Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 13 October 2024, by Rev. Judy Chan. The scripture readings that day were SS: Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Hebrews 4:12-16

Sermon: “By the Grace of God”

Kowloon Union Church - 13 Oct 2024

SS: Job 23:1-9, 16-17; Hebrews 4:12-16

Good morning. 

Most of us I think welcome good news. When someone says, “I’ve got good news,” we’re all ears. Bring it on! But what if someone says, “I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

For me, I’d rather hear the bad news first. 

There’s a story about a church pastor who decided to do just that. One Sunday morning he told his congregation: “I’ve got both good news and bad news for you.” The people brace themselves. “The bad news is last night’s storm blew a hole in the church roof. There’s a lot of water damage in the upstairs classrooms.” The people sigh.

“But there’s good news,” he goes on. “The good news is that we have all the money we need to repair the damage.” The congregation smiles. 

“However,” the pastor adds, “the bad news is that the money is in your pockets.”

We laugh, but isn’t this how life usually goes? Sometimes good news, sometimes bad, some we have control over, some we don’t. 

I think that’s what we have in today’s Epistle lesson from Hebrews. Good news and bad news – encouragement and warning, some things we have control over, some things we don’t. So, let’s dig in, OK?

In Hebrews 4:12 we read: “Indeed, the word of God is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword.…” Oh dear. The word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword. What does that mean? I always thought the ‘word of God’ here referred to the Bible. But scholars say actually it’s more than that…it’s not just Scripture though that’s one way we hear God speaking. And it’s not exactly like John 1:1 where Jesus is the eternal Word.

The word of God here in essence means God’s voice, God’s presence, really God’s very self. It’s depicted as sharper than a double-bladed knife because it cuts through more than our physical body. It pierces our very soul. The word of God cuts us open and exposes everything inside. It lays bare the naked truth about who we really are. Hebrews tells us nothing is hidden from God – nothing. Think about that. Nothing is hidden from God.

Does that make you tremble? More precisely does it make you tremble with fear? Or tremble with relief? Because we all have our secrets, don’t we?  We all have parts of our lives that we keep hidden, especially in church, where we’re on our ‘best’ behavior. Some of these secrets are too painful to share, others too embarrassing to admit. And we’re afraid, aren’t we? I know I am. I’m afraid of being judged and condemned.

But, declares Hebrews, if we care so much what others will say, how much more should we care what almighty God says! Because whatever judgment or condemnation society renders, fair or unfair, God’s verdict is far more important.  So, whether we choose to listen now or never to the word of God, one day we’ll have to give an account – a full account of our lives to the One who knows all and sees all, the One who knows us better than we know ourselves. Who can possibly stand up to such scrutiny? 

Well, frankly, we can’t on our own. But we can pray – pray we get the best public defender out there, pray we get the most sympathetic judge in town, pray we get one person – just one person on the jury who understands what we’ve gone through. 

Well, guess what? God has answered our prayers! Here’s how the Message Bible puts it:

^14-16 Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Take the mercy, accept the help.

Now that sounds like an offer we can’t refuse, doesn’t it? But surprisingly, or maybe not so much, some people hesitate. Why? Maybe they really don’t like asking for help. Maybe they think it’s no use. Maybe they’re scared the answer will be no. We can’t come boldly to the throne of grace unless we’re confident the answer is yes. 

Friends, be bold! For this is sure: In Jesus Christ, God says Yes over and over again. “My grace is sufficient for you,” 2 Corinthians 12:9. Or as we sang “Your grace is enough, your grace is enough, your grace is enough for me.” That’s God’s promise – now and forever. You can depend on it!

That said, however, these truths that must be learned again and again. Because, as we know, life is a continuous cycle of good news and bad news. What do we do then when the bad news overwhelms the good news? When the bad news seems relentless? In those moments, we may wonder, “Is God’s grace enough for me? Or did God just pass me by?” Oh, you may think, I’ll never reach that point!

Let me tell you about someone who did reach that point. Her name is Madison Pierce. She said growing up as a Christian, she never doubted the sufficiency of God’s grace. Then as an adult, she was hit with debilitating pain and illness that would not stop. At its worst, it felt like someone had duct taped weights to her limbs. Every step was excruciating. Some days she wept when she had to climb stairs in her house and go to bed.  

She vividly remembers a service in church where everyone was standing, arms lifted up, singing, yes, “Your grace is enough.” But she just couldn’t. She sat stone silent, alternating between rage and despair. 

Sure, Jesus suffered, she reasoned, but the worst was only for one week. Hers had lasted for 10 years…with no end in sight. Ironically, at the time, she was trying to finish her PhD in New Testament at Durham University – and her thesis topic: Divine speech in Hebrews! If she somehow managed to finish, she cried out, was it all in vain? How could she possibly reach her dream to be a seminary professor one day?

Pierce says in the end, it was her study of Hebrews and another friend with chronic illness that saved her. Yes, Jesus is our great high priest sitting in glory at the right hand of the Father. But he is also our Brother who must have experienced pain throughout his whole life. 

What do the Gospels tell us? He knew hunger, exhaustion, harassment, family conflict, grief, betrayal, abandonment, you name it. As the Son of God and the Son of Man, what pain did he not comprehend? 

Once she realized this, Pierce says it completely changed her outlook. Dragging herself up the stairs, forcing her legs forward inch by inch, she fixed her eyes on Jesus as Hebrews 12:2 urges us to do. But when she looked, Jesus wasn’t sitting comfortably at the top, waiting. Jesus was dragging himself up the stairs too. He was weary and in pain. And he was with her. 

She wrote: “This picture of solidarity transformed me. God was not asking me to endure anything that he had not endured himself. As I fixed my eyes on him, I realized that I could now see him more clearly, but he had never lost sight of me.” 

Madeline Pierce says she’s not sure if she has found the ‘right’ answer to the question of what God’s grace is sufficient for. But when those words hurt, she can say, “Your grace is sufficient for me because you are with me.”[1]

Friends, God has not passed us by. Take the mercy. Accept the help. Then pass it on!

Great is Your faithfulness, O God
You wrestle with the sinner's restless heart
You lead us by still waters and to mercy
And nothing can keep us apart

So remember Your people
Remember Your children
Remember Your promise, O God

Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough 

For me, for you, for everyone.

Amen