I do not have a tattoo. I have never found something that means so much to me that I want it permanently engraved on my skin. But one my good friends, recently came home with a tattoo of the word “grace” on her forearm. Her name happens to be Ann and our name, Anne, means grace. So, if I were to ever get a tattoo, the one that resonates with me the most is the idea of getting the word “grace” tattooed somewhere. I have looked at many images but have yet to settle on one.
In addition to my name meaning grace, grace is the reality of God’s gift, that I deeply treasure. When I pray before meetings I often say, “Gracious and Loving God.” These two attributes of God abound in my heart and are deeply rooted in my theology.
So, when it came to choosing the passage to go with the scriptural foundation for our stewardship season, 1 Peter came to mind. Written when Christians had become marginalized and abused, this letter seeks to offer guidance in this difficult time. Believing Jesus will return soon, the author writes, “prepare your minds for action, discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that is coming in the appearing of Jesus Christ (1:13). That’s hope in grace. Now listen to God’s word. READ 1 Peter 4:7-11.
Leaders of my retreat were from San Francisco, so we had many updates on ICE and Border Patrol hostility. Jorge Bautista, the Race Equity Coordinator for San Fran Presbytery, was injured in the threatened National Guard roll out. Thank God, that is on hold. But military deployed on our streets, Christian nationalism used to justify abusive deportation of citizen, and the courts and institutions not holding the line, it’s comforting to know that other people have thought the end is near. Ours is a corruption of power, and in biblical times it was belief that Christ would soon return. But in both cases, we are encouraged to pray. To dedicate ourselves to prayer, to lean into God when the world feels unstable. If you don’t have a daily practice of prayer, this might be a good time to start a prayer discipline. Simply pausing in the morning to have a brief conversation with God. Share your joys and worries. Prayer connects us to God and God’s comfort and power. As one commentator writes, “Prayer is the key that unlocks all the storehouses of God’s infinite grace and power. All that God is, and all that God has, is at the disposal of prayer” (Sermons.com, R.A. Torrey).
First, we pray, then constant love comes next. Above all, love one another. We learn how to love from God, because God is love. Then we share that love with those we encounter. Loving and caring for those around us is a form of grace. It is how we show hospitality. “Victor Daley, the Australian poet, was being tenderly cared for in a Catholic Hospital as he was dying. One of his last acts was to thank the nurses for all their kindness to him. “Don’t thank us” the nurses said, “Thank the grace of God.” Very perceptively, the poet asked, “But aren’t YOU the grace of God?” (Sermons.com). We certainly can show God’s grace to others, but that pales in comparison to God’s infinite grace, abundant grace. We might need to live life and make some mistakes to fully understand grace.
“Dr. William Power, a professor, describes an experience he had in Sunday school when he was a boy. His teacher was trying to explain to him and his rowdy friends the meaning of grace but wasn’t getting very far. She tried definitions and abstractions, to no avail. Finally, she realized something the boys had known from the start. She was not getting through to them. They didn’t have the foggiest notion of what she was talking about.
So, she took a deep breath and tried again: ‘Look boys, grace is the break you get when you don’t deserve it. That’s the simple explanation. But you won’t really understand it till you experience it.’ And (ain’t that the truth). You need to have some living under your belt to understand the messes we make of our lives from time to time; how it impacts our lives and others. Then you know, when grace is shown, then you understand the power of grace” (Sermons.com, James W. Moore).
That is the abundant grace we receive from God when we do not deserve it. The grace that Jesus gives to us even when we fall short, especially then. Powerful indeed. But grace can be more than being forgiven, more than being let off the hook. Grace can be self-acceptance, grace can be love, grace can be self a quiet confidence in God. Adrian Rogers said, “Grace is God’s acceptance of us. Faith is our acceptance of God accepting us.” Grace can be a way of being that exudes the love of God and the gifts of God.
We have been talking about love and grace. Yet not just any grace, but manifold grace. We are to be good stewards of manifold grace. But what does that mean? “Manifold grace” refers to the diverse and varied forms of God’s grace. God’s favor and blessings are not one-dimensional but come in many different forms and we as Christians have a responsibility of using our God-given gifts to serve others. Think about your gifts, your talents, your aptitudes. How has God blessed you? How do you then share your talents with your community? God supplies you with the strength to nurture and share your talent. So, if your talent is singing, you sing to God’s glory. If your talent is building things, you build to the glory of God. If your talent is creativity, then you share your creativity for the glory of God.
We just finished asking people to serve as elders and deacons. Thank you all who said yes to serving. In the nominations committee we strive to match people with gifts and elect them to specific roles. Elders serve in leadership, while deacons share their gift of love, care and hospitality. “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each one of you has received” (10). And I know one person is serving as a deacon for the first time after serving as an elder. God has richly blessed that person with gifts, and manifold grace.
As you know I spent the week up in Tahoe at the Zephyr Retreat Center. Everyone brought their gifts as we had dedicated time to plan, write, explore and learn. Past Moderator of the PCUSA, Bruce Reyes Chow shared his leadership skills while others shared their artistic and musical gifts. The manifold grace of God. We also did a new thing, well new to me. Visio Divina where rather than repeatedly listening and reflecting on scripture, we gazed at a picture or art form and allowed it to speak to us and then wrote a prayer about what this time revealed.
I also discovered a new ability- balancing on crates. It is called crate climbing. I had no intention of doing this, even though you are safely in a harness. I envisioned climbing on a single stack of crates and that was beyond my ability. But then they showed us another way; stair stepping side-by-side stacks of crates. It still required balancing on a single stack while adding another crate to the other stack. Then with nothing to hold on to, using only my ability to balance, I stepped on to a higher crate. I balanced all the way up to nine crates! The manifold grace of God continues to bring out talents we never knew we had!
Being good stewards means we use what God has given us in ability, resources, and energy to glorify God. At St. Andrew I hope you find the place where your gift shines. Where each one of you demonstrate another aspect of the manifold grace of God. I also ask that you prayerfully consider how you want to support this community through your giving. You can place your pledge card in the offering plate or drop it off in the office. There are pledge cards in the pews if you forgot and left yours on the kitchen table. The final way is to email the church office with your intentions for giving in 2026.
Let us all be good stewards of the manifold grace of God and the resources we are blessed to have.
Amen.
