Speaking of Spirit

Photo: (c) 2018 Rev. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas Walking along the shore a few weeks ago, I thought about how life can be like the ocean. We see what is on top, but rarely do we see what is going on underneath.  As we begin the third week of our journey into the many aspects of Grace, I recall the first time I realized that humans are capable of stepping out of a situation and looking at it from the outside, in.  I was young, and the situation involved adults who were talking in low voices, as adults do when they don't want children to hear.  Fifty odd years later, I can't tell you what was said, but I do remember seeing the situation in my mind as if I was, what they call in literature, an "omniscient observer." Later that day, I spoke to my mother, telling her why I thought my mother's friend was upset. I theorized that there was great sadness in her life and that she wasn't dealing with it well.  Of course, my mother was rather shocked to hear thi

  (c) 2014 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas Last week, we began a journey to unpack the multifaceted term, Grace.  In theology, Grace is the unmerited, freely given favor and love of the Divine. Grace is the Spirit of the Divine within us, strengthening us. Grace is a virtue divinely given.  In the secular realm, grace can be a form of beauty, a means to forgive or show mercy, a moral strength or a prayer before meals.  Multifaceted, Grace appears to be something to everybody. In unpacking the meaning, lets begin with one of the terms, "sufficient Grace," that comes from the Christian Bible -    (2 Corinthians 12:9) "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' " What does this term mean? What is Sufficient Grace?  Encyclopedia.com tells us that sufficient grace is: "a division of internal actual grace, sufficient grace is used in two senses: (1) grace that gives sufficient ability to perfor

Photo Credit (c) 2017 L.M.R. Neas Of late, I have been pondering a very old-fashioned concept - that of "grace."  Growing up in a parochial school neighborhood, the idea of grace was something discussed in school and referred to often during the day. I remember phrases like, "By the grace of God..." or "His only saving grace is..." and "But for the grace of God, go I!" Today, people don't seem to refer to grace in quite the same way. Why, I wonder?   Perhaps, the exodus from churches is one reason, or maybe the advancements of technology have caused people to put grace on the back burner. I have no answers for it. However, I do know with my entire being that grace is real, that we still have grace in our lives and that grace, like love, never dissipates.   This "knowing" has called me to write about Grace. (I am capitalizing it because I want the word to stand out in our minds.)  Grace is multifaceted.  There is the Gra