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    Dec 14, 2014

    The Gife of Grace

    Passage: Luke 1:26-33

    Speaker: Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

    Series: Not a Silent Night

    Category: Advent

    Keywords: christmas, grace, mary

    In our continuing study we learn how the gift of grace is often unexpected.

    Throughout history, throughout the God story, God’s choices are almost always not comparable to human choices.  In human terms, the choice of Mary to bear the Son of God was just crazy.  In human terms, the choice of a childless, elderly couple long past child-bearing age to bring forth the Chosen People seemed totally impossible.  In human terms, the choice of Moses, a fugitive from the law who could not speak clearly and was nothing but a sheep-tender, to lead Israel out of slavery and become the bringer of God’s law to the world, didn’t make sense to anyone, including Moses.  In human terms, the choice of the scrawniest, youngest, least qualified son of Jesse to be anointed as Israel’s greatest king, had everyone scratching their heads, most of all Samuel who was sent to anoint the king.  In human terms, the choice of Mary, a young peasant girl from a town so insignificant that it wasn’t even on the map, to bear the Son of God, was at the very least unexpected.

    Throughout scripture, God’s choices and actions seem upside-down when placed side-by-side with human values and choices.  The Christmas story is filled with clues about how different God’s choices are – about the reversal of values in God’s kingdom when compared to human values:  Mary, a peasant girl was chosen to bear the [Messiah]; Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn; the first people God invites to see the Christ are the night-shift shepherds.

    There are two basic gospel themes that are revealed in these choices – these God-choices.  First of all, God is always on the side of those who are in need – poor, lost, lonely, sick, and so on.  Again and again, the stories of Jesus show that he looked for those who needed him most, and he healed, taught, loved, freed, and forgave them.

    The second basic gospel theme is that God chose the humble to do mighty work.  Humble – unexpected.  And God gave them what they needed to get the job done.  So Adam Hamilton said several times in the study for this week that the Christmas story and the stories of those who were called unexpectedly to do God’s work is a call for us to be humble – to recognize the pride that often stands in the way of our being faithful to the call and purposes of God.

    Today I want to focus most of our time together on grace.  1 Peter 5:5 says:  God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  When Gabriel came to Mary, he said, “Greetings, favored one!  The Lord is with you.” (Lk 1:28)  Some of you may know this passage as the Hail Mary or Ave Maria:  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.”

    Mary humbled herself – put her “self” aside to do God’s will – to bear a child when that would make her an object of scorn in the community.

    Listen to this passage from our study book:

    Paul begins most of his letters with the words “Grace and peace to you,” and he ends them with the words “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”  In the New Testament we read that we stand in God’s grace (1 Peter 5:12), live in God’s grace (Acts 13:43), and are saved by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:5).  We approach God in times of need asking for his grace (Hebrews 4:16).  In the New Testament, the meaning of “grace” changes depending on context.

    Grace is God’s kindness, his love, his care, his work on our behalf, his blessings, his gifts, his goodness, his forgiveness, and his salvation.  But it is more than that – it is all these things when they are undeserved, when they are pure gift.  Further, grace has the power to change our lives…

    Grace has power.  When you give kindness, compassion, goodness, and love to someone who does not deserve it, that graceful act has the power to change hearts, heal broken relationships, and reconcile people and even nations.  Trace changes the one who receives it, and it also changes the one who gives it.

    Some of you have seen the movie Fred Claus.  Fred was the family failure, especially when compared to his brother, the saintly Nick.  He had a negative attitude and was a fairly reprehensible guy.  Slam, a kid from the neighborhood, looked up to Fred, and he admitted to Fred that he had asked Santa for a puppy, but Fred told him that Santa was just a fraud – that was all before he learned that Slam’s father had died, his grandmother was sick, and Slam was to go to an orphanage.

    Let’s look at what happened when Fred visited his brother Santa...

    VIDEO CLIP – Play from 1:05:01 (looks like a train schedule board) to 1:06:53 (stamping “nice” on forms)

    Imagine that.  Gifts to the naughty kids – the ones that didn’t deserve them.  And here’s the amazing thing about that kind of grace.  Fred – Santa’s n’er-do-well brother --  realized that when those kids received undeserved kindness, it just might change them.

    Compare that with the Apostle Paul – and even with John Wesley – and I would guess more than one of us.  Paul grew up believing that if he were good enough, God would love him.  If he could just obey all the laws, God would show kindness to him.

    But God’s grace is not earned.  It is.  And to be fully God’s, especially as we take in the story of Christmas, the kind of grace given to each of us by God is exactly the kind of gift that we are called to give to others – especially those who need it the most.

    I want to close with another story thanks to Carol Holland who reminded me of this story during our small group on Thursday night.

    Mrs. Thompson was a 5th grade teacher, and on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy.

    Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn’t play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant.

    It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X’s and then putting a big F at the top of his papers.

    At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s past records and she put Teddy’s off until last.  However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

    Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around."

    His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

    His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother’s death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken."

    Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class."

    By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper,except for Teddy’s.

    His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume.

    But she stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.

    Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to."

    After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy.

    As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive.  The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher’s pets."

    A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

    Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

    Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it,and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

    Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. Teddy became a medical doctor.

    The story doesn’t end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he’d met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.

    Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

    They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

    Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

    My brothers and sisters in Christ, grace truly is amazing!