Daily Word of Grace for November.  Current postings of Daily Word of Grace can be found at the upper level of the page. Here is a link to see the current postings.

Daily Word of Grace # 185 (November 30, 2020)

During this liturgical season of Advent the daylight lessens every day (at least in the northern hemisphere) which of course means we experience a daily increasing time of darkness.  For those who struggle with seasonal affective disorder or depression this time of the year can be daunting.  The external darkness that can be overwhelming for some, and for others it is matched or surpassed by internal darkness.  This is not uncommon for Christians any less than anyone else.  The renown 16^th century Spanish Catholic priest and mystic St. John of the Cross (1542 -1591) addressed this at length in his literary masterpiece Dark Night of the Soul, in which he describes how God uses these times to deepen our faith: “Into this dark night souls begin to enter when God draws them forth…to the end that we may the better understand and explain what night is this through which the soul passes, and…in order that, realizing the weakness of the state wherein they are, they may take courage, and may desire that God will bring them into this night, wherein the soul is strengthened and confirmed in the virtues, and made ready for the inestimable delight of the love of God.”  In other words, God often works through such dark nights of the soul in order to deepen our trust in and reliance upon God’s love—for as a different St. John wrote in his account of the gospel, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5).

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 183 (November 26, 2020)

In scripture we often read about the importance of giving thanks to God.  “Enter his gates with thanksgiving,” the psalmist exhorts, “and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).  Similarly The Apostle Paul urged the Thessalonians, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and more succinctly to the church at Colossae, “And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).  And yet, thankful people tend to be greatly outnumbered by entitled people, as when only one of ten lepers healed by Jesus returned and “prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him” (Luke 17:12-16).  While it is a cliché, we indeed have so much for which to be thankful, for even every heartbeat and every breath is ultimately a gift from God, the Giver of “every perfect gift” (James 1:17).  Along these lines a particularly beautiful and comprehensive expression of thanks to God is found in “The General Thanksgiving” in The Book of Common Prayer: “Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving kindness to us and to all whom you have made.  We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory” (101).  Thankfully, the Holy Spirit God uses this “means of grace” to transform our entitled hearts into thankful hearts. 

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 181 (November 24, 2020)

In his famous harrowing debut novel Lord of the Flies (1954) William Golding vividly portrays the darkness of the human heart.  British schoolboys survive a plane wreck leaving them on a desert island in the Pacific with no adults.  They do their best to establish some sort of societal order among themselves but it all quickly devolves into fear, violence, murder, and destruction.  At the end of the novel one of the main protagonists, Ralph, is being pursued to the death by the others and runs into the ocean only to find himself, and the others too, rescued by officers of a Royal Navy cruiser.  Golding recounts what happened in that moment: “The tears began to flow and sobs shook him.  He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body.  His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too.  And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart.”  The bad news is our hearts are just as dark as those of the boys in this novel.  The good news is that, just like the officers did for those boys, God “has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13)…and God can even create in us new hearts (Psalm 51:10).

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 179 (November 20, 2020)

When my son Paul was young we spent many hours at a local batting cage.  I pitched bucket after bucket of baseballs to him and over the years he grew taller and stronger and became a very powerful hitter.  Those are some of my favorite memories.  Along these lines, I came across a recent post on social media where an elderly man left a bucket of baseballs at a local batting cage with this note taped to it: “Hope someone can use some of these baseballs in the batting cages.  I found them cleaning out my garage.  I pitched them to my son and grandson for countless rounds.  My son is now 46 and my grandson is 23.  I am 72 and what I wouldn’t give to pitch a couple buckets to them but they have both moved away.  If you are a father cherish these times, you won’t believe how quickly they will be gone.  God bless.  PS: Give them a hug and tell them you love them every chance you get.”  He is right, those times do go by so quickly and are soon gone.  And yet the love of God for you—not just corporately but individually, the love of God for you—never goes away and is never gone, but lasts forever.  In response to God’s amazing love we are called to love others: “We know love by this, that Jesus laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another” (1 John 3:16).  And yes, this may very well include giving them a hug and telling them you love them every chance you get.    

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 177 (November 18, 2020)

An especially powerful prayer in The Book of Common Prayer is this prayer for healing: “I lay my hands upon you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, beseeching him to uphold you and fill you with his grace, that you may know the healing power of his love.  Amen” (456).  One of the innumerable benefits of God’s love is healing—healing the wounds in your heart that are there (and may have been there a very long time), healing the wounds inflicted on you by others, healing the wounds inflicted on you by yourself, healing the wounds that you never talk about, healing the wounds you thought you had finally gotten over until something reminds you that no, you have not gotten over it at all.  The Old Testament prophet Malachi prophesied, “The sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2).  That “sun of righteousness” is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Righteousness.  Through the wounds inflicted on Jesus on Good Friday, scripture assures you that you have been and will be healed (Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24).  The Risen Jesus indeed has “the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9), and scripture assures us, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).  As indicated in the above prayer, it is the grace of God (and only the grace of God) that can “uphold you and fill you” with God’s healing love—and that grace is available to you even now.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 175 (November 16, 2020)

Several years ago I was at the middle school graduation for one of our kids.  There was the endless stream of awards for every conceivable academic subject and activity, even perfect attendance.  There was the painful performance of the middle school band (God bless middle school band teachers), and the ego-filled speeches from the top graduates.  Finally, the graduation certificates were given.  Each eighth grade graduate ascended the stairs, walked across the stage to receive their certificate—often flashing a braces-filled smile as they did so—and descended the stairs on the far side of the stage.  One graduate was wheelchair bound.  He had not received a single award—and due to severe challenges to which none of us could relate, he could have never won a perfect attendance award.  His father wheeled him to the stage.  There was an awkward moment as the father could not wedge the wheel chair up the narrow stairs, but then something very moving happened.  The father simply scooped up his son into his arms and gently carried him across the stage to receive his graduation certificate—and yes, this young man also flashed a braces-filled smile for all to see.  Appropriately he received the loudest applause of all.  That is what God’s love for you looks like.  Like a shepherd gently carrying a lamb (Isaiah 40:11), God will carry you all through your life, even to “graduation” and into eternity. 

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 173 (November 12, 2020)

One of the most popular British rock bands of the 90’s was The Verve.  Their biggest hit was their Grammy-nominated 1997 smash “Bitter Sweet Symphony” in which lead singer Richard Ashcroft sings, “It’s a bittersweet symphony this life.  Trying to make ends meet, you’re a slave to the money then you die.”  Later in the song he confesses, “Well I never pray, but tonight I’m on my knees.  I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me.”  In scripture the writer of Ecclesiastes similarly observes, “Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities!  All is vanity.  What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the son?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3).  For many people, the sense that life is indeed a “bitter sweet symphony” and that “all is vanity” can be so overwhelming that it can drive even those who never pray to their knees.  Each of us needs “to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me.”  And that is exactly where the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ,  our Great High Priest who always recognizes the pain in us, appears: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).  The grace of Jesus Christ transforms a bitter sweet symphony into a sweet one—and transforms a heart overwhelmed by vanity into a heart overflowing with praise.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 171 (November 10, 2020)

A particularly powerful collect (brief, theologically loaded prayer) in The Book of Common Prayer is this one: “Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.  Amen” (234).  We are living in a time when both individually and societally there is much anxiety about “earthly things”—and understandably so given the pandemic, social unrest, political polarization, and economic volubility—so this collect is particularly timely.  And yet we are still assured that although all these things are very important, they are also “things that are passing away”—and we are still called “to hold fast to those that shall endure.”  Similarly we read in scripture, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).  And it is only through the grace of God we are able to do this.  In other words, we are only able “to hold fast to those that shall endure” and experience “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” because God is holding onto us.

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 169 (November 6, 2020)

An often overlooked brilliant singer-songwriter is Kris Kristofferson, who wrote “Me and Bobby McGee” (one of Janis Joplin’s most famous hits), “Sunday Morning Comin’ Down” (a hit for Johnny Cash) and many others.  In addition to being a songwriter he has been a Rhodes Scholar, an Army Ranger, and an accomplished actor.  And yet late in his life, in spite of all his accomplishments and acclaim, he wrote a beautiful prayer of a song called “Why Me?” in which he asks: “Why me Lord?  What have I ever done to deserve even one of the pleasures I’ve known.  Tell me Lord, what did I ever do that was worth the kindness you’ve shown?  Lord help me.  Jesus, I’ve wasted it so.  Help me, Jesus, I know what I am.  Now that I know that I need you so.  Help me, Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.”  You and I will probably never be as accomplished as Kris Kristofferson, but we can certainly ask the same questions, “Why me, Lord?“  The answer to that “why” is because the Lord loves us all more than we can imagine with unconditional love that always gives more than anyone deserves.  None of us is deserving of the kindness God has shown us all in Jesus Christ and yet the Lord has given, continues to give, and will forever give us that undeserved kindness (Titus 3:4-5).  “Why me?”  Because God remains “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10).    

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 167 (November 4, 2020)

The Apostle Paul, who penned thirteen of the epistles in the New Testament is arguably the most influential person, outside of Jesus Christ of course, in the history of Christianity.  And yet many of his contemporaries considered him a second class apostle, for a couple reasons.  First, unlike other apostles like Peter and John, Paul had not been an eyewitness of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry but rather had converted as a result of his encounter with the Risen Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9)—and therefore considered a “Johnny come lately.”  Second, prior to his conversion, Paul had actually taken part in persecuting the Christian church, as he later wrote, “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence” (1 Timothy 1:13).  And yet, there was something infinitely more important than both of these: God’s grace in Jesus Christ—as Paul put it, “the grace of our Lord overflowed for me” (1 Timothy 1:14) and “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10).  What was true of Paul is true for you.  God’s grace is infinitely more important than any lack you may have, as well as your past.  The Body of Christ consists of redeemed sinners, and because of God’s grace, there is no such thing as a second class apostle or a second class saint.    

Love and Prayers,

Dave

Daily Word of Grace # 165 (November 2, 2020)

In his early fifties the great Anglican priest and poet John Donne (1572-1631) suffered what he fully expected to be a terminal illness.  During his illness he wrote Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1624).  In describing relapses in sin and/or sickness he observes, “It adds to the affliction, that relapses are (and for the most part justly) imputed to ourselves, as occasioned by some disorder in us; and so we are not only passive but active in our own ruin; we do not only stand under a falling house, but pull it down upon us; and we are not only executed (that implies guiltiness), but we are executioners (that implies dishonor), and executioners of ourselves (and that implies impiety) (146).”  That’s the bad news.  What do we do with that?  Donne does the only thing we can do: prays for God’s mercy—“But because, by too lamentable experience, I know how slippery my customs of sin have made my ways of sin, I presume to add to this petition too, that if my infirmity overtake me, thou forsake me not” (152).  God is a God of mercy, and on Good Friday Jesus took the weight of the falling houses in our lives upon himself, and was executed in our place on the cross.  In other words, God answered that prayer for John Donne, for he survived that illness and lived until 1631—and God will answer that prayer for you too, because the Lord promises, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Love and Prayers,

Dave