Means of Grace

If Grace is a free gift of God, then why should a Christian worry about participating in the means of grace?

When I think of the means of grace, I sometimes think of two metaphors. They are both far from perfect, as all metaphors are imperfect, but they help me to grasp the importance of the means of grace. For the first metaphor, imagine that you have a very wealthy parent who has bought you a brand new sports car. The title is in your name. The key is sitting on your kitchen counter. The car is entirely yours, a free gift from your generous parent. Yet, the car doesn’t do you much good unless you pick up the key and drive it. The means of grace seem to function in a similar way to me. God has freely given us grace, but we need ways to exercise that grace. We need ways to connect to that grace. Take it for a spin.

The second way I like to think about the means of Grace – especially prayer — is that I am a guitar string that needs frequent tuning. Detuned strings look the same from the outside until you play one and then you notice it is out of tune. Even slightly detuned, I am still a string and part of a great guitar, but the means of grace tune me so that I sing my song in harmony with God.

How does this all work? I am really not sure. It seems to me that God agrees to meet us in certain ways. I don’t know if those ways are particularly God-inspired, or maybe God sees the efforts we put into something and rewards us by meeting us in that effort. For instance, many Christians believe that the Bible is entirely inspired by God; however, we frequently disagree with each other on what inspiration means. Some think that inspiration means every word is perfect and infallible. I tend to think inspiration is a big part of how God meets us in scripture. So to me, it’s less important that the words are infallible and more important that we search them and listen for God‘s voice. It’s a means of grace. I think God meets us wherever God can.

I feel more in tune, more connected to God, and safe in the flow of traffic when I participate in the means of grace. I believe when I take the Lord’s supper, I am opening my heart more freely to Christ. In contemplative prayer I open my heart where Christ can meet me without constantly knocking on my door. When I say my confession, even though I am already forgiven in Christ, I’m reminded of mercy as a prodigal son returning home. Like the prodigal son, my Father never stopped loving me even though I chose to live in ways and places where that love was distant and unreciprocated by me. Means of grace are a way home.

When I read the scriptures, God‘s voice occasionally leaps out to me like a shout. The interesting thing about reading scripture sacramentally is that your experience with scripture doesn’t always have to be about the exact content of the scripture. God sometimes gives me a message I need to hear while I’m reading. I can turn off my left brain and stop worrying about the historical context, translation or intended meaning and just let God speak to my heart. Hearing a minister preach has a similar effect. So many times I can talk to my fellow congregants about a particular sermon and it seems we all heard something different yet we all agree it was what we needed to hear. That’s the Holy Spirit working when we open ourselves through the means of Grace.

What Are the Means of Grace?

So what are the means of grace? One answer is that it depends on your denomination and theological background. Jesus instituted communion and baptism, so those are universally practiced by almost all Christians. Most would add in reading the word, proclaiming the word, confession, prayer and what I would call “Jesus stuff,” by which I mean charitable works and inclusion.

I would take this several steps further. I think God wants to meet us wherever we are authentically seeking God. I don’t think God cares which denomination you belong to, or which religion you follow. If you feel closer to God and recognize God‘s grace hiking through the forest, in an ashram, in meditation, playing with your kids or anywhere else, God meets you there.

What makes going to church so efficacious is that the means of grace are baked into the liturgy. If you attend a typical mainline service on a Sunday morning, you will hear the word read, hear the word proclaimed, say your confession and take your communion. You will pray a lot and sing a lot. You will work with others in your congregation and learn about the Jesus stuff they’re planning. Sunday is the primary day that Christians have gathered together in celebration and commemoration of Jesus‘s resurrection. They’ve done this for thousands of years so when you come together to worship and partake in the means of grace on Sunday morning, you are following a pattern that we have followed since the very beginnings of Christianity.

If you go into any mainline service on a Sunday morning, you will find many different ways the word is proclaimed. Certainly, there are Bible readings from the lectionary, and the pastor will preach on a topic typically related to the lectionary. Many churches also celebrate the word through art, music, dance, drama or other expressions. I’ve even played the banjo a few times. God meets you there.

Before taking communion, most services will offer some form of corporate confession and absolution. This does not mean that your pastor is the one absolving you from sin, but the words of absolution are a reminder of God‘s grace. You are already forgiven, but it can’t hurt to do some soul-searching every week, think about where you have fallen short, and come together with your community to remember your forgiveness. God meets you there.

Baptism is an outward sign of your commitment to follow Christ, as well as a means of grace. Many Christians won’t actually remember their baptism because they were baptized as infants. My current church keeps a baptismal font in the sanctuary as you enter and I like to dip my hand in the baptismal water and make the sign of the cross. Both remind me of my dying and rising in Christ. I know some people are uncomfortable with the sign of the cross because it seems a little large-C Catholic. It is a practice I picked up while worshiping with some Lutherans almost 20 years ago in Durango. I think it’s a beautiful way to remember we live under the cross, and are now and forever marked by the cross. These are ways to remember you belong to God in Christ. God meets you there.

Of course, communion is the primary means of grace Christians partake in each week. I’m not here to argue one way or another about transubstantiation. Some 400 years after the Reformation it seems a little silly to continue arguing about it. I do believe Jesus Christ is completely present in the sacrament. I believe you are asking Christ to enter into you every time you take the sacrament. I don’t know how it works, and my atheist friends think I believe in some sort of magic voodoo involving blood rituals and cannibalism, but my life is changed by taking communion as frequently as possible. Besides, it’s one of the few things Jesus explicitly told us to do. I play music on our worship team and if I play in two services for a holy day, I will take communion both times. I don’t want to miss out on the sacrament if I’m ever given an opportunity. Nor should you. God meets you there.

Finally, I believe my life has been completely transformed through contemplative prayer. There is so much I could say about the practice, none of which would come close to the actual experience. I recommend you try it and don’t give up. Sit in silence with God 10 or 20 minutes a day. I also like to pray with prayer beads. It is away for me to put aside all of the hustle and bustle and overactive brain work and just sit and be near God. One of the primary ways I define myself is as a man of prayer. God meets you there.

But Seriously, is all This Necessary?

Yes. Yes it is. God gave us word and sacrament to help sharpen our faith. Again, I don’t know how it works. It is entirely supernatural, and I am unashamed of my full embrace of it. It works. Do any of us think that every day living has not detuned our string? We live lives of sin and estrangement from God no matter how hard we try. The means of grace keep us in tune, and remind us of God‘s grace and our place in God’s mission.