Grits and the Gospel - June 21, 2026

Hello friends and welcome to this week's episode of grits in the gospel. My name is Reverend Katie Griffiths It's good to be with you today on this fourth Sunday after Pentecost also on Father's Day It is a good day. I hope that You are Celebrating the men in your life Not just the fathers Today I thought I would read to begin with the gathering by Wendell Berry At my age my father held me on his arm like a hooded bird and His father held him. So Now I grow into brotherhood with my father as he with his has grown Time teaching me his thoughts on my own now he speaks in me as when I knew him first as His father spoke and him when he had come to thirst for the life Of a young son my son Will know me in himself when his son Sits hooded on his arm and I have grown to be brother to all My father's memory speaking to knowledge finally in my bones This idea of fatherhood is beautiful and It is personal for Barry, but I think it speaks to so many who helped carry the children in their lives Who give them a safe place to perch? Those men who see the vulnerable baby birds of the world and give them an arm to rest on those fathers and grandfathers those uncles and gunkles Stepfathers and family friends neighbors and teachers Those good men who seek to protect and nurture the children of this world not just their own But all who they have in their orbit Not just today, but anytime we see good men doing good things we celebrate you We thank you for being good role models and safe places We honor the men in our lives who are all good father figures Who seek to live a life that Jesus modeled for us all? Who lift up the ones who need a hand? Who give an arm to sit on? When we need a place to rest Today's epistle lesson comes from Acts chapter 2 verses 37 through 42 Here now the word of the Lord Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other Apostles brothers What should we do and Peter said to them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ So that your sins may be forgiven and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit For the promise is for you for your children and for all who are far away everyone Whom the Lord your God calls to him and he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them saying Save yourselves from this corrupt generation So those who welcomed his message were baptized and that day about three thousand persons were added They devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers The word of God for us the people of God Thanks be to God As we look at the words of John Wesley, we look even further back To the basic ideals and tenets of our faith Friends what do we believe I believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ is only Son our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the Virgin Mary Suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried the third day. He rose from the dead He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty From this he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit the Holy Catholic Church the communion of Saints the forgiveness of sins and resurrection of the body and the life everlasting I'm in Let us pray dear Lord. We come to you today just humbled by your power and might Thankful for your grace that covers us all Accepting of your love and all of the sacrifices of your son Help us find those means of grace those ways that you are revealing yourself to us as we go throughout our days Hear us now as we pray those words that your son our Savior taught us to pray our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever I'm in Today's gospel lesson comes from the gospel according to Matthew. We're in the 7th chapter verses 7 through 12 here now the word of the Lord Ask and it will be given to you search and you will find the word of the Lord You will find it knock and the door will be open for you For everyone who asks receives and everyone who searches finds and for everyone who knocks the door will be opened Is there anyone among you who if your child asks for bread would give a stone Or if your child asks for fish would give a snake If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children How much more will your father in heaven give good things to those who ask? And everything you do to others as you would have them do to you For this is the law and the prophets The word of god for us the people of god Thanks be to god Would you pray with me to lord? Open our ears open our hearts open our thoughts to you As we study these means of grace Help us to build that relationship that you so long for us to have with you Help us to see your grace In everything we do Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. Oh lord Our strength and our redeemer amen I love a good children's book It can be nostalgic and thought-provoking You can read the simplicity of the ideas to a child and it means one thing and you can read The same book as an adult and the book can bring on a whole new meaning I found that to be true with books like the velveteen rabbit and a book I've done several sermons on the boy the mole the fox and the horse Inspiration comes from all different places I found that to be true of a new book by jonathan stutzman author of all those llama books His book the mouse who carried a house on his back Is not only a cute story, but it is has deep theological ideas Vincent the mouse carries his house around with him He goes where he is needed and his house provides shelter and food And comfort for anyone he encounters Even though his house looks small it's big enough for anyone who needs a place to rest even the big bad bear That animal that all of the others were afraid of because he looked big and scary Even though he was just a big old teddy bear Vincent made room at his table and in his home for everyone no matter what And because he carried his house with him he was able to go where he was needed Sometimes the simple way to look at an idea is the best We see that in wesley's sermon the means of grace In the first part of his sermon wesley outlines what the means of grace are he says this By means of grace I understand outward signs Words or actions ordained of god And appointed for this end To be ordinary channels Whereby he might convey to men Preventing justifying or sanctifying grace By these means of grace wesley says god teaches us That a sacrament is an outward sign of inward grace And a means whereby we receive the same The chief of these means are prayer whether in secret or with the great congregation searching the scriptures which implies reading hearing and meditating there on And receiving the lord's supper Eating bread and drinking wine and remembrance of him And these we believe to be ordained of god as the ordinary channels Of conveying his grace To the souls of men Throughout the sermon he refers to these actions of god's grace and warns against people who try To abuse the ordinances He uses the word stupid several times referring to people who don't believe him or think otherwise He outlines why each one of these means is scriptural and important He gives all who go through the united methodist ordination a quote or two for our paperwork in particular That the sacraments are an outward sign of inward grace He can be a little pointed and harsh in his delivery But it is at the end where he gives some real life examples of how god can use these means of grace To bring a sinner to salvation He tells the story of a stupid senseless wretch Going about his life not thinking about god at all When god uses a conversation or a situation or the spirit strikes him to start to turn from his sinful ways And because god's grace is there and god has now planted the seed this sinner begins to find a preacher Who speaks from the heart? He begins to search scripture and read commentaries or other books Then the sinner starts to understand the idea of prayer and begins talking to god in prayer The sinner has doubts and setbacks, but he keeps seeking and finding and asking Until he finds faith and peace A big part of the process that wesley describes Are those people god uses along the way to help the sinner work through his doubts and setbacks The conversations the sermons the gathering at the table together are ways that god uses others and the sinner To show himself and bring the grace that is available To all of us to life This simple story may not be the best plot of a children's book But it very much parallels the story of the mouse in his house The idea that we carry the grace of god with us everywhere Like the mouse carries his house That the grace that we carry is big enough for everyone The grace of god is for everyone even the ones that seem different and scary The table the scripture and prayer just like grace are available to anyone who earnestly seeks it wesley In each of his sermons has a central scripture for this sermon and for several others. He uses malachi 3 7 He says ye are gone away from mine ordinances and have not kept them The difference in this sermon and many others is they never actually refers to that scripture in the text of his sermon If I was his editor, I would tell him to use the axe text specifically axe 242 That says they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship to the breaking of bread and to the prayers Which outlines very specifically his means of grace Or the matthew text that he quotes ask and it will be given you search and you will find knock And the door will be open for you for everyone who asks receives and everyone who searches finds And for everyone who knocks the door will be open That shows how we should use these means to find god in all we do seeking and searching and asking In his story of the stupid sinner That's how he finds god by seeking And asking The means of grace are the basic ideals that help us to form the westland theology that we as united methodists hold dear I don't just believe these things because I need to quote them in my paperwork I believe them because I am sure that god wants us to be in relationship with him and to do that To live into the grace. We are so freely given we need to pray We need to read and study and hear scripture and we need to come together at the table to receive the body and blood of christ Some of the most sacred times I experience in my own faith happens when happen when we come together When I hear the joy And the laughter of community happen before each service When I get to say the confession and pardon before each communion experience and you say to me That my sins are forgiven And when I get to look at each of you in the eye and give you a piece of bread and tell you that because Of the sacrifice of his body the son of god you are saved and grace covers you There is room for us all and then some in this house And in the house in the kingdom of god The mouse took the bear's large paw and his own There is always room here said vincent There was enough room for a tired bullfrog a hungry cat A family of wet hedgehogs a fox two badgers a herd of deer and even one big Not so scary bear far from home That night the animal slept in the house on the hill cozy and comfortable full of honeycomb and warm milk Under the sky That stretched for miles There is always room here Not only are we to seek out god's grace through these means of prayer searching scripture and coming together at the table But we are always to make sure that there is room for everyone to be there with us We have to carry god's grace with us wherever we go and to every place where grace and love and shelter and food are needed Where people are starving for god, but don't know what to do We are to love not for our own gratification, but because we were our we ourselves are loved Leslie closes his sermon in part with these words And using all means seek god alone In and through every outward thing look singly to the power of his spirit and the merits of his son Beware you do not stick in the work yourself if you do it is all lost labor Nothing short of god can satisfy your soul Therefore I him in all through all and above all If you focus on god If you carry your heart and your grace and your house on your back and look for places where god needs you to be Then god's love and mercy will overflow from you And his grace will be able to shine brightly and all who look inward to find it Even the big not so scary bears of us all Amen As you go throughout this week seek god in prayer Search the scriptures And find him at the table Because in life in death and life beyond death god is with us We are not alone Thanks be to god amen