace!  

I believe that too often, we Christians are afraid to allow the Holy Spirit to take us by surprise and lead us in a different direction than the one we’ve always gone.  Its uncomfortable, fear producing, sometimes making us angry and ready to run the other way rather than face change of any sort.  (Think of Jonah) But I ask you to consider this; think of what it must have been like to be Matthew or the adulterous woman or Peter.  Think about what it means to be surprised by Grace.  Conceptions and beliefs that we’ve always held onto are turned upside down and sometimes inside out.  That’s what Grace does, it causes us to think differently, it changes our minds and our hearts.  Grace is not to be feared.  When we are surprised by Grace, we need to embrace it, because it’s from God’s Holy Spirit, drawing us closer into His heart, and causing us to think in new ways about the people around us.  To look at things we’ve ‘always known’ through a different lens.  When we peer through the lens of Grace, we see people as Jesus sees them.  His creations, his children, his heart.  

So, the next time you see someone who looks or acts differently than the people you are familiar with, stop before you judge or dismiss them.  Instead, pray for God’s Holy Spirit to change your heart and grant you the power to love them as Jesus would, through the eyes of Grace.  

 Peace,

merryl