Abandon Yourself to Grace

A Reflection on the Second Reading for September 27th, 2020:
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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PHILIPPIANS
2:1-11
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So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

​Early in 2020, I prayed for God to give me a word that would guide my spiritual life for the year. The word I received was “GIVE”. I wrote it, with a blue marker, in capital letters, and stuck it on my bulletin board.
 
It’s still very much a work in progress, but God has shown me, through this word, how much more I can give when I surrender my fear about giving, especially when I feel like I have nothing left. And the complexity of what it means to give of myself has been revealed in situations where I did not expect it, nor would I have otherwise thought about it if my attention had not been drawn to this word: give.

I have discovered that on the occasions where I feel I do not have enough to give, it is most often because I am putting myself first. I can find myself, for example, more interested in trying to make black and white out of the gray by making judgments than in simply heeding the call to love. To give unconditionally is to withhold judgment, and this means emptying myself of pride and the desire for predictability and control. I'm tempted to want to know more than the other, to be right, to be prepared. These things help me to feel better about myself and help to take away both the fear of the unknown and of not being enough. Both are tremendous things to confront.

So, the Lord is telling me, this is what it looks like to count others better than myself in all circumstances, even when I disagree or desire control. God gave us Jesus not only to demonstrate the ultimate humility, but also to show us that we are safe in abandoning ourselves to the grace He offers; the grace we need.  He will never betray our vulnerability. 

Saint Paul calls us to community where our vulnerability is safe. May we all be blessed with the courage to hold one another higher than we hold ourselves.

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39




​Lindsay Elford

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