[vc_single_image image=”15773″ alignment=”center”][special_heading title=”Peace that passes understanding: sharing grace” subtitle=”by Reverend Layton E. Williams” separator=”yes”]Romans 2:1–11
Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God?
Reflection: In this season of peace, the Scriptures remind us of the dangers of judging others. “You mess up in the same way sometimes,” Romans tells us, “so do you just not want God’s mercy and kindness, or what? Don’t you realize that mercy is supposed to lead all of you to do better?”
I admit that in these days, I find it hard not to judge. I see the horrific things people do in the name of security, of self-righteousness, even in the name of my own God. I hear the awful words that people say to each other. More days than not, I have at least one moment when I want to give up on literally everyone. The idea that God offers grace, forgiveness, and even patience toward everyone has me feeling like Jonah when God spares the Ninevites. Or like the Pharisee who prayed, “Thank you, God, for not making me like them” (Luke 18:11). But then I have to remember: I am like them. I say and do awful things out of anger and fear too
This passage reminds me (and us) that God has her own ways of bringing about justice through a framework of grace, even if I don’t understand it. And it reminds us that we benefit from that grace too whenever we mess up. Knowing this, let us seek to reflect God’s grace for this world that’s so hungry for it.
Action: What do you catch yourself judging people for? In what ways do you also mess up even as you call out others? What is one way that you can embody grace in the world on this day? Resolve to do at least one act of grace and love each day.
Prayer: Holy God, help us to encounter the world through a framework of your grace. Help us to be humble in the ways we fall short and patient with others when they fall short. Empower us to seek your justice and follow your call to abundant love. Amen.
Reverend Layton E. Williams is an ordained PC(USA) teaching elder and writer, and currently serves a the audience engagement editor for Sojourners in Washington, DC. She earned her M.Div. from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Texas and previously served as pastoral resident at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago before entering the world of advocacy journalism. She writes primarily at the intersection of faith, justice, politics, and culture with a particular emphasis on sexuality and gender.
