December 31

1 John 2:18-21; Psalm 96:1-2, 11-13; John 1:1-18

"From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace."  This fullness, this glory, is grace and truth.  And there's so much of it, such a fullness, that it spills over to us.  As we live in it, we fill up and have to spill over in turn.  Like the loaves and fishes, this grace just keeps expanding the more we receive.  We inevitably end up sharing it, out of the fullness.

This is so contrary to what our culture knows of scarcity and abundance!  We applaud those who share, but we don't really believe that they gain from it.  They give from their "fullness," meaning excess.  But Jesus' fullness is not like that, not like excess.  Jesus' fullness is always full, part of an endless flow of grace and truth.  He's not a storehouse so much as a channel.

When I first entered religious life I had no ideas about ministry or service.  I wanted to pray, I wanted to help others pray, but that was all I knew.  As I prayed, I filled up.  Day after day I sat with Jesus, and I gradually filled up with love and joy until I had to go share it.  That was powerful, but I still had the old idea of scarcity in me.  I insisted on enough prayer time, or the right prayer time, to "get my tanks filled."  I hoarded my silence.  I stored up treasure, to dole out when I chose.

I'm gradually learning that I don't have to work so hard.   I don’t have to hoard in order to have something to share.  God's grace is grace, freely given if I will open to receiving it.  My place is not to "work for it," but to receive it, grace upon grace.  And when I trust that, I can open the channel and let grace flow through me to others.  I’m not a silo anymore, but a channel.  

Where are you hoarding grace?  Where can you open your heart and mind today to receive this amazing gift?