Grace. The word is used for the prayers we say before a meal. It is used to describe something beautiful and flowing, something with a certain elegance. In traditional Christian theology, grace is often translated as “unmerited favor,” and is something that God extends to humankind. God loves us even though we do not merit that love. That is adequate, as far as it goes. One can make a powerful case that God extending love to a humanity that kills and maims one another in war, that finds the most creative ways to exclude and diminish others, that pollutes the very environment which sustains its life and all life, that uses the earth’s resources with insufficient attention to the rate at which they are being depleted is unmerited, undeserved. Of course, that picture of humankind is decidedly one-sided – the same human community has found ways to cooperate to feed millions, has formed community out of disparate peoples, has created tremendous beauty, has been ingenious in its inventiveness, has loved. Does it seem odd to you to say that God’s love extended to someone like Mother Teresa was undeserved and unmerited? Perhaps at an abstract theological level it does, but at some point the language of merit and deserving seems strained.

In the past couple of years, I have come to a different understanding of the theology of grace. I have come to think of grace as primarily that which transcends the language of merit and deserving. There is a full moon over Lake Superior on a clear autumn night. Its beauty is astonishing, and I witness it. Do I deserve to see this? About two years ago, a couple in my church had a baby, whom they named Grace. It was their first child, and they were tremendously excited. They wanted me to come and see the baby in its first few days – and I did. Did I deserve to be a part of that miracle of new life? What had this couple done to deserve a beautiful baby girl they named Grace? The questions don’t seem to make sense. Grace is primarily that beauty, wonder, joy, mystery, love that touches our lives in ways that go beyond the language of merit and deserving. Grace happens, and in my Christian theology of grace I understand that all grace has its source in God.

Quick cut to my upcoming weekend. I have been thinking about grace again because this weekend my wife and other family members will be in Stevens Point Wisconsin to attend my oldest daughter Beth’s graduation. Beth is a remarkable young woman, and is one of our three remarkable children. Our son David will turn 25 this summer and has already graduated from college. He is working with developmentally disabled adults at a group home and is considering his future options. He is a bright, witty young man who wants to make a difference in the world – and he will. Our youngest child, Sarah, is sixteen, and tonight before we leave for the graduation, we will see her perform in a high school play – Much Ado About Nothing. Sarah is smart and determined. When we moved to Duluth three years ago, Sarah found some things difficult. It has been challenging for her to break into long-standing friendship groups, but this spring she decided she wanted to be a part of this play, and while her role is rather small, she is enjoying it to the fullest.

Back to Beth. When she was eleven, Beth broke her hip in a skiing accident. It was a significant break and it has marked her life ever since. She has had surgeries to keep her leg length similar, but they have only been partially successful. So this summer she is anticipating a surgery that will take part of the bone from one leg so the discrepancy in leg length is diminished. After she broke her hip, Beth was told she should probably not play basketball or volleyball. She discovered swimming, and was a good high school swimmer, one of the better ones on her team in Alexandria, Minnesota. In college she continued to swim and in 2006 and 2007 she participated in the National NCAA Division III swimming meet. She is multiple All-American athlete. She is graduating from college with degrees in biology and English. She has a straight-A grade point average and she has been accepted into medical school for next fall. She has talked about serving underserved populations in the United State or perhaps doing medical mission work overseas.

So what did I do to deserve such great children? And what did I do to merit their mother, my wife, Julie, who has been such a great mom and such a wonderful and supportive life partner? The language of deserving and merit does not seem applicable here. Of course I did not deserve my family, though I hope I contributed positively to making our family what it is. On the other hand, don’t people deserve love? Again, the language gets stretched beyond its capacity. Better here is the language of grace – beauty, wonder, joy, mystery, love that touches our lives beyond the language of merit and deserving. My family is grace to me, and the appropriate response to grace is gratitude and a graciousness in living that seeks to touch the world with grace.

So sitting at graduation Sunday morning I will bask in grace – filled with gratitude for the goodness of life, especially the goodness of my family. I will be filled with gratitude to God, whose very nature is gracious love and I will pray that in my life I can be as gracious as the God who gives life and grace.



With Faith and With Feathers,

David