Grace: The Unseen gift of God in the Human Experience
Introduction
Human beings filled with the Gift, Grace. “The sun,
moon, star, air, water, space, trees, plants, flowers, fruits, grains, our
life, our friends, parents, relatives our culture, arts, music, literature,
science Christ, the Spirit, the Church the sacrament are all grace in the
life human experiences”[1]. It is all have given to us without our desire and
willingness. Human beings often did not realize these gifts from the ordinary
experience. Human beings are searching the grace in extra ordinary experience
in the world. Still human beings are
longing for grace to feel.
However, they could not realize the indwelling aspect
of grace in the human beings. They will not equip the knowledge to feel the
grace in us. Human beings often try to find the place where grace is situated.
He forgets the indwelling gift, grace in us. In the experience of friendship,
forgiving, and being forgiven, giving and receiving gifts, caring, sharing, and
to be building the community of love and serving, we find the grace placed in
us with acting and motivating spirit.
Having with this platform, I have to find out the
reason. Why the grace is unseen gift in the human experience? Firstly, I would
like to find the meaning of grace, nature, different forms and qualities.
Secondly, I would like to search who is source of the grace. Finally, how grace
is unseen gift in the human experience. In what way human beings have to see
grace, gift of God in the ordinary experience.
1. What is grace?
The
word Grace has many meanings. Grace is God’s gift, love, strength, freedom and
so on. We cannot give exact meaning about Grace. Many people have the idea that
grace is a thing. In the prayer, old people pray that Lord pour out your grace
into our hearts.
Grace is the source of God’s presence in our
life. Grace derives from “the Hebrew word hen, hesed, expressing God’s Concern
for the people, particularly the poor and needy. It is also emet, constancy in
love, rehamin, tenderness, tsedeq, justice, guaranteeing the right to life”[2].
Grace is the English word it drives from
the Latin ‘gratia’. Now Gratia had acquired many secondary meaning. The Latin
Vulgate used gratia to translate the Greek word ‘Charis’. The basic sense of
Christian Grace is that God first love us. Grace is not a common term used
everywhere. It has its own significance.
Grace is a Christian Term. “Grace signifies that God loves us
gratuitously”[3].
Heavenly father speaks to his children
through his activity in loving kindness. God’s Grace is nothing more than, God
himself at work in the world and among his human children. Now we see the
Nature, different forms, qualities of Grace in briefly.
1.1. Nature of Grace
The
entire world is moving by God’s Grace. God’s Grace is the source of energy to
move the world. God’s creation is the manifestation of Grace. Sun has the
nature to give energy to the creation. Water has the nature to provide the life
to the creation. Similarly, Grace has
the nature and it has two elements in it.
1.
Motion
2.
Actualizing
1.1.1. Motion
In
this world, many creatures have the notion of motion. Every creature has a new
life. Grace gives new energy to every creature. When there is a new life in a
thing, it has a motion. That motion gave an action in the things. Grace never
stopped the motion. It creates the motion always. God created the creatures
with the source of action. Grace makes the creatures to act tremendously. Human
beings and any other creatures have the source of action to perform well. The
origin of action is the super natural source of God. The church teaches that
the source of action elements given by super natural. The source of action performs in a good
manner. The Grace permanently gave the motion to think positively.
1.1.2. Actualizing
Grace
motivates the human beings to actualize the love of God. “God Love’s and that
is Grace”[4].
We know all what is God’s love. God’s love is the source of Good works. God’s
love is different from general love. God’s love motivates human beings and
creatures. Human beings realize the sharing of God’s grace in the form of love.
When a human being does not have change in interior, the God’s love is unreal.
It shows no difference between being in the state of Grace or not being in it.
God specially loves a being that He makes his own. Grace gives the recall
tastes of actualize God’s love.
1.2. Different Forms of Grace
Grace
has different forms in nature. It helps human beings to realize the real
grace. There are many different forms of
grace but here we see two kinds of it.
1.2.1. Habitual and Actual Grace
The
Word Habitual is derived from the Latin word. It means, to have or to posses. Habitual
Grace is a human action. Habitual grace is God’s continuing. Grace thus defined
is often somewhat technically called Habitual Grace: that means that is as say
Pius XI in his Encyclical Casti Connubii
“ a Permanent and lasting principle of
supernatural life. More precisely, if a quality or properly which we posses
within us, which is established in us by God in order to remain in us, the
effect of which in our supernatural life, that is the life of God thus
possessed by us as a habit”[5].
It means one has or one posses the grace.
Actual
Grace is God’s acting with gracing concern for his children Actual grace is
super natural principle of acting. Actual grace had the divine act. Actual
Grace does not make us holy, but it makes us act is a holy manner, in
confronting without interior holiness. God had the unlimited goodness. Due to
sin, Human beings lost the natural goodness. Grace restores the goodness and
communicates to hear that of divine goodness.
1.2.2. Sufficient and Efficacious Grace
God
always gives sufficient grace to keep his commandments. Sufficient graces do
not deliver us to once from committing sin. Nevertheless, supply least help we
need to dispose ourselves. God deals with us as we are. The notion of
sufficient grace acquires a more dynamic meaning. Man always retains the
possibility of rejecting grace.
No
Pope, no council has ever defined efficacious grace to be an article of faith.
Dogmatically, efficacious grace can mean only one thing: whenever a man
performs a good action, acceptable in the eyes of God, he owes it in the last
analysis to God.
1.3. Qualities of Grace
1.3.1. Grace Sanctifies
Sanctifying
grace infused in us by baptism. It is the fundamental orientation for our
human. All the sacraments strengthen the human. In life of Israel God’s grace
was with them. Through Sanctification, grace promotes divine nature, prefect,
infinite goodness, flawless beauty in the human experiences. It leads human
beings in realize from state of injustice to justice.
1.3.2. Grace Liberates
God’s
grace liberated Israelites from the slavery. Through prophets, judges, kings,
God’s grace liberated the people from slavery and exile. In Luke 4: 18 Jesus
proclaimed his mission manifesto. The Main element of his manifesto was
Liberation. God’s grace acted in Jesus. He liberated the oppressed,
marginalized and depressed by God’s grace. Grace has the essence of liberation
in itself. In the life of human beings, grace liberated the human beings from
the oppression. Grace gives the liberating spirit to every human being to do
good for others. Christ has set us free to remain in freedom.
1.3.3. Grace enables
God’s grace is an active. Grace is at work
always and everywhere. Action of grace has been seen in all human experience.
“God’s grace comes in as an enabling empowering, strengthening and invigorating
energy”[6].
Human beings are lack of will to carry the good intention with them. By our
weakness, human beings often fail. Human beings need emerging force, grace that
will enable us. Only by the God’s grace,
we received vital strength and moved forward to achieve our goal.
In
the time of Israel’s slavery people were scattered by the name of small
group. They needed energy to enabling
them to fight for their liberation. God’s grace enabled them and fight for
their freedom from Egypt’s slavery. When people were sinned against the
covenant, but God enabled the through Moses and Aaron. In the exilic period,
Israel’s were worried and scattered. God enabled them and liberated them
through Persian King. God enabled them unconditionally, and gave energy to free
from their sufferings. In the time Jesus, Jews were neglecting gentiles,
sinners, tax collectors, women and children. Jesus was moved by God’s grace and
had compassionate on them. Jesus enabled them to liberate from their suppressions.
We can see the qualities of grace in every
day- to- day life experience of human beings.
2. Christ is the source of Grace
Grace is the gift of God, which
acted through in Jesus. In what way Grace is act through Jesus. God’s grace in
Jesus is emphasized redeeming, justifying, enriching, enabling and sanctifying.
God
had chosen Mary as the Mother of Jesus. God’s grace dwelled in Mary, Mother of
Jesus. Grace led her to accept the will of God. Mary accepted the will and
obeyed God’s command. Mary brought up Jesus in God’s Grace. When Jesus was in
the temple with the elders, Jesus filled with God’s grace. Grace gave the
boldness to argue with the elders. In the Baptism of Jesus, Grace was poured
upon him to do his father will. Grace guided Jesus to do his ministry. God’s grace strengthened Jesus in time of sufferings
and tribulation. “Grace is not something separate from God. It is God’s own
working and hence his real presence. The real presence of God worked in the
life and ministry of Jesus”[7].
God‘s grace enriched Jesus in and
through the life. God’s grace is very active and dynamic in the life of Jesus.
Jesus has the divine and human character to realize the grace. Grace revealed
through the character of divine and the character of human in the action of
Jesus. God had acted in Love. We often realized ‘God is Love’ (Jn 4: 16). God
loved us and sent his only son. God’s amazing grace declared to us through his
son, Jesus. “God has taken risks in acting in Jesus to accomplish through him
the salvation of the children of his love”[8].
Jesus healed the sick, liberated the prisoners, consoled the departed, and
forgave the sinners only through God’s grace.
God’s grace is indwelled in Jesus to unite us in the love of God. “The
redemption of the world by our lord Jesus is the mean of grace and hope of
glory”[9].
Human
beings inherited nature resources. Sometimes human beings mishandled the
resources. The human beings lost their responsibility to develop the resources.
By their sinfulness, narrow-minded, they did not realize the need of grace.
“Man has the grace, God is its cause”[10].
Grace is the origin of our divine life. The source of divine life is in God,
just as the source of human life is in human beings. God is the source of both
divine and human life. God gave his grace to the human being. Divine and human
is indwelling and acting in us. St. James said in his letter, God resist the proud
and give grace to humble. God is the original source of grace. A creature may
act in the basis of God’s grace, which has the new way of life in it.
The
infusion of grace performed and transformed the human being. God’s grace makes
use of his created being to act in a proper way. The created being does not act
on its own and by its own power. God used the created being to produce the
effect of Grace. It elevates the powerful action in the work. God used the holy
humanist of Christ in the production of grace. Christ performed the grace
through miracles. It was the first works of God’s grace acted in Jesus. Christ
served as the instrument of divine grace, which dwelled in him.
“By the means of the sacramental rites Church exercises
her power of sanctifying human and communicating grace to them. In the
sacraments, the Church performed grace in the baptismal rite, the grace of
pardon in the penitential rite, the grace of spiritual nourishment in the
Eucharistic rite”[11]
.
Grace
is the sign of divine action in him and because His action is a divine thing.
In order to experience grace it would be necessary to experience God directly. Each human being receives grace according to
measure of his preparation. God is the Original author of this preparation
itself. God is the prime cause of all the success of grace but the creatures
alone is responsible for its failure.
3. Grace in Human experience
God’s
grace not only acts in the natural creatures but also acts in our human
experience. God’s grace helped human beings to build up the community. How does
God’s grace act in our human experience? God adapts himself to the human
situation. God had the interest to make Him known to human beings. Grace helped
the human beings to know God according to their situation. In the wider sense,
God works to sustain and develop the human beings. God’s grace puts human beings
in a situation in which they can promote just and maturity of growth. God’s grace
provides freedom to do good things. A loving mother does not allow her children
to do whatever children like. A mother has the right to prevent her children
from wrong doings. Similarly, God’s grace acts in the life of human beings.
Grace
is shown in our relationship with friends and neighbours. Human beings simply
take this relation for granted. Relationships with friends and neighbours
promote new life. Every human being is relational being. Human beings do not
depend only in time of need but also in times of wish and of their need for
companionship. The friends and neighbour make our life will be happy and
enriching by their valuable presence. These relationships had shown the God’s
grace through friends and neighbours in the all-happiest and sorrowful
situation.
In
the family life, Grace acts in the term ‘intimacy’. Grace moves the husband,
wife and children to feel the deep satisfactions and abiding happiness through
the life of intimacy. God’s grace acts in the situation and structure of human
being. “Any association of men and women who have shared intimacy can serve as
a means of grace”[12].
Grace
strengthens the human beings to fight for justice, liberation, equality and
basic rights. In kundankulam people are fighting for their livelihood. Grace
strengthens them to fight for their livelihood. God’s grace acts through the
human beings to promote equality, justice, and liberation. Human beings take
God’s grace for granted. By proud boasting or arrogant, human beings, never see
the grace in human experience. This tendency leads us to the mind of selfish,
egocentric and more individualistic. It never sees the need of others. It
focuses only on our own self-achievements. When we are egocentric, we never
find a place for any graceful act in us. We often narrow our mind in the
boundaries of religious circle to explain the means of grace. When an unwanted thing happens in the
society, the grace will generate the human beings to act against the evil. It
gives strength to change unpleasant situation.
Grace
is always unseen element in the life of human beings. When human beings are
away from the character of ego centric, they will taste, feel the grace in
their own life experience. God’s grace is indwelling in us. By our ego, we
diminish the element of grace in us. Grace is the gift of God. To receive gift we
have to open, reverent, teachable and dedicated people. Those are receptive are
able to be en-graced by God. It is the necessary to disciple to accept the
God’s gift. God’s grace is not a cheap thing, but it demands us to achieve more
in the life. The divine grace is inescapable. It works upon us, with us, and in
us.
First,
we must be open people. Openness to others, open to new ideas, open to new
opportunities, and open to the working of God in our lives. However, we are
just opposite to the grace. We closed ourselves to any new ideas. They are
unable to see that God’s grace is acting in us.
Grace not only acts in the religion but also acts in the human
experience. Grace promotes justice, liberation, rights and so on. More over our
Christians are holding the grace within the Church. They never have the mind to
see the grace as the gift of God in the human experience. They never open themselves to feel the grace,
which is acting in the ordinary human experience.
Secondly,
we need to promote the equality. Grace teaches us how to promote the equality.
Our church is hierarchical structure. In what way God’s grace acts in the Church
promote equality. In any organization, we need structure to sustain the
institutions. Hierarchical Church works for the equality of the people.
Christians slowly imbibe the structural qualities within themselves. Therefore, the grace is unseen to them. They
are not willing to allow the grace to promote the equality. Grace enkindles the
human being to promote the equality. Our church has the duty to create the
platform to realize the God’s grace through love, equality, forgiveness in the
life of human beings.
Finally, To commit oneself for
others is not an easy thing to put it into practice. Every human being has the
character to serve for others. Grace
encourages the human beings to develop the character to serve for others.
However, humans are not willing to accept the encouragement rather they
neglects the opportunity of grace. Human beings neglect the encouragement. It
shows that, they decrease the action of grace in human beings. Now human beings are closed beings. They are
not ready to share their happiness, sorrows to others. Human beings draw
boundaries and he adapts to live within the boundaries. They never like extend
the boundaries to include others to enjoy the God’s gift, grace. The society
encourages these kind exclusions of others in the life. When Human beings
persuade exclusions, the grace will unseen gift to forever and ever.
Conclusion
In
day- to- day life grace is the unseen gift in human life. Grace may be ‘lived
out’. God’s grace is always available to us, if only we will turn to them. We
must open ourselves to its energizing power and let it work through us. Grace
permits his strength to enter into us, to invigorate us, to stimulate us, to
strengthen and empower us. God’s grace is all around us. God has given us the
tools (love, forgiveness, equality, and service) to see the grace in the
experience of human beings. Every human being is unique in nature. Grace
enables, motivates, liberates us to see the God’s gift and love in the ordinary
experience. Human beings have to allow the grace to act in us willingly. Grace
is indwelling in us. Human beings must have responsibility to see the grace in
our own action.
Bibliography
Books
1. Daujat,
Jean. The Theology of Grace.
Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 1959.
2. Fransen,
Peter . The New Life of Grace. New
York: The Seabury Press, 1969.
3. Nicolas.
The Mystery of God’s Grace. London:
Bloomsbury Publishing, 1960.
4. Pittenger,
Norman. Abounding Grace. Oxford: A.R.
Mowbray, 1981.
Articles
5. Devejian,
Paula. “God, in your Grace, Transform our Societies.” Ecumenical Review 58/1 (2006), 144 - 152.
6. Mattam,
John. “Theology of Grace.” Theology
Digest 51/2 (2004), 133 – 140.
7. Mattam,
John. “Towards a Relevant theology of Grace: The Divine in the Human.” Indian Theological Studies XLV/1 (2008),
9 – 29.
8. Tetto,
Frei. “Grace is the Midst of Dis- grace: Unexpected gifts.” Concilium (2004/4), 98 – 105.
[1]
John Mattam, “A Theology of
Grace,” Theology Digest 51/2 (2004),
133.
[2]
Frei Tetto, “Grace is the
Midst of Dis – Grace: Unexpected Gift,” Concilium
(2004/4), 98.
[3]
Peter Fransen, The New life of Grace (New York: The
Seabury Press, 1969), 22.
[4]
Nicolas, The Mystery of God’s Grace (London:
Bloomsbury Publishing, 1960), 30.
[5]
Jean Daujat, The Theology of Grace (Minnesota: The
Liturgical Press, 1959), 63.
[6]
Norman Pittenger, Abounding Grace (Oxford: A.R. Mowbray,
1981), 64.
[7]
Norman Pittenger, Abounding Grace, 43.
[8]
Norman Pittenger, Abounding Grace, 47.
[9]
Norman Pittenger, Abounding Grace, 48.
[10]
Nicolas, The Mystery of God’s Grace, 63.
[11]
Nicolas, The Mystery of God’s Grace, 71.
[12]
Norman Pittenger, Abounding Grace, 26.
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