Introduction
As we move from Easter into the weeks of Eastertide, heading towards Pentecost, I want to spend some time talking about grace.
One really important question in this is “What is grace?” Lots have been written and sung about grace, and we’ll take a look at it. For me, there are a few
experiences that shape my thoughts about grace.
- I learned a lot of the theory about grace in going through the Walk to Emmaus . An Emmaus weekend (or Cursillo, or Tres Dias, or any of the other “fourth day” weekend) includes a series of 15 talks, 5 of which are given by clergy and are directly about grace: Prevenient Grace, Justifying Grace, Means of Grace, Obstacles to Grace, and Sanctifying Grace. For me, the concept of Prevenient Grace was powerful. Prevenient Grace comes particularly from St. Augustine, and expresses the idea that God’s grace exists for as individuals exists before we ever make any decision. God’s grace was there for me even before I was born. It’s something I’ve known, but hearing the discussions of prevenient grace was one of the powerful parts of Emmaus for me, both as someone attending the weekend as a pilgrim and on the half-dozen teams on which I’ve served. I particularly remember a presentation by Rev. Ted where he talked about the part of the Apostles Creed where Jesus “descended into Hell”. For Rev. Ted, that was particularly important to him and some of his struggles. Christ had already been to Hell for Ted, well before Ted was even born.
- I learned more about the living of grace through the example of a friend who is a Bosnian Muslem. That friend has been through the experience of excaping from Bosnia after his neighbors turned against him. They burned his house, and basically all of his possessions as part of that great crime of “ethnic cleansing”. Yet this friend was still a gentle soul. He was angered by those who led the ethnic Bosnians into this sin, yet he’d long since forgiven those neighbors and prayed for their well-being and that they would forgive themselves.
- Each Lent, I am reminded again and seek out those ideas of grace. We can, and should, talk about grace at many different times of the Christian year. But for me, Lent is a particular time when I am reminded many times of the ways in which God has cared for me and given me the gift of his presence. I have done nothing, other than simply being a child of God, to merit this love, but it is there for me anyway.
When I searched through my music library for songs about Grace, there’s a pretty large number of hits, though that’s partially because Point of Grace is one of the artists where I have a couple of their CD’s.
What Is Grace?
We can spend a lot of time here. We can define grace, and the christianity.about.com definition is a good one:
Grace is God’s unmerited favor. It is kindness from God we don’t deserve. There is nothing we have done, nor can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift from God. Grace is divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration (rebirth) or sanctification; a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor.
Certainly, grace is discussed in many different places in the Bible, with places like Ephesians 2:8 being well known examples: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. I’ve heard lots of people refer to passage (from 2nd Corinthians) that says ""My grace is sufficient for you*, though that’s another one that I think is instructive to look at in the fuller context of 2nd Corinthians 12:1–10:
I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Clearly, grace is something we can discuss for eons. It’s really something that we also need to understand on a much deeper level. And music is one way to do that :-).
A Friend Called Grace
The song for this week is anther by Phillips, Craig, and Dean. As we’ve discussed in the past, this is a group made of three senior pastors who view music as one of the ways of teaching about scripture and the bible. Their song A Friend Called Grace is the second track from the 1995 Lifeline CD. Part of the setting for this song is the well-known story of Jesus with the woman caught in adultery. That’s another story with many a sermon and blog entry written about it. But for today, let’s just use it as a basis for this song and for some discussion about grace.
Tears dripped off of her crimson face,
She covered her head tried to hide her shame.
Caught and condemned now she can’t get away;
Just a pawn in the hands of a Pharisee game.
The noise and the rage of the frenzied grew
As they struggled for the power in an ageless feud.
And as she softly cried they again reviewed
The obvious fate of this ill repute.
Then a voice of His love ended all debate;
His words of a hope sent the crowd away.
The hand that flung the stars in space
Lifted her face and she heard Him say:
CHORUS
Let me introduce you to a friend called grace
Doesn’t care about your past or your many mistakes.
He’ll cover your sins in a warm embrace.
Let me introduce you to a friend,
A friend called Grace.
The courtroom crowd grew quiet and still
As the white-robed judge called truth appeared,
As the ring of the gavel brought a fierce debate,
As the players of eternity decided my fate.
In the light of truth all could clearly see
The facts made the trial mere formality.
And my accusers stood with baited breath
Confident conviction would end in death.
But from the blood-stained cross to the witness stand
Walked a man with a hope in His nail-scared hands.
The words that He spoke brought me sweet release
He whispered I’m a friend that you need to meet.
CHORUS
If you’re tired of the guilt and the sleepless nights,
Running from the shame of a wasted life.
Someone is standing with an open hand,
Waiting there to give you a second chance.
(key change) CHORUS
Chorus repeats multiple times
Some thoughts that occur to me in listening to this song again to prepare for this class:
- Hands are mentioned in both the first and second verses. In the first verse, they’re the hands that flung the stars in space. In the second, they’re the nails-scarred hands.
- “Just a pawn in the hands of a Pharisee game” – They’re is a lot expressed in that statement, which has always stood out to me. The Pharisee’s didn’t care about this woman. They only wanted to use her as a means to trap Jesus. And, as with the “is it legal to pay taxes to Caesar” question, Jesus leaves them in the trap they tried to set for him.
- There is an aspect of this presentation of grace that is trying to speak to the unchurched, I think. It reminds me of the whole question of where we are in the story of the Prodigal Son. So many of us are more of the older brother than the prodigal son. Some times, I don’t feel as spoken to in songs that talk about being apart from God. But there are times when I’ve taken myself away from God and there are times if I wonder if I’ve done with my life what I should have done. I haven’t felt like my life has been particularly wasted at any point. But I have reached out for that open hand, offering me a second, third, fourth, fifth, … chance.
- One musical note that I want to point out is the key change coming off the bridge and into the multiple repeats of the set of chorus repeats that close out the song. That’s a common thing to listen for in a lot of songs. In the choir, we sometimes joke about those as “Barry Manilow moments”, as many of Mr. Manilow’s songs feature multiple key changes. In this case, taking the key up a half step (which is what I think PCD are doing in this song) is a way to add energy to the song and presentation.
Next Steps
I’d like to spend a couple of weeks on a “Songs of Grace” series. If you have some particular suggestions or areas of interest, please feel free to pass them along.
