Grace upon Grace – Christmas Day

By e December 23, 2016 Jesus Stuff No Comments

The disciple whom Jesus loves, in his gospel for the mass on Christmas Day, says:

From his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Grace in place of grace.

I’d never noticed that before.

As participants in the new covenant, it is easy to forget that we are not the first recipients of God’s grace, but the latest in a long line of those to receive grace up on grace, each an infinitely great gift, and yet each infinitely greater than that which came before.

As persons of the modern age, it is easy to dismiss what came before, regarding graces given to our ancestors as antiquated, quaint, or irrelevant to our time.

As cynics over-exposed to the sorrows and scandals of the church and the world, it is easy to think that we’ve reached the pinnacle, and it’s all down-hill from here.

But, God has established a pattern.

He’s continued to pour grace upon his people, piling grace upon grace, like one present upon another, until the tree is barely visible. We have not yet reached the pinnacle. He is born, and died, and risen, halleluja! But he is also coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

The tree of the cross is still there, and the gifts will at times tumble down to reveal it, but I have so much to be thankful for as I consider the graces that have come during this year and the years preceding, and so much to look forward to in this life, and in the next as he continues to offer grace.

For that, I thank God.

 

 

What do you think?