Other meanings of grace:
---the ballerina moved with grace across the stage; her form and fluid motion were a delight to behold.
---the family always said grace before their meal, thanking God for the food they were about to receive.
In Christian orthodoxy, however, grace takes on special meaning. A simple acronym has been memorized by many student ministers: God’s Redemption At Christ’s Expense.
On Good Friday, the church paused to recognize with humble gratitude its belief that when Jesus died, he carried our sins to the cross. By paying the price for our wrongdoing, He enabled us to receive God’s forgiveness---unearned and unmerited by us, simply a gift freely bestowed.
If grace is an unmerited gift from God (or from the universe, our lucky stars or blind fate) then it can also be as well found outside church walls and beyond traditional theology. Nadia Bolz-Weber described that concept this way: "God’s grace is not defined as God’s being forgiving to us even though we sin. Grace is a source of wholeness which makes up for my failings."
We can cling to that source of wholeness to help us practice self-acceptance despite our many shortcomings. Following some scary, near-miss in heavy highway traffic, a driver might be heard muttering with relief: “But for the grace of God, I could have been killed.” We gratefully accept such Divine intervention, knowing that our driving “failings” could have produced fatal results. (A mystery then arises: why did another driver killed in a wreck not receive that same grace?)
Grace is evident when many of us recognize that the blessing of being born in Canada had nothing to do with our efforts or earned merit but was a freely-bestowed gift of the universe. Similarly, "as I stopped to gaze in awe at the sparkling purity of those mini-icebergs decorating our hushed Huron lakeside this past week, I experienced a sacred moment of grace, also freely given to anyone else taking the time to receive it," wrote oft-quoted Bob Johnston in the Saugeen Times on Saturday.
In relationships, we might be fortunate enough to receive forgiveness from someone whom we have wronged. Despite our many imperfections, we may also be the unmerited beneficiary of unconditional love from another human, a gift we could never be perfect enough to earn on merit. That too is grace.
On March 23rd, a gunman in the French town of Trebes took hostages amid his deadly rampage. A police officer, Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, age 44, volunteered to take the place of a female hostage in exchange for her freedom. She was freed; he was murdered. All those involved in that terrorist attack witnessed an unforgettable act of supreme grace.
It may then be said that courage and grace often go hand-in-hand.
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