Living in God’s Abundant Grace

Sermon: Living in God’s Abundant Grace

(Amazingly Saved, Strongly Sustained, Gracefully Living)

Pasig Capitol Community Church

June 30, 2024

66th Founding Anniversary

By Rev. Frank J. Hernando, Ed.D.

SCRIPTURE TEXT

Isaiah 55:1-13

55Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

Ephesians 2: 8-10

8 For it is by grace you have been saved,through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork,created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

INTRODUCTION

Good morning! Magandang umaga po at mapagpalang bati sa inyong lahat.  I’m indeed grateful for the invitation to be your guest preacher here at UCCP Pasig Capitol Community Church through Eden May J. Tulauan Board of Trustees Chairperson. This is a very historical occasion on which leaders and members of this church can recall memories of how the community of faith have been blessed in their lives and how every member helped one another and supported the ministries of the Church at all levels. 

Reflecting on the theme and the biblical texts, I have outline three important points: 

ONE

First, God’s grace is like streams of water available when we need it most. We have complained over the past few months about the high heat index around the country due to the El Nino phenomenon. The searing heat of the sun makes us uncomfortable or in other instances dehydrated and we wanted to stay in cooler places. When we are relieved we say “Ay salamat sa Diyos”. 

One of the historical and controversial issues on God’s grace is the challenge put up by Martin Luther with the Church leaders during the 16th century was the question on how human beings are justified or made right before God. 

The controversy deepened when Luther was threatened by excommunication— or expulsion from his membership in the Church as a religious monk. He asserted that no amount of good works such as monetary, real property gifts to church nor the prescribed penitential acts can justify a person before God..

Justification by faith or being right before God–which includes removing the guilt of sin by penitence, healing of broken relationship with those who are sinned against and accepting forgiveness of sins, as espoused by Martin Luther, is the belief that individuals are made righteous before God solely through faith in Jesus Christ, not by their own works or merits.

 Luther emphasized that it is through faith alone that persons are saved or are forgiven of their sins and justification is a gift of God’s grace. Believers are justified by Christ’s righteousness, imputed to them through faith. Meaning, allowing God to change us, our perspective in life and the configuration of our interpersonal and collective life as God’s people.

In our lives, we strive to live out the love of God in Jesus Christ in our relationships. Yet there is the inescapable subjective feeling of either failure to pass the approval of God or the feeling that one has surpassed it. I believe that we should feel in our hearts and think in our minds, human as we are that we fail in the measure of God’s approval, and we need to repent and accept God’s forgiveness, rather than appear boastful and arrogant.

Illustration:

I truly believe that God’s saving grace is operative in my life especially in critical times. I recall an accident that happened many years ago that was a test of faith and an experience of God’s saving grace. When me and my wife Gloria were on a bus on the way to Iloilo City from Barotac Viejo, the bus breaks malfunctioned and the driver was unable to halt the bus, and the more or less 30 passengers panicked upon knowing that the bus could not be halted. I was seated beside Gloria and told her to calm down and hold on to the hand rails firmly. While observing the bus driver maneuvering the bus on the road I was confronted with the question, “Am I ready to die at this instance?” I was talking to God in my mind, telling God that I am ready. In less than ten minutes the bus driver banged the bus on a sturdy bamboo plant on the hillside. When I turned to Gloria, she was unconscious and sustained a wound on her head. I woke her up and she did. It was a total disarray inside the bus. Some were unconscious and others immediately left the bus and sought help.  We were guided down the bus by some local people who came to the rescue and were brought to a municipal hospital in Barotac Nuevo town. Surviving that vehicular accident is an experience of God’s lavish love and abundant grace.

TWO

Second, we can live abundantly in God’s grace when we believe that our depravity is transcended by God’s reconciling power. Our lack of broader understanding of how God’s love and grace is operative in our lives and in society can prevent us from experiencing positive and meaningful lives. This means that when our minds are conditioned by defeat and negativity, this may lead to depression and self-destruction. Also, we see other persons as threats to our personal interests, our striving for wholeness and integrity. 

I would liken our abundant living in God’s grace as the experience of integrity and wholeness. Psychologists like Karl Jung, Thomas Groome and others have articulated the need of persons to overcome their developmental needs so that they will start living a life with clear goals and direction in life. 

A good friend of mine has been suffering from heart related disease. Prior to his heart condition, he enjoys his life in retirement and its benefits. He has to change his lifestyle, especially his style of work and his eating habits. He told me that he has neglected to care for his health and for the last two years he has dramatically changed his lifestyle and care for his body if he want to live more years of his life. 

Our cultural orientation as a people has conditioned us to work overtime or more than is required by our office or institution because we would like to prove that we are worthy of our pay or if not to gain extra income. Consequently, our bodies bear the brunt of over fatigue and our minds are stressed that we forget that we neglect the signs and symptoms of a disease. The realization of our neglect, we reckon with our faith and relationship with God and come to accept that covenant of grace and love with our loving God who has endowed us with the life we ought to live and use for service to our family and community.

Psychologically, in Jungian terms, each person must undergo the "individuation process," or  psychological integration and the development of the autonomous Self. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Protestant Reformer mentioned that individual believers undergo maturation or the coming of age.  What he meant was that people would become adults, gladly accepting and gladly taking responsibility for their own life, without recourse to or dominance by any other authority. Individuation means awareness of the demands of one's impulses and instincts in the light of the demands of one's conscience and moral learning. This is characteristic of living abundantly in God’s grace. 

THREE

Third, we can only live abundantly in God’s grace when our community of faith and the larger society provides the support, such as providing safe spaces, respect for human dignity, mutuality and fairness in social relationships, and  resources for physical and spiritual nourishment are accessible to all for their growth and maturation.

In the context of our community and social life, we recognize that God is a covenanting God who initiates an embodying relationship with the people God loved, making it clear that this love is constant and in contrast to human subjective feeling and perception that usually lead to confusion and conflict. For God’s people who were exiled in Babylon for many years, their homecoming to their land, was a great opportunity to rebuild and restore–God so desired through the exigencies of their historical experience that they are a forgiven people and that God’s grace is operative in their rebuilding and restoration process.

The new covenant impacts our life in society. Alistair Roberts explained that: The law placed in the hearts and minds of the house of Israel and Judah is a dissemination of political sovereignty to the entire populace, empowering them to act as representatives of YHWH’s authority. The placing of the law in the hearts and minds of the people also imply an extension of YHWH’s dwelling place. Whereas the Ark of the Covenant once held the tablets of the covenant within the Holy of Holies and was especially associated with the presence of YHWH, now the minds and hearts of all of the people will bear the Torah, extending the most holy space.

God dwells in the minds and hearts of God’s people empowering them to be like minded pursuing God’s purposes for salvation of the people who have been oppressed by forces that prevent them from living a life full of grace, freedom, abundance and peace. 

CONCLUSION

Finally, may the UCCP Pasig Capitol Community Church continue to be sustained by the love and grace of God in Jesus Christ. 

May God’s covenanting love and grace incarnated in Jesus Christ, serve as our light in the midst of our spiritual darkness more so in the darkness of our society and the world– the reign of greed–causing devastating impact on the environment, people’s lives and other creatures.

May God’s abundant grace sustain you and the community of faith in their various programs and services for people-in-need. Let your love for one another strengthen your unity and spiritual bond for a more vibrant church life and relevant ministry and mission in our society and world.