28 August 2006

Today begins a walk through the first few sections of "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I could easily quote every word he writes but I will use some self control We will begin with a look at Costly Grace.

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting to-day for costly grace. Cheap grace means...The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost!

I suppose one could say that there is also situations in which the church offers no grace at all. In other words, it is all about me and what I can do to be right with God. But here, we see something different. Cheap grace as that word from the Church that is afraid to call for action and new life becomes something hollow and worth little to any of us. It is a part of a feel-good trap in which people are not really invited into the new age - the Reign of God - the life of the body of Christ. I find myself in a constant battle with myself over just this way of being Church. We must remind ourselves constantly that we are called by our Lord, to follow him. That is quite direct - Follow! "Come and see" does not have tacked onto it..."If you all want to." No, this is an invitation to take part in a joyous life that does and will walk to the cross. Cheap grace seems to be afraid to ask deep questions and to say "Yes" at time and to also say "No" at other times. Cheap grace means "the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner." Transformation and new life does not take place if we simply paint over the offense - the break - the fall. Rather, it takes place when we - our whole being and everything about us - turns around and begins to live a new. That is not a conditional statement...it is a reality.

Connection: We are handed eternal life. It is offered to us. We stand at the beginning of this and every day with that reality in front of us. So...what do we do!?! Use the invitation as a way to get away with living the life we always want for ourselves. Or...is the invitation a power that grabs us and leads us - for now - into a life we probably would not choose for ourselves.

Lord of the Resurrection, we know that we are invited to follow you. We are aware that we only do that to the degree would like. We also know that you call us beyond our vision and you empower us to go there and reside in your Reign. Be for us that sustaining power that enables us to live with the new domain of your gracious love. Amen.