Grace is More than a Gift

Yesterday’s sermon was about grace and how grace should be the number one message of Christians. Christians should hope to be thought of as gracious. This message was delivered in the context of Epiphany and in the midst of metaphors about gifts.

I don’t know that gift giving is all that as a metaphor for God’s grace. Gift giving comes with so much cultural baggage that it may be more confusing than helpful. Christmas gifts are especially problematic from a metaphorical standpoint. We don’t give Christmas gifts to just anyone. We also tend to expect an exchange of gifts, or in the case of kids we ostensibly condition gifts on good behavior. Receiving a gift often seems like it imposes an obligation. And there is some notion that it is possible to reject a gift.

With God’s grace, there is no way to reject it. No action on our part is necessary. No obligation is imposed. It is conditioned on nothing. It is unexpected, undeserved, and beyond reciprocation. It is so much more than a gift, in the human sense of the word, that the metaphor of gift giving diminishes it.

I was, like many children, an ungrateful little shite. I was conditioned to expect some loot at Christmas, on my birthday, and on certain other occasions, and I occasionally felt shortchanged, especially after my father split on us and family finances were a problem. It never occurred to me then that my folks were under no obligation whatsoever (except for social pressure) to give me anything and that anything I got was purely gratuitous. No wonder my father abandoned me. I’m sure Mom regretted that she hadn’t done it first.

Looking back, I now realize that I ought to be grateful that my parents didn’t sell me for medical experiments. A belated thanks, Mom and Dad.