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Pastor Jenny Lee, Ph.D.

Luke 15:11-32

 “The People of God’s Grace”

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about how, “United Methodists are the people of the Bible.” Methodists began with a small group reading the scriptures, and we not only read scripture regularly but also live by them in our everyday life. United Methodists also believe that the Bible is the final authority. And last Sunday, I talked about “United Methodists are the people of an inclusive mindset.” As the symbol of “openness and inclusiveness,” United Methodists open the communion table to everyone. I said, as God does, United Methodists have open hearts, open minds, and open doors to everyone.

Today, I would say United Methodists are the people of God’s grace. United Methodists are the people who cannot live without God’s grace. We believe that God’s grace is undeserved, unmerited, and the loving action of God and that the grace permeates our lives. Most Christians believe that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ by God’s grace. United Methodists believe so as well. However, we sometimes wonder what it means to be saved? For some Christians, salvation depends on receiving the sacraments of the church. For other Christians, salvation comes when one makes a public profession of faith. For still other Christians, the way of salvation involves receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and speaking tongues (p. 59-60, Living as United Methodist Christians). What about you? What does it mean to be saved to you?

For United Methodist Christians, the word “salvation” means that “we are in an intimate relationship with God, who works throughout our lives to make us whole” (p.60, Living a UM Christians). John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, explained the journey of salvation. According to him, our salvation journey begins before we are even aware that God is seeking us. Even though we don’t know about God yet, God loves us and seeks us wanting everyone to know about Him and come closer to Him. Most people don’t know deeply about God’s grace because they live in a self-centered mindset. They live toward the value of the world, such as focusing on success, wealth, honor, and the power of the world. Nevertheless, God still loves them and is waiting for them to come to Him closer. We call it “prevenient grace.”

God loves us long before we ever love God. Even when we are too busy or distracted to hear, God keeps on speaking to us through the people around us. Like when I didn’t know about God, and God sent a pastor’s wife, who said to me, “read the Bible, and God may heal you.” Even though I didn’t accept her, God didn’t give up on me. And then God sent me another pastor, who said to me, “Please believe in Jesus Christ. He is the Healer. He is the Savior.” Sometimes God speaks to us through nature or animals. You might have “aha moments” about God’s grace when you worship God, pray to God, sing for God, or even play with your pets or walk on the street. Even though we don’t know about God yet, God still loves us. It is “prevenient grace.” Prevenient grace is open to everyone. The Letter of Romans 5:8 says, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” Christ died for all, and his love is for all. Therefore, United Methodists open hearts, open minds, and open doors to everyone who would be possibly God’s children. You might have met several people who spoke to you about God over the years. I believe that that’s why you are here to worship God. God’s action of loving us is endless.

The next journey of prevenient grace is to experience “justifying grace.” Justifying grace leads us to change our mindset from a self-centered mindset to a God-centered one. The Apostle Paul was the person who had everything that is valued in the world, such as wealth, honor, and power. He was born into a family of great honor, studied at the best academy, and was a Sanhedrin (Israelite’s congress and court) member. However, after he met Jesus, his mindset was totally changed. He said, “Whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, based on faith” (Philippians 3:7-9).

In today’s scripture, the second son left his father with his inheritance and spent everything. He then faced a life crisis with severe famine. He tried to survive by himself, getting a job feeding pigs and eating pig’s food. He missed his father and father’s house and regretted leaving his father. And, he came back to his father’s house. His father was waiting for him every day. Even at a long distance, his father saw him, and ran to him and hugged him. Verses 20 and 21 say, “While he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ As soon as his son repented his sins, the father has a party and gave his son the best robe, ring, and sandals which means he is the father’s inheritor. Like the father, God waits for people to return to God. And as soon as the people repent their sins and come back to God, God justifies them as the children of God. Justifying grace continues in our lives because we repeat leaving God and coming back to God in mind, spirit, and even physically.

We can find “justifying grace” in the sacrament of baptism and Holy Communion. Baptism identifies we are children of God as God said, “he is my pleased Son” when Jesus was baptized. Holy Communion reminds us of the children of God, and renews our lives in Jesus Christ, receiving the bread and the wine of communion. Therefore, we repent before every sacrament to receive God’s grace. Some people journey toward God from the moment of their baptism as an infant or a child, while other people become Christians through a significant experience in their youth or as an adult as so I did.

Justifying grace leads us to grow in faith as the disciples of Jesus Christ and guides us to transform the world. Of course, some people repeat leaving God and returning to God their whole life. In today’s scripture, we don’t know if the second son remains faithful or left his father again. But, we may guess the son lived a better life because of his father’s steadfast love. I hope we are growing in faith day by day. The evidence of our growth in faith is that we can become adult children of God and live in God-centered minds continually. We may call the life of adult children of God “sanctifying grace.” Sanctifying grace is God’s ongoing work in our lives to make us whole and perfect in our love for God and our neighbor. John Wesley changed his life after his heart-warming experience at Aldersgate, seeking continually to become more holy in his piety and involvement in society. Like this, United Methodists do not stop their journey of salvation with any one-time experience. Through prayer, worship, Bible study, and mission work, we continue to grow closer to God. Through our mission outreach to people in need in our communities and worldwide, we continue to grow more loving. We are nurtured in the church and empowered by God throughout our lives to become the loving people God created us to be. Therefore, United Methodists are evangelical people who live out the witness of Jesus Christ in everyday life. Let us love God and love neighbor in acts. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

Posted in Sermons