I’m not sure when the phrase “economy of grace” first came into my consciousness[1], but it’s a helpful way of looking at things. The economy of grace is different than the one we are used to – our “economy of merit” – the “reward/punishment, tit-for-tat, pro rata, get what you deserve economy.” Well, actually…you don’t get what you deserve. The sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous. Grace is this generous way of life which can and should invade all our thoughts, transactions, ways of being and seeing. It is right here in front of us all the time anyway.

Grace is the element which holds together and enlivens the whole ecosystem around us. It is the thing which allows life to happen and sustains it. Any ecosystem or economy without grace is ugly, harsh, broken-down and lifeless and I don’t want to be a part of it. Probably none of us would survive anyway.

Nothing really works without grace: relationships and really the flow and functioning of anything within a system. Grace is the thing that allows molecules to bind together, cells to give and take whatever substances they exchange, and disparate parts of a system to work together. It is like the lubrication in the engine. It eases the friction! It is indispensable, and it is all around us. We just don’t know it is there until we start to take notice of it or wonder why something works. My friend said to me the other day, “do you ever think about how many things have to go right just for me to get from my house to work in the morning?” (He had seen some car accidents.) Grace: things don’t go perfectly and still things work okay.

I have come across a lot of people who are in need of grace (or I guess in need of perceiving the grace already present) – people who are broken down and believe their lives are a waste, who believe they are not worthy of love, who believe they have done something (or a series of things) so heinous, they cannot be accepted. I myself have organized my life to avoid exposure of the dirty, ugly, rotten, less-than parts of me. I believe if I were exposed, I would be disgraced, judged and rejected.

But in the economy of grace, things are different. All the wrongs are accepted, absorbed and incorporated into a working system. Everyone is accepted – no matter what they have done – no matter their sexuality, what they have done to their body, where they came from, their religion, their inner thoughts, urges, and violence. Grace is the thing that makes it all work, and keeps things moving toward some end.

I know some of you might say, “Yes, everyone is accepted, but don’t people need to do better and be different!?” Yes, but how do you think they will get there? Do you yourself change without first being accepted? Grace is also the thing we must employ when we need transformation. It takes a long time for people to change. They will not change overnight just because you forgive them once and they try to do better. It takes a lifetime (or maybe lifetimes) to change. How can you base your acceptance of someone on whether they can change or not in this lifetime? You yourself still go on doing the same things you always do. Grace will transform us – it just works on us slowly over time. It’s time to let it in to all the parts of us.

 

[1] Probably many of these thoughts come from Richard Rohr’s and Brennan Manning’s writings and teachings.