Peace Passing Understanding—Bountiful Grace

Here is a nice thought. Picture yourself as a joyful, gentle, thankful, open, person, empty of worry, and full of peace. To anyone encountering such, it is an indescribable experience of life. Many things indeed work against our having this. On the other hand, it is certainly part of our faith that we have supernatural assistance for finding it. Seeking this state is not an added pressure put on you, but a wondrous part of God’s gift offered. Divine grace brings it about; we find ourselves “in the Lord…in Christ Jesus” as St. Paul likes to say.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7)

Honestly, this is not the picture of someone on their own, being as peaceful, gently open, and thankful as their natural skill and focus can make them. This can only be someone from a family of faith who looks to God to stir some bountiful grace into the mix. The Christmas baking will not come out well unless the key special ingredient is stirred into the batter. If it is all there, the result will be extraordinary.

I put it in those terms because of a fabulous Collect for the Third Sunday of Advent using the strong action word, “stir”:

Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us; and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins, let your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God has sped to us grace and mercy. God, powerfully stirred, has come among us, so that we are helped, delivered from all that hinders us. We waken to peace that our tongues are not fit to describe, the peace that surpasses even our rational comprehension. St Paul urges us on in Christ, to extraordinary prayer. He piles up the terms: prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. We are liberated: opened to God and letting our hopes and thankful hearts be known.

I am convinced that the simplest kind of prayer is key in opening up to this freedom and joy. I teach single-focused simplicity, silence and stillness are things in my classes on meditation and spiritual enrichment. This is one path to embracing the powerful degree of God’s love, the full measure of forgiveness. It will release full joy within you. Find yourself “in Christ Jesus” and thereby discover joy and peace beyond description. It is not an accomplishment but a gift from God opened and received. Rejoice!