Rev. Molly F. James, PhD
Chapel of Our Lord, Episcopal Church Center
Feast of St. Dominic, August 8, 2019
May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
One of my dearest friends, Minlib, who is really more than a friend (he is like another brother), is a Dominican Friar. We first met as PhD students many years ago, and he fast became a member of my family. So when I saw that I would be preaching on the feast day of his order’s founder, I wrote him a note asking if he had any particular insights for me.
He told me that Dominic was as a joyful friar and a preacher of grace. That made me smile and warmed my heart. It probably helps that all these centuries later joy and grace are still embodied in the Dominican order. My dear Minlib certainly does. And there seems to be something of the Holy Spirit in having Dominic’s feast this week. Joy and grace. We are certainly in need of those at the present moment. Now it could certainly be said that joy and grace are always a good idea. AND I think we need them especially right now. We need them. Our world needs them. Joy and grace seem to be utterly missing from our news headlines and from our collective, societal discourse.
We need a little more Dominic in our lives. We need his spirit in the public square. Now, it could be easy to protest this since we cannot all be Dominic. We are not likely to give up all we have, commit ourselves to poverty and celibacy and found an order of friars. So while we may not all become preachers and friars, we certainly can embody his characteristics of joy and share his message of grace.
As I shared yesterday, I struggle with the judgment passages in our Scriptures, and so I am always grateful for a reminder that God’s grace abounds. One way to live out the reality of grace is to be more gentle with ourselves. No doubt we could all benefit from sharing God’s grace inside our own hearts. But if we are to follow in Dominic’s footsteps and to “preach” grace with our lives, then we also need to share that grace with others. We need to view others and the world through the lens of grace. This doesn’t have to mean letting go of high standards or accountability. It just means that when we find ourselves jumping to judgment or making assumptions about someone else’s motivations, we pause and reflect. We ask ourselves how it is that we might find more grace in this particular moment.
I have no doubt that joy and grace are inextricably linked. When we have more grace for ourselves and for each other, then there will also be more joy in our hearts. I also firmly believe, in fact it is part of what keeps me going, keeps me hopeful, even when the news headlines make me feel like crumpling into a puddle of tears and giving up. I believe that as each of us strives to live our lives with a little more grace, to bring a little more joy into the world, I believe it matters. I believe our actions matter. I believe how we live our lives matters. I believe that together, little by little, we can make the world a more graceful and joyful place. AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment