Sermon: "The Setting of Grace"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

The gracious, generous goodness of God at times seems overwhelming. Occasionally – all too infrequently – we allow ourselves consciously to sink into the waters of God’s goodness. And then we experience loving support like the faithful buoyancy of a salty ocean.

Awareness of God’s goodness provides a necessary prerequisite for good stewardship. The Ministry Action Plan at St. Andrew’s has everything to do with the practice of good stewardship – stewardship, that is, of God’s gifts for God’s sake. I am impressed that the reach of your Action Plan embraces the larger community beyond this particular church and its needs. In this sermon, though, I want to deal with the prerequisite of good stewardship – that is, with God’s prior action, God’s indication of gracious, generous goodness. Our awareness of that prior action of God Almighty provides the setting in which we may practice good stewardship.

The readings today call special attention to such themes, it seems to me. I want to dwell on them a bit this morning, for we need to appreciate more thoroughly the goodness of our loving Father, who cherishes His children.

The Twenty-third Psalm may be the most familiar passage in the Bible that deals with the abundance of God’s care. “The Lord is my shepherd.” We are the Lord’s sheep.

Sheep depend completely and absolutely on their shepherd – for guidance to green pastures for sustenance and for direction to still waters for drink. But this sheep-shepherd relationship means more. “He revives my soul.” One who attends to his sheep – body and soul – surely indicates the abundance of the shepherd’s care. The Lord is like that for us, His sheep.

Our reading from Philippians provides us with part of St. Paul’s wonderfully affirming conclusion to that letter. In this passage we read of some of God’s marvelous gifts. For instance, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

We sense in this passage strength in the face of worldly temptations and encouragement over against compelling arguments disputing the cause of Christ. What greater words of strength and encouragement have ever been written than these of St. Paul: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Certainly, the gifts of God far surpass in value those of the world, just as the peace of God surpasses all understanding.

The collect today expresses this theme in a short, concise, direct way: “Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us.” It is on that grace that we depend. Through grace, we are able to love. In grace, we forgive and are forgiven. Indeed, only by grace do we live. Therefore, we pray that God’s grace may be all around us. The wonderful subject of grace has everything to do with the abundant care of the shepherd and with the marvelous gifts of God, which surpass our understanding.

It is in this setting – the setting of grace – that we may best appreciate Jesus’ parable today. I need to say here that the second parable – that of the wedding garment – really has little to do with the first one except that they share a common situation: that of a wedding party. The second parable is confusing at this point, in fact, because it speaks a different message entirely. In this sermon, therefore, we will deal only with the first one… and I’ll leave the second one to your rector!

The parable of the wedding banquet tells of a grace-filled king who invites everyone to share in a wonderful feast in honor of his son. Abundant care and marvelous gifts are offered by the king for this occasion. But at first – and even after a second invitation – no one comes.

The story of God’s persistent graciousness, told here, is one that we repeat whenever we celebrate the Holy Eucharist. And such graciousness comes to mind as we read of the initial rejection of the king’s invitation to the wedding banquet. Listen to these words from one of the Eucharistic prayers: “Again and again you called us to return. Through prophets and sages you revealed your righteous Law. And in the fullness of time you sent your only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill your Law, to open for us the way of freedom and peace.” Again and again comes the invitation to share the body and blood of our Lord. Thankfully, the king in the parable persisted in inviting guests also. After the third time, finally people were found to share in the wonderful feast.

Abundance of care, marvelous gifts, surrounding and persistent grace – these all are there, in the parable and in God’s actions toward the sheep that He loves.

You know, grace is a strange thing, unlike almost any other trait or aspect of life and living. Grace is free and unearned. It cannot be bought or traded or, even, put on credit. The worthiness of the receiver is not an issue, for no one is worthy of the gift. In fact, the only two analogies that approximate the wonderful action of God’s grace are these: being loved when we are most unlovable and being forgiven when we are guilty. Indeed, God’s grace – like God’s peace – surpasses our understanding.

In conclusion, then, what we encounter through our readings today is an attribute of God to which we do not pay enough attention: God’s gracious extravagance. Our God is an extravagant God. He throws open the doors to His wonderful banquet for anyone and everyone to enter.

Yet, we – like the people invited in the parable – may be reluctant to respond. Can we really believe that God is so good? Dare we think that we will be cared for as abundantly as sheep by a good shepherd? Do we trust in a peace that surpasses our understanding? Are God’s gifts of goodness really too marvelous to accept? Can we overcome our hesitation, our suspicion, our cynicism, and our doubt? And then, can we simply walk through the doors to the wonderfully extravagant feast prepared by God Himself? I pray that we can and that, indeed, we will!

The feast awaits us. Gifts of grace abound. As the appropriate prerequisite to our practice of good stewardship, may we choose to accept the invitation of our Lord to His wonderful and extravagant banquet of grace! Amen.

Copyright © 2002 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee