Contemplation #106
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” Philemon 25

Paul’s benediction to Philemon invoked a prayer for the abiding presence of grace. To find that one’s spirit is accompanied constantly by grace, is for us to live in, to be nourished by, and to ultimately administer God’s merciful action. Grace is not what we receive at only specific moments such as in forgiveness or some blessing, though we do experience events of gracious outpouring, but we are to live in the company of grace. To live with grace is to live a new life from a divine source.

Contemplation #107
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” Philemon 25

The “grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” recalls to our minds the historical, on-the-earth, and in-specific-places stories of Jesus as found in the gospels. We could talk of the grace of God to the Israelites, or the grace poured out over the centuries of the church. Grace is not theoretical, but concrete as experienced by the people of God. Paul reminds us that the grace that accompanies us and shapes our lives is the same grace seen in the gospel stories. We live in the presence of the grace of Christ. Both that he enjoyed and that he gives.

Contemplation #108
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” Philemon 25

Grace with our spirits. The human spirit, which has been renewed and gifted to us by God, our spirits with which we commune with God’s Spirit . . . this is particularly where Paul speaks about us living in grace. When my spirit lives in grace, so does my mind, my will, my emotions, my actions, and every last part of my being. My spirit is the essence of life that God gives, and here grace accompanies and renews me.