Grace. If I could summarize the Christian faith in one word it would be Grace. Grace means getting what you don’t deserve, in a good way. It means being loved even when you feel unlovable; being forgiven when you are still steeped in guilt; being healed when you are incapable of healing yourself.
This week, I start a summer series on Lutheran Lenses. These are particularly Lutheran ways of seeing God. Beyond clarifying for you what it means to be a Lutheran Christian, I hope this series will bring you a renewed and inspired understanding of who God is, what Jesus means for you, and how to live in response to God’s grace.
This Sunday, I will start with a sermon on what some people think of as the key Lutheran Lens: Justification by grace through faith. A writer named Frederick Buechner describes this in simple terms:
People are saved by grace. There’s nothing you have to do. There’s nothing you have to do. There’s nothing you have to do…
There’s only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you’ll reach out and take it.
Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.” *
Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.” *
For those who are interested in getting a quick overview of this Lutheran lens, I suggest this two minute video: https://www.youtube.
Last week, Guest preacher Michael Catlett gave a beautiful meditation on quilting as a metaphor for “Piece” Lutheran Church. You can hear it again here.
* Buchner, Frederick. Beyond Words. p 138. HarperCollins. 2004.
