Last Sunday I preached from the first chapter of the Gospel of John. The first 18 verses of John 1 is John’s theological rendering of the birth of Jesus. No angels, no shepherds, no Magi. John presents a layered telling of the birth of Jesus the Christ. One verse caught my attention: From his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace. (verse 16) I began to ponder – what does that even mean? It is such a lovely abstract thought, but I needed something concrete to hold on to in this new year.
Someone asked me to share what I had said, and I thought others might appreciate having it in writing. The hope is that by reading these graces upon graces, grace might be sparked in you – that you might be able to see it and hear it and recognize it when it comes your way and name it for what it is: Grace upon Grace and Gift upon Gift.
Some of these are my own – others sent to me by friends helping a friend write a sermon – which is itself Grace upon Grace. I give you this gift today – real life, lived examples of what it means to receive Grace upon Grace:
It’s you laughing *at* me with such kindness that I can begin to laugh at myself too.
It’s the patience in your eyes that says, “Tell me all about it. I have all the time in the world.”
It’s friendships that pick right up after a long absence, and you don’t miss a beat – as if you’ve never been apart.
It’s a wedding vow of a second marriage that begins something like “You don’t often get second chances – especially with the big things in life – but you have offered me a second chance at love and a commitment to love.”
It’s listening to a story you’ve heard before — maybe more than once — because the teller needs to tell it again – without reminding them that they’ve told you before.
It’s the joy in the faces of your children when they are mesmerized by fireworks or lights on the tree or when they hit that home run or get that first college acceptance or when they are licked in the face by their dog or when they jump in a puddle of mud and see their delight reflected in your own face or when they stand before God and everybody and commit their life to another and then cry through their own vows. All of those joys are contagious gifts of grace upon grace.
It’s letting someone with less skill and experience than you perform a task because that person needs to learn it whether that be to bake a cake, preach a sermon, or drive the car.
It’s taking enough deep breaths to get to the creativity deep within that helps you find a compromise position (instead of just giving in because it’s easier.)
It looks like friends showing up for your father’s and granddaughter’s funeral - holding you up when you can’t do it yourself.
It’s having a partner who thinks of your comfort/pleasure/fulfillment/enjoyment before their own so that *you* can learn to put theirs first without depleting or losing yourself.
It’s card after card, meal after meal, text after text, prayer after prayer, meme after meme. Grace upon Grace upon Grace.
It’s one person sending a funny meme every single day for more than two months when all you ask for is funny memes. Grace upon Grace. Gift upon Gift.
It’s people who really get you. Understand you. And trust you enough to let you really be yourself even when yourself is not all shiny and new, but sometimes yourself is tattered and broken and sad and scared.
It’s breathtaking moments alone when you’re in a shower or watching falling autumn leaves, or watching a family of foxes playing in a drainpipe, or watching the sun rise over the ocean or set behind a mountain peak, or experiencing the soft and profound silence as snow falls on evergreens.
It’s not keeping tabs on who called whom last – you just call even if it’s not your turn.
It’s a stole made out of the prayers of your people.
It’s an angel made out of a cardboard shirt box that sits atop your Christmas tree because it was the best you could do 34 years ago when you didn’t have much money, and though you could replace it with an expensive one now, you wouldn’t dare do it because that cardboard shirt box angel means everything.
It’s opportunities for quality education and recognizing that it is a privilege that should be used for you to do your small part to make the world a better place.
It’s your now-grown children listening to you sob when you receive a positive COVID test. And I mean sob, and they respond with “Mom, I’m so sorry.” And they receive your tears just as you received theirs for all those years.
It’s when a child returns the favor of being Raised Right by being the caregiver for the aging parent.
It’s when your sorrow is my sorrow and your joy is my joy.
Then, in the beauty of technology, in real-time, many of you helped to continue to write the sermon as you posted your own Grace upon Grace experiences in the comments of our Facebook Live broadcast. Thank you for making the sermon better by adding your voice to mine. Here’s some of what you all said:
It’s family worshipping together from afar.
It’s Jaime’s prayers.
It’s having a serving, loving, giving forgiving church family.
It’s receiving a prayer shawl after my mother’s death.
It’s zooming with my Connection Group – sharing and smiling and loving.
It’s always feeling welcome in this community, receiving its most fruitful benefits of love and friendship, even while not full members.
It’s technology in the time of a pandemic that keeps us connected to family and friends and church.
It’s being seen and loved just as you are by your faith community.
It’s lifelong friendships that are humbling examples of grace upon grace.
It’s having a church family.
It’s real friendship with your adult children.
It’s seeing your kid grow up to be a better musician than you are, but being willing to humor the old guy and still play with him.
It’s being accepted by Park Road despite - and perhaps even because of - your endless questions and persistent doubts.
Dear Friends, let’s keep writing this sermon. Look for and name Grace upon Grace. We are going to need it in 2021. Grace and Peace,
Amy