Grace

Grace

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)

I used to coach T-ball – I emphasize the words, “used to.” Teaching little five-year-olds an organized sport can be rewarding, among other adjectives like “cute,” “funny” and “frustrating.” Frankly, getting a group of kindergartners together presents more than just a single challenge. And if your goal is to get them to act in any sort of organized manner during a practice? Well … good luck. Having a common purpose is virtually impossible for five year olds. Obviously, team concepts elude young minds until they’ve been subjected to a team sport.

It occurred to me, however, that T-ball is the one sport that’s all about grace. Unlike baseball, or pretty much any other team sport, the rules are pretty simple: (1) when it’s your turn at bat, you can't strike out – you just keep swinging until you hit the ball; (2) an inning is over after three outs, or after everyone gets a turn at bat, whichever occurs last; (3) everybody plays the whole game; and (4) when the game's over, everyone gets a snow cone. Those were the days.

But you don’t have to be much older than a kindergartner to know what it’s like to lose. To come up short. To fail. Just ask Peter.

Peter, like that athlete on the old Wide World of Sports, enjoyed the thrill of victory. But he also experienced the agony of defeat. He was a fisherman and lived with his wife in Capernaum where they shared a house with his mother-in-law and his brother, Andrew. He and Andrew had their own boat, and were in the fishing business with a couple of partners named James and John, Zebedee's sons.

The first time Jesus laid eyes on him, he took one look at Peter and said, "So, you're Simon, the son of John." (John 1:42) And then Jesus said that from then on he'd call him Cephas, which is Aramaic for Peter, which is Greek for rock, or pebble. He could stop fishing for fish, Jesus told him. He'd been promoted. From there on out, people were to be his business, and now he could start fishing for people.

And Peter certainly experienced the thrill of victory in this business of being a disciple. For instance, there were all these half-baked theories about who Jesus was. So, Jesus asked his disciples straight out: "Who do you say that I am?" Nobody wanted to stick their neck out and answer that one. Well, nobody that is except for good ol’ Peter. "You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God," Peter said. To which Jesus responded by blessing him, and then telling Peter that it was that very confession upon which Jesus would build his church. Victory.

But Peter also knew the agony of defeat. He didn't always say or do the right thing. One time Jesus was talking about heaven, and Peter wanted to know what sort of special deal he was going to get. You know, the people who'd left home and given up everything the way he'd done to follow Jesus? But Jesus took it easy on him since a “rock” can't help being a little thick sometimes.

And then there was their last supper together. Jesus was explaining that he would have to be going soon. But, Peter didn't quite get it. So, Jesus explained that he was going where nobody on earth could follow him. Peter finally seemed to get it, but then he asked Jesus why he couldn't follow him. "I'll lay down my life for you," Peter said. Then Jesus said something to Peter that rocked his world: "Listen, Peter, the rooster won't crow until you've betrayed me three times."

And Jesus was right, of course. After Jesus was arrested, Peter was sitting out there in the courtyard keeping warm by the fire. Then a girl, and later others, came up to ask him on three separate occasions if he really wasn't one of Jesus’ disciples. And Peter’s response? “What in God’s name are you talking about? I don’t even know the guy.” Then the old rooster crowed at the rising sun, and tears began to rain  - turning the “rock” into a mudslide.

Peter knew what it's like to be a winner. He also knew what it's like to be a loser. But everybody's a winner in T-ball. Do you know why everyone's a winner in T-ball? Because you don't keep score. Most of the time, sports are all about no second chances. There are clear winners and clear losers. There are the ones who start and play most of the time, and there are the ones who almost never get to play. There are the ones who get picked first, and there are the ones who’re picked last. Most of the time, sports are about no second chances.

And a lot of us would like to live in a world where when you go to church you’d never have to hear Christians confessing their pain, or the sin of anything. The problem is that each of us has a story. And all of our stories include the truth that we’re guilty, and that we’ve betrayed our Lord. Just checking here, but if you're at home and keeping score, we’re losing and we won’t be getting a snow cone. But the thing is, we don't have to let our guilt and our shame and our failures destroy us. Peter proves that. Peter, of all people. The disciple with the foot-shaped mouth.

The Sabbath was over. Mary Magdalene and two other women were going to anoint Jesus' body. So, very early on the first day of the week, just before sunrise, they were on the way to the tomb. They were wondering while they walked how they were going to roll the big stone away from the entrance to the tomb. But when they got there, the stone had already been rolled away, and an angel was there who told them that if they were looking for Jesus of Nazareth they’d come to the wrong place. He’d risen. He wasn't there.

And then in Mark 16:7, there’s this great line. The angel tells the women, "But go, tell his disciples, and Peter, that he is going before you to Galilee." In other words, “Don't just stand there, ladies. Get going and tell the disciples – especially Peter – that he’s risen and will meet you in Galilee.

You see, Peter didn't let his despair destroy him. Somehow he kept going. And then we have this great line in Mark’s gospel. The tomb was empty. Jesus was alive. And the angel tells Mary Magdalene and the others to go tell the disciples – and particularly Peter. It's as if even the angels were saying: "Be sure to tell Peter that he's not left out. Tell him that Jesus still wants to see him."

No wonder they call it the gospel of the second chance. Peter betrayed Jesus by something he said, just like you and I sometimes betray Jesus by the things we say and do – or by things we don't say and don't do. But Jesus wanted Peter, in particular, to know that he was alive. Peter got a second chance. Even the angels wanted Peter to know that it wasn't over. The message was loud and clear: Be sure and tell Peter that even though he swung and missed, he didn’t strike out. He gets to swing again. And in less than seven weeks’ time, Peter took another swing. This time, he hit a home run at Pentecost and became one of the leaders of the early Christian church where 3,000 people were saved on that day alone!

The truth is that we live in a world that keeps score. And all of us know what it's like to lose. We also know enough about ourselves – if we're honest – to shudder at the thought of God keeping score with his great scorecard in the sky. That's a pretty scary thought, isn't it? A ground out here, a strikeout there. So, how’s your game going? Not good, if your game is like mine.

Some time ago, rumor had spread that a woman was having visions of Jesus. The reports reached a preacher and he decided to check her out since, in his opinion, there’s a fine line that separates the real from the lunatic fringe. "Is it true, ma'am, that you’ve had visions of Jesus?" “Yes," replied the woman. "Well, the next time you have one of those visions, I want you to ask Jesus to tell you the sins I confessed last night." The woman was stunned. "Did I hear you right? You actually want me to ask Jesus to tell me the sins of your past?" "Exactly. So, please call me if anything happens, alright?" “Alright,” said the woman.

Ten days later, the woman informed the preacher of a recent appearance. "Please come," she said. Within the hour, the preacher arrived. "Now, you just told me over the phone a few moments ago that you actually had a vision of Jesus, right?” “Yes,” she replied. “Well, did you do what I asked?" "Yes, I asked Jesus to tell me the sins you confessed the night before our first visit," she replied. With that, the preacher leaned forward with anticipation, his eyes wide with expectancy. "Well, what did Jesus say?" She took his hand, gazed deep into his eyes and said, “These were Jesus’ exact words: 'I can’t remember.'"

Robert Fulghum, in his book All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten, listed some things he learned when he was in kindergarten. Things like: share everything; play fair; don't hit people; don't take things that aren't yours; say you're sorry when you hurt somebody; and when you go out in the world, watch out for traffic – hold hands and stick together.

So lately, I’ve been going over what I’d say if I was coaching T-ball again. I think I’d say stuff like, "Honestly, Johnny, I really don't know the score." Or, "Come on Katy, keeping swinging until you hit that ball." Maybe even, "Get out on that field, Evan – everyone gets to play." And, "Don’t you know that everybody's a winner, Crystal?" And definitely, "Snow cones for everyone.” But I’m still working on this one, "It's all about grace, Randy."

And therein lies the problem. You see it, don’t you? Sure you do. Yeah, it’s right there. Right there in that last sentence in the paragraph above this one. The one that says, And I’m still working on this one, “It’s all about grace, Randy.” You see? That’s the problem! Working at grace isn’t going to get me there. But if that’s the problem, then what’s the solution?

It’s seeing grace as a gift, not as a reward.

You see, working at grace is not going to get any of us to heaven. But it is grace that will get us working. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)

Jesus said, “’I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.’” (Matt. 18:3)  Kids, schmids. What do kindergartners know, anyway? Well, quite a bit actually.

They know that when you go up to bat, you can't strike out, and that everyone gets to play – all the time. And the score? They don’t care since everybody gets a snow cone at the end of the game anyway. And if you’re a child of God, you can’t strike out, and you’re in the game until it’s over. More importantly, the score’s inconsequential because Jesus settled that one a long time ago.

So, get in the game. You can’t lose.

Grace,

Randy