Overwhelmed by Grace
- davidwperk
- Jun 28, 2024
- 5 min read
Devotional Reflection, Friday, June 28, 2024
Proper 7, the week of the fifth Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
20But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
You will find the full text of today’s epistle reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 973)
AM Psalm 102; PM Psalm 107:1-32
Num. 20:1-13; Rom. 5:12-21; Matt. 20:29-34
Today we celebrate the Feast of Irenaeus. (See below.)
David’s Reflections
Verse 20 of today’s reading says, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” How does God respond to evil? God overcomes, yes overwhelms evil with good. Obviously, God could respond in less creative ways, in ways that focus on judgment. But, as James 2:13 puts it, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”That response we see most clearly in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. In the coming of Jesus God responded to the dilemma of human evil and brokenness with abounding love and grace that overwhelms evil with good. Paul put it so well in Romans 2:4—“the kindness of God leads us to repentance.”
Today’s reading compares Jesus to Adam. Adam’s sin had introduced sin and death into human existence. But, much more fully, Jesus’ obedient life, sacrificial death, and resurrection have brought life and salvation to the world. Adam and Christ, for Paul, represent two aeons, two realms of existence. The aeon or realm of life apart from the experience of God’s love finds its symbolic representative in Adam. The aeon or realm of God’s kingly rule, the world of the Spirit, finds its representative in Christ.
How encouraging for you and for me that God responds to evil by pouring out saving love, that God answers evil with good. No matter how wounded or caught our lives may be, God will move toward us with the intent of delivering and transforming. It may take several repetitions of bearing the consequences of our actions before we answer the ringing phone of consequence. But, when we pick up that receiver, God still will be on the other end of the line. God won’t hang up.
Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. We can sing that refrain about God’s relationship with the entire creation. And, because love is more powerful than hate, evil, that good, we can be assured of the ultimate outcome in our lives and in the world. By faith we have become residents of the new aeon, the new humanity, the last Adam, God's kingly rule, the world of the Spirit. Darkness and evil have no answer for God’s light and Jesus’ kind of goodness. We can count on that in our daily journey; darkness and evil do not get the last word. Now that's something to shout alleluia about. Grace overwhelms evil. “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
Denise Levertov captures the experience of God’s overflowing grace in one of her poems, “The Avowal.”
As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them,
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.*
*Denise Levertov, Collected Poems. Ed. Paul A. Lacey & Ann Dewey. Intro., Eavan Boland. (New York: New Directions, 2013), p. 728.
Collect of the Day, Proper 7, the second Sunday after Pentecost
O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 230)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Irenaeus, bishop and theologian (died ca 202 CE)
Collect of the Feast of Irenaeus
Almighty God, who strengthened your servant Irenaeus to defend thy truth against every blast of vain doctrine: Keep us, we pray, steadfast in your true religion, that in constancy and peace we may walk in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A Collect for Quiet Confidence
O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 832)
A Prayer for Light
Grant us, Lord, the lamp of charity which never fails, that it may burn in us and shed its light on those around us, and that by its brightness we may have a vision of that holy City, where dwells the true and never-failing Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 110)
A Collect for Mission
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; by the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility the plan of salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 280, 515, 528, 540)
Daily Office Epistle, Romans 5:12-21
12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— 13sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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