Friends, this Sunday is Encountering Grace Sunday! Over the past six months, we have heard every last Sunday of the month about different ways that we can “encounter” God’s grace. Sometimes we do that as God’s messengers, or even agents, through our words and our actions providing “grace encounters” for others. Sometimes we do it as recipients, through our experiences and our realizations of God’s presence through others and in the world around us. Sometimes we encounter God’s grace through our support of work that others are specifically doing. Sometimes we encounter God’s grace all the way inside of our chest, breathing deeper, feeling muscles relax, heart rate slowing from the race, peace starting to snuggle up around the edges of our existence.
Quite frankly: we NEED to encounter God’s grace, in a world that seems at best overly busy and chaotic and at worst seems… doom-haunted? Is that too much? Even if it is, it’s a biblical allusion; the world seemed catastrophically off and God seemed unimaginably distant, to hear some of the psalmists tell it, to hear (supposedly) Solomon tell it, to hear the apocalyptic writers tell it. Sometimes it feels like a lonely role to play, to be the people who advocate for love, the people who live in hope.
Sometimes it feels like… being a voice in the wilderness, crying.
Okayyy, maybe THAT is too much! God’s grace lifts us up, even when things seem confusing and answers are unclear.
But how DO we encounter God’s grace when it feels like we’re wandering, far out to sea, lost in a fog?
Let’s talk about it. We can’t wait to see you!
God’s grace and peace, Pastor Matt