Blog Post | Rob Bergman

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

We see these words a number of times throughout the New Testament, often times written at the beginning of a letter to a church, or community of people. I know for me, my eyes tend to jump down the page. It’s as if it’s a salutation – a formality or protocol before we can get into the good stuff.

The reality is, I don’t think that’s the case at all. These words are actually much more subversive than they are a salutation. The culture the early church lived in was one of enmity. It was full of violence and forced loyalty to the empire. Grace and peace were words that called Christians to a different way of living. They were words that called the followers of Jesus, in many ways, to live a life in stark contrast to the culture they were surrounded by.

But they weren’t just words for the individual, they were a declaration of a community. These New Testament letters would have been read out loud to a community of people who were followers of Jesus. It is likely that these words would have served as a way in which the early Christians would have greeted one another at times of worship. It’s as if they would have paused at some point during their gathering to look at one another and remind each other that life is lived differently as a Christian. Grace and Peace. This is the way, in this culture of hostility and animosity, that we embody the life Jesus has called us to live.

So what about us? Do you think we need some grace and peace in our world? What if we live these words out this Christmas? In a world full of hostility, anger, impatience, aggression and antagonism, what if we live the subversive life – the grace and peace life – a life filled full of kindness, patience, attentiveness, presence, and joy. And what if we live this life everywhere we go – at work, in our schools, at the grocery store, as we buy gifts, with our friends, with our family. Maybe grace and peace wouldn’t simply be a salutation, but a way of life that begins to change us and the world around us.