Wrestling with God's Grace and Mercy

For our summer worship, we have said that we are on a “road trip” with Jesus into the 21st century. We have invited the apostle Paul to join us because he truly understands road trips.

While we are not really following the lectionary, I believe that the texts that go along with Romans 9:1-5 truly guide us into an important conversation for the 21st century. In Genesis 32:22-31, Jacob wrestles with a stranger and receives God’s blessing and a new name even though his life has been less than perfect. In Matthew 14:13-21, Jesus withdraws from the controversy of his day for reflect and returns with an incredible sense of compassion for those who have come to hear him – so much so that he invited 5000 of them to the table with him. In Romans 9:1-5, Paul honestly grieves over his fellow Jews and struggles to understand what God is doing.

All three of these biblical characters are seeking to understand God’s grace and mercy. When we look at these stories through “modern” eyes, we see either/or struggles. One is either protected by God or not. One is either for Jesus or against Jesus. One is either part of God’s promises or not. If we can begin to look at these passages through “post-modern” eyes, we can begin to see another way of looking at them and God’s grace and mercy.

For a visual image of what I think this means, I am reminded of a favorite pastime of my husband and children. For many years we lived near the Puget Sound and enjoyed going to the beach to watch the sunset. The beach was covered with stones that were perfect for “skipping” across the water. While I am not very good at this, my husband is skilled at skipping stones and taught our children.

The idea is throw the stone at just the right angle so that it skims across the surface of the water. The goal is to see how many times the stone can touch the surface of the water before it sinks. Of course, each time it touches the water, the stone sets the water in motion with wavelets of small growing circles. As the wavelets move out, they begin to cross the wavelets made by the next group of wavelets. This creates a beautiful pattern on the surface of the water.

What if God’s grace and mercy are like that – not lines and boxes drawn to exclude people but gentle waves that move over us from many directions until all are included? Maybe God’s mercy and grace are at the very core of creation – inviting all of creation into a fuller relationship. Maybe God’s promises are for everyone. God decides who is in and who is out and everyone is in.

Or to use another image, what if God's grace and mercy are not about seeing things as black or white but instead in technicolor?