Sermon #1 – (The Rev. Elizabeth A. Peterson) Reformed Passion, The Anointing at Bethany, mired in Sin, expect it to be transactional – sin= punishment, But God shows grace and mercy, therefore we return our affection in BOLD ways

Sermon #2 – (The Rev. Kerra English) So how do we respond to God’s Word of grace? How can we access this boldness? How can we dare to approach God with confidence?

PSALM 104 Reading – Adopting the stance of prayer…

Expounding on what Liz has shared with us - the Reformed response to grace is gratitude

We are grateful for God restoring us and redeeming us from our state of sin.

At first it may be challenging to make the leap from recognizing our sinfulness to being so grateful for God’s love that we want to go out and change the world. Yes, intellectually we recognize the human tendency toward idolatry and tyranny. Sin is real. It’s obvious from one look at the news that things go wrong in the world. And yet, we simultaneously resonate with what I see as the “out of step” verse in this Psalm, the one that doesn’t seem to belong. We can praise and praise, give thanks and sing all day to God, but in the end it is a very human prayer to pray for those “other” sinners to be consumed from the earth and the wicked to be no more.

Grace is the startling realization that no matter how much flattery we give to God, no matter how much we want to be fully on God’s side, God isn’t moved by our desire to banish those sinners from all existence, and thankfully so, because we are every bit a part of that group. Fortunately, beginning to see ourselves as sinners has somewhat of an opposite effect as one might logically think. One might think that knowing the sin within brings more judgment and separation from God, but I dare to say that recognizing the sin within us and trusting in a gracious God who doesn’t throw people away is the true essence of grace indeed.

Now that grace is overwhelming, extravagant, and way, way, way over the top. Anyone who has known tremendous gratitude for a freely given gift knows how hard it is to hold it back and hide it under a rock. The woman at Bethany couldn’t hold her love inside anymore. She needed to find a way to show it. Too often we take the gracious love of Jesus Christ for granted. Either we think we don’t need it and try to throw in the line about consuming the sinners from the earth, or we assume that it’s been there all along like a comfortable blanket. We forget what it means to be loved that much.

But when we remember, the feeling is tremendous. It bowls us over. And it gives us the voice that permeates the rest of Psalm 104 – that voice of thankful praise.

The Reformed Passion that we have for God’s grace also tells us that -

THIS IS GOD’S WORLD

Our response to this whole world of grace is wonder, awe, and amazement.

Through grace we can say: When you open their hands, they are filled with good things

When you hide your face, they are dismayed

When you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust

When you send forth your spirit, they are created and you renew the face of the ground

I will sing praise… (Psalm 104)

But it isn’t always easy to sing God’s praise in the world. There are those who make a pretty convincing argument that the world is bad and only God is good. Nevertheless, the deeper spiritual teachings remind us of God’s compassion, not only for us, but for all creatures and for creation. God created the world good and pronounced it so over and over again. God so loved THE WORLD that Jesus was God’s gift to the whole creation.

Even so, still tyranny and idolatry prevent us from having the full picture that God sees. The good world is corrupted by our misdeeds. Therefore, out of gratitude, we commit ourselves to be people seeking justice and living as God would have us live. We show our thanks to God in our praise and celebration, and that praise takes shape and understanding in the ways that we live out our daily lives.

Sometimes we show our appreciation in extravagant ways –aligning ourselves with the oppressed and lifting up the brokenhearted, gushing in our love for Jesus in an inhospitable place, or speaking the truth to power. Sometimes we do that in simple ways – by living as grateful people, grateful for our spouses, our children, our friends, and the world around us. Reformed passion speaks to our outlook on the world that says that even on our worst days God loves us and gives us an important place. We are blessed by God to live, not oblivious of our sin, but fully aware of God’s forgiveness. Because of grace, we can live this day in joy and praise. Because of grace, we can make a difference as we seek God’s justice and live to the best of our abilities in obedience to God’s Word of love enough for all.