“The Resurrection,” writes Joan Chittister, “is not a single event, but a loosening of God’s power and light into the earth and history that continues to alter all things, infusing them with the grace and power of God’s own holiness. It is as though a door was opened and what poured out will never be stopped, and the door cannot be closed…”
The word “infuse” means to soak and saturate. What would it mean to be infused – soaked – with both grace and power? We often think of grace and power as contradictions. One is dominant; the other is forgiving. Easter teaches us – the resurrection teaches us, and, as usual, Jesus teaches us – that grace and power can exist simultaneously. Jesus showed us how to stand both in a position of power and in a place of grace. It’s hard to balance both. We often feel that one has to win out over the other. But Jesus wields both grace and power like a skilled artisan who forges steel and shepherds sheep.
I think the thing to learn from Jesus is how to skillfully and, with honesty and integrity, become friends with both power and grace, for we live in a world that needs both.
What do you think?
See you in church,
Charlie+