Dearly Beloved,
Grace and Peace to you.
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
— Luke 23.34
God receives our fear and violence and betrayal and all that is in us that works against life; God receives it and does not return it. No one pays for this sin, no one atones. There is no exchange. God suffers, and is not avenged or compensated. God simply, willingly, completely forgives us. This is the grace that sustains our lives.
God inhabits our pain. The Eternal One endures our suffering. The Creator knows our fear and isolation. The Holy One lives inside our sin. God experiences our cruelty and inhumanity, our injustice and oppression. God embraces our sorrow, and is laid in our tomb. The cross is not the working out of some complex plan, nor is it a unique occasion. It simply God’s presence with us and for us, loving, blessing, forgiving. It is God’s way. This is the grace that sustains our lives.
Let this day be one of awe and reverence, humility and gratitude.
Deep Blessings,
Pastor Steve
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Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
unfoldinglight(at)hotmail.com