Grace

What would happen if Jesus walked into a government office and tried to get a business license? I think it might go something like this:

Government official: What is your business? 

Jesus: I’m here to save the world.

Official: Right. Really, what kind of business?

Jesus: People.

(The official finds a regulation book on human resources.) OK, specifically what people?

Jesus: Anyone and everyone.

(The official is already bored and irritated.) Even the homeless, illegals and those who can’t keep a job? You don’t want those working for you. 

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”[1]

This is the first of the famous seven last words of Christ. Words he said as he was dying on the cross.

The death and resurrection of Jesus demonstrates that God’s grace is the solution to evil. This is not controversial. It is the central pillar of Christian belief in the New Testament and in all authentic Christian teaching since. But it is rather incredible when you think about it. In my more insecure moments, I wonder if I can really believe it. Is it really possible that the answer to the whole messy history of good versus evil comes down to one simple binary choice—grace over revenge, love instead of hate, forgiveness rather than destruction? Can it really be so?

The following is an edited version of a sermon I preached on November 17, 2018 at the Azure Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church in Grand Terrace, California. That means, among other things, that this is rather long winded for a blog. You have been warned! – Mike Leno

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

That’s the punchline for one of Jesus’ most famous and most difficult stories—the story of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20. And the previous chapter, ends with an almost identical saying: “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” That’s the punchline to the Rich Young Ruler story.

Any time an author includes two stories back to back with identical conclusions, we can safely assume they are dealing with the same type of lesson or subject. But knowing the punchline in this case, is not the same as knowing the moral or point of the story. What does Jesus mean that “the first will be last and the last will be first?” Maybe he means that in entering the kingdom, those who appearto be last, will in the end, actually be first.

Stage 13, 2018 Tour de France, Photo Finish

Stage 13 of the last Tour de France had a very competitive sprint to the finish. Peter Sagan, in his green points leader jersey, looked like he was going to miss out this time since he was behind a number of riders coming down the stretch. If you watch cycling, however, you know that’s a usual tactic for Sagan. He always hangs back until just the right moment. In this case, he covered the last few meters in third place, surged at the last possible moment, threw his bike toward the line, and won the stage. The photo finish revealed that he had won by less than the diameter of his wheel.

1 Corinthians 13 LUV (Leno Unauthorized Version)

If I can speak words of profound wisdom, if I can inspire people to greatness, and if I can sing with a power that brings heaven to earth, but do not care about people, then I am simply a waste of oxygen and a source of noise pollution.

This is based on a eulogy I gave at the memorial service of my maternal grandmother, Grace Hudson. I originally published it in February of 2007.  – Mike Leno

Laurence & Grace Hudson, 1945

My grandmother was blessed with the wonderful name of “Grace.” Her full name was Grace Arvilla Hudson. (I will not comment on her middle name except to say that no one is perfect!) But along with the rest of her grand kids, I called her “Mama Grace.” On December 31, 2006 she died at the age of 99. She would have been 100 the following May.

In Romans 5:20, Paul makes one of his most memorable and to some, most controversial statements. He says, “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” This text assures us that nothing can outdo God’s grace. Even the opposite of grace cannot overcome it. By its nature, grace only increases with the need. And that means that no matter what happens and no matter what we do, we’ll always have grace. I learned a lot about grace from Mama Grace. And I learned it more from what she did than what she taught.