What Grace is [Epiphany 1; St. Luke 2:42-52]

As usual, I begin the Sermon with an offering of grace or rather a declaration that grace has come to you. But, what is grace and how does it relate to our relationship with God?

Jesus speaks today saying,

“Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”

This is Jesus graciously responding to his mother’s plea for an excuse. She has just berated the young Lord for disappearing, stating that His father and mother have been in great distress in their search for Him, these last three days. This same “great distress” Rachel felt whilst weeping for her children, because they were not.

Indeed, our first thought, upon discovering our own child missing, is “death” usually within a matter of three minutes, much less three days. How much distress that must have been? You can relate to that. This was not a very gracious thing for Jesus to do to His parents.

When you need to define grace, maybe you turn to the old stand-by: Amazing Grace. Probably the most popular folk hymn in the world, now, uses our word, grace. Though, as you might not expect, as much as the song mentions “grace”, it doesn’t really shed light on what it is. Rather, when sung, we only hear about what grace does, not why or how.

Hopefully, the second thing that pops into your Lutheran head when you hear the word grace is Ephesians 2:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”

By this, we can see that maybe grace is not so much a “what”, but a how. The difference being: we can use a “what”; it is like a tool or a means to get something, but we can not “use” a “how”. Instead, a “how” is used upon us. Grace is not what God gives us, but how He gives to us.

“Free and unmerited” is how we define grace. Maybe the Library has the corner of the market on this, but only for a couple days. The rest of the world does not understand grace, obviously with sayings such as, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” and “If you want something done, do it yourself”. Free and unmerited are as unfamiliar as ancient Israeli culture.

But we know those words. We understand them in their absoluteness. Free: something unearned, unpaid for, without price, and without obligation. Unmerited: something not worked for, not worthy of.

Thus we find St. Mary and St. Joseph searching for their child. We also find St. Rachel doing the same thing and even Herod joins the crowd of seekers. These four people, seek and do not find. Herod does not find Jesus, Rachel does not find her children, and Sts. Mary and Joseph do not find Jesus.

Why is this so important? Because if any of these were to have found the Christ child, it would not have been by grace. Rachel would have earned her children by hard work and desire for them. Herod would have been worthy of being king, in finding the usurper and Sts. Mary and Joseph would have found salvation on their own.

Free and unmerited by the human race, Jesus was born of a virgin to take on the sin of the world. Jesus entered a world with no room for Him and no love for Him. In a state of complete rebellion, creation takes one look at its creator and crucifies Him.

Free and unmerited, Herod is placed on Israel’s throne, but it is by grace that Jesus flees. For in taking refuge in Egypt, He lives to make it to the cross. Thus, Jesus’ answer to His mother and father is very gracious, for He points out that it is very obvious where Jesus must be found: in His Father’s House; on a cross.

Repent. Your sin creates in you this false notion of “yours by rights” and “hard work pays off”. That may work with your neighbor, but in front of God, your hard work gets you nowhere and earns you nothing, as did St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s.

By grace, Jesus is born of a virgin. By grace, Jesus dies and rises again. By grace, you receive His life and forgiveness. Jesus graciously allows Himself to be found. He graciously speaks His Gospel to us and graciously accomplishes all things for us.

Thus, it is by grace that you find Jesus. It was not by an ember that was fanned to flame, inside you. It was by the Holy Ghost that baptized you in fire and Spirit. While you were yet dead in your sin, the Gospel was preached to you. While you were unworthy and in debt, Jesus dies for you and redeems you.

The ox or the child that falls into the pit on a Sabbath, do not earn their rescue. The man born blind, does not merit sight. But it is given all the same. It is given by grace, through faith, for the sake of Jesus Christ.

Grace means free and undeserved, so if you are saved by grace, it is not of your own doing. The Gospel is free. It is unconditional and complete. It is given to you fully and by it God loves you. In Jesus, God can not love you any more, you can not be more holy, and you can not be a better Christian than you already were made to be.

Jesus, by grace, allows us to be with Him today. He comes to commune with us, not because we said the right words or did the right dance. By grace, we too find Jesus. We find Him among His Father’s things at His Father’s house.

Holy Baptism was here before you were born. By grace, you were baptized. The Gospel was finished even before America was colonized and Holy Communion was planned and instituted long before anyone thought it a good idea. By grace, you hear and commune today.

The point is, salvation is already here and already at work. Saying you accepted it is like pouring a bucket of water in the ocean and claiming you filled it up. This is not to make you feel bad about yourself, not being able to accomplish anything, rather it is to make you grand.

It is to you that the one Who filled the ocean, gives the kingdom of heaven. It is to you that God gives His Service. He is God and all glory belongs to Him, even the glory of getting salvation to you.

Your relationship to God is one of grace. By grace, the Lord creates His relationship between you and He and it is one of Giver and receiver. The Lord gives; His kingdom, His creation, His Law, His life, and His Love, and you receive; by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith.

By Grace, Jesus is already there for you and has already forgiven you. By grace, in the midst of your sin, sorrow, and despair you find Jesus, again and again, in His Father’s house, among His Father’s people. That is, where He has promised to forgive your sins.

Indeed, Grace, Mercy, and Peace have been here, are here today, and will be here; world without end.

Amen.