June 13, 2004 - Second Sunday after Pentacost
1 Kings 21:1-21a
NRSV KJV CEV
Luke 7:36-8:3
NRSV KJV CEV

Gracious Living

The First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

2^nd Sunday after Pentecost - June 13, 2004

Rev. Steven A. Peay, Ph.D.

[1 Kings 21:1-21a/Luke 7:36-8:3]

When we think of gracious living I would wager that our thoughts include surroundings made pleasant by beautiful art and architecture, fine food and drink, and well-mannered, pleasing companionship. Gracious living evokes Martha Stewart – at least before ‘the fall,’ so to speak – or any number of folks who have told us the way to live in a gracious manner. We may also think of people, like the late President Ronald Reagan, who was gracious in his manner and who had the ability to make difficult issues and situations easier to take as a result -- whether or not one shared his political position. In the days following his passing I’ve rarely seen a piece that did not mention Mr. Reagan’s graciousness and how it had contributed to his political success. Even his epitaph bespeaks graciousness: “I know in my heart that man is good.  That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life.” Today, however, I want us to think a bit differently about gracious living.

I was struck by a definition of gracious in the Oxford English Dictionary, now considered obsolete, as “characterized by or endowed with Divine grace, godly, righteous, pious, regenerate.” How sad to think that this definition no longer applies – I want to revive it. In fact, I declare it revived! Gracious living, I believe, is to reflect the grace of God, to reflect our being God’s people and then behaving accordingly. Gracious living is about allowing the Spirit of God to bring the goodness in us out into the open, into the day-to-day actions of our lives.

I’m sure that Jezebel and Ahab lived graciously, at least according to the current definition of gracious; after all they were the king and queen. They had a lovely palace, they had plenty of land, and they had the power to make life pleasant for themselves and for others. What they lacked, though, was grace – the spirit of unmerited favor or goodness, the substance of our now revived definition. Instead of living graciously, they lived selfishly and used their situation to do harm to another, Naaboth by name. They wanted what they wanted and no one could get in the way of that – even at the expense of a human life. Think of it, a fit of pique, some bad advice, and a trumped-up murder – all over a vegetable garden!

As a result God sent the prophet to Ahab and said, “Because you have done evil, I will bring disaster upon you.” Soon Ahab and Jezebel suffered a great fall, one that cost them more than their palace. We have seen other falls in our time, haven’t we? The news, especially the business news, has had more than its share of stories about people who used their situations, their power in a graceless way to serve selfish ends. Many have reaped the bitter fruits their actions have sown; few, however, to the extent that Ahab and Jezebel experienced. Still, it gives us pause to remember that our actions do, indeed, have consequences for ourselves and for others. As William Ellery Channing said so eloquently, “God does not care about what we say, but about who we are and what we do.”  The story of Naaboth’s vineyard demonstrates the truth of Channing’s words.

Thus, we see in Luke’s Gospel another example of gracious, as opposed to graceless, living. Simon had invited Jesus to his home, along with other friends and colleagues. However, Jesus was not received as the other guests were. There was no welcoming embrace nor any cool water to cleanse his dusty feet as there had been for the other guests. Then, off the street, in walks a woman of less than gracious repute and not only does Jesus commit the social faux pas of letting this woman touch him, she anoints him, bathes his feet with her tears, kisses them, and dries them with her hair. All of these were acts of incredible intimacy – how dare he accept them and from a woman such as this! Simon was outraged and, no doubt, wondered why he had invited this inappropriate prophet to his table.

Joseph Donders, the missionary to Africa and poetic preacher, has said, “Simon, the Pharisee, had a very low opinion of the spiritual content of his guests, the invited one, Jesus, the uninvited one, the woman. In the same way we have a very low opinion of the spiritual possibilities of the people around us, and of ourselves too, conditioned as we are, even nowadays, by the professional religious leaders around us.” [Jesus, Hope Drawing Near, p. 150] Donders reminds us that we must have an appreciation of the goodness within us and within others and strive to bring that to the fore. His words are especially cautionary to those of us who are “professional religious leaders.” Simon, the professional religious leader, wanted Jesus to look at the woman’s sins. Jesus wanted Simon to recognize her goodness – goodness she expressed in her actions, not in her words. Simon talked piety and godliness, but he didn’t demonstrate it.

Gracious living begins with great love, as Jesus said, and results in great actions, loving actions, even life-changing actions. When we think of gracious living, a la Martha, we look to a nicely set table and a well-planned and executed meal. It’s no different in our attempt to live graciously as Jesus taught. You see, it also centers on a table. Christian worship has been defined as gather the folks, tell the story, break the bread, and then go forth to serve. Our table is one where bread and wine become a feast of love, a celebration of self-giving, a banquet of service, and a gourmet’s delight of goodness. What we receive from this table reminds us to live toward God and others, recognizing the Divine presence in us and in our world. It is a simple meal, whose spiritual depth and complexity can overwhelm even a gourmand’s palate. There is more than simple juice and bread here, never forget that.

Today we are invited to redefine gracious living. May what we have heard and what we will receive from this table draw us into a new definition of gracious living. Together may we discover what it means to live lives “characterized by or endowed with Divine grace, godly, righteous, pious, regenerate.” My greatest hope is that we understand that gracious living has everything to do with discovering and practicing the Divine goodness within us and recognizing it in others. Gracious living is who we are and what we do, and only marginally what we say. Amen.