The Last Best Word

That's what Philip Yancey calls GRACE, "the last best word," in his May 20th reflection in Grace Notes. Why? Well, in a culture too marked by ungrace, most of us still know what grace should look or sound like. And what could illustrate ungrace more than the current word slinging between Trump and Musk from their not OK corrals. They're like "two boys fighting in a park," as Trump recently referred to the war between Russia's Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky. Hardly a brawl in a playground.

Add the recent response from Iowa's Senator Ernst to the cuts in medicaid/medicare, impacting millions in our country, "Well, we all are going to die someday." True but... As in life and death, timing matters. So do our words. Granted they can be taken out of context and used by one side or the other. But, neither Ernst's response nor the apology carried a hint of grace. Nor did an appeal to any wanting life to turn to her "Lord and Savior... for eternal life."

Sometimes I cringe when I hear someone add "Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" to front, middle or end of their remarks as some kind of a public testimony, or justification for starters. Or enders. Well, as you can tell, I've started going in the wrong direction, heading towards ungrace. It's so easy, when I'm so sure I'm right. Just like those self-righteous Pharisees Jesus called out for talking one way and acting another.

And that thought grabs me by the scuff of my ungracious neck to stop ranting long enough to listen and look at what real grace sounds and looks like. Hit pause. Just stop reading here and reflect on who or how grace comes to or through you. Or me. Or not.

OK. Maybe you can share some of those responses in the reply section. They help me and others. For sure I know that if all we're known for is saying grace before a meal, we're not a reflection of The Grace we've received. We are the daily receipients of God's grace, whether we know it or not. And we're to be daily dispensers of what we've received, for no good reason. That's just part of why grace is so amazing. And such a sweet sound to all of us who know we deserve something else.

In music there's such a thing as grace notes. They add interest, a little something extra. And they add color and "enrich the melody and create a more expressive sound." Philip Yancey is a musician, as well as an author. Maybe that's part of why he entitled this book, Grace Notes. In a world longing for something to lift sagging spirits, create connections to stem loneliness, build bridges to span gulfs of misunderstanding, we need grace. "Grace that is greater than all our sins," as the hymn by Julia Johnson states. Whether sung, said or served, grace is needed today to combat mean-spiritedness, distrust, fear and hate here and towards the rest of the world.

By now, you know that sometimes I Iike to add some quotes, or humor to a blog post. Here are some starters for thought or a laugh:

"I come into the peace of wild things ... For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free." Wendell Berry

"I do not understand the mystery of grace--only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us." Anne Lamott

And then I think of an act of grace and love two days ago when my friends, Dick and Martha, took me to the Palace Diner in Biddeford, Maine for a birthday breakfast and a scenic drive. Delicious lemon zested pancakes, perfect scrambled eggs, potatoes plus crispy bacon. A feast of friendship and food.

Well, bacon reminds me of something Chris sent me. "I grew up with Steve Jobs, Johnny Cash, and Bob Hope. Now there's no jobs, no cash and no hope. Please don't let anything happen to Kevin Bacon."

Well, as noted theologian, Karl Barth, wrote, "Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God."

Over the years, I've aspired to be or do this or that. Maybe it's not too late to become a grace note.

Sounds like something to aspire to, before my swan song is complete.