TRANSFIGURATION 2003
From the editor…
Each day thy grace to know
One of my favorite hymns is "We rest on thee," written by Edith Cherry toward
the end of the 19th century. Its third verse begins:
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know.
A beautiful phrase that, "each day thy grace to know.?" It
reminds us that grace is not simply something that is the source of our start
in the Christian life, but the source of our continuing in that life.
Luther liked to speak of God's grace (gratia) and God's gift (donum),
the first being his unmerited favor in sending Christ to die for our sins,
and the second being the gift of the Holy Spirit which comes into our hearts
to enable us to follow where Christ calls us to go.
Yet in so much Christianity the world of discipleship lapses quickly into
a new law, so that when we begin the Christian life it all depends on God,
and then thereafter it seems to all depend on us. This is a particular
problem in America, where Nike theology -- just do it -- lurks around nearly
every corner.
The thanksgiving prayer at the end of Holy Eucharist Rite I offers a very
different perspective: "so assist us with thy grace, that we may continue
in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared
for us to walk in." Without God's assisting grace every day we will not "just
do it," rather we will fall into "our own great weakness" in Edith's Cherry's
words.
At daybreak, we can be reminded: We didn't make ourselves, we didn't make
this day, we were given the gift of salvation which we didn't earn and don't
deserve, and without the Holy Spirit to sustain and enable us, we will not
make it through whatever the Lord has for us.
From that vantage point, we may come to know God's grace more every day.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall S. Harmon
Contact Dr Harmon by e-mail at ksharmon@mindspring.com
Return
to TAD menu