Pecan Pie and the Poinsettia: God’s Recipe of Grace
The anticipation of our first major snowstorm of 2025 seemed to go on for days. All the meteorologists in the area were projecting a huge storm with treacherous ice accumulations similar to the one that crippled Kansas City and millions of other towns on Jan. 4. Yes, we were all waiting for the big mess!
Well, I guess you might say that I “chickened out” and decided to play it safe by participating in online worship before the storm began that Sunday. It was Epiphany Sunday.
I listened to Pastor Jesse’s sermon based on John 1:10-18 which (in part) explains, “the world did not know him (and)…his own people did not accept him…The Word became flesh…and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
As part of his sermon, Pastor Jesse explained that he was recently offered a free pecan pie. FREE! How can free pie be bad? He was trying to resist temptation of the sugar and all that wonderful caloric “goodness,” so he declined that sinfully delicious free gift. (Talk about self-control!) The pie was offered with no strings attached. No strings whatsoever. Really? Wouldn’t we all be a little suspicious? Free? Really?
Then through sharing his auditory hallucinations, the pastor received another gift, one that was beautifully wrapped in shiny gold paper. The “mystery” voice (that we could all hear) explained there were no strings attached, no need to repay any favor, no need to buy it. The only need was to accept it and to receive it.
That’s how the grace of God works. God’s unmerited favor. We are bestowed by gifts all the time in this world, but sometimes we can’t see it. Or when we do see it, we reject it anyway, perhaps in a moment of unbelief.
Nah….God didn’t paint the beautiful sunset for me or have the birds sing their glorious songs…just for me… at this very moment. Did God really offer the gift of this life, and eternal life, to me, even after sacrificing His very own Son? Because He loves me? Really? Me?
We are given the gift of life here on earth, with a heartbeat and a breath and with blood that runs through our veins, complete with a Spirit that warms our heart yet longs for more. One that longs for the love of Father, the love of God through Jesus.
The God that gifts us hope and peace, joy and love…and beyond. Much more than our human brains can possibly imagine, yet God loves us anyway and always. His divine gift of Grace is cataloged through His Words as written, read and experienced through the Holy Bible. The holiest gift we could ever receive is Jesus who is one with our Father (John 10:38 and 14:11).
Later as I was logging off that website, another church worship service popped up on Facebook. It was Pastor Brittney preaching about the gift of the Magi and how they followed the star to finally find the baby Jesus. This trip took them 12 days to get to their destination in Bethlehem, hence the 12 days of Christmas or the period between the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the three wise men. This story is told in the gospel of Matthew 2: 1-12.
Pastor Brittney also shared her personal story when she struggled with thoughts of leaving the seminary until her professors asked the class to write a hymn on a subject chosen specifically for each student. Pastor Brittney’s topic was “epiphany”. It was when she wrote and read the lyrics of her personal hymn to her instructors, that she understood her calling, reigniting her desire to remain in seminary. Her heart was tenderly touched by the grace of God. (Did you notice how both sermons were connected today? There’s more!)
Epiphany comes from the Greek word, “epiphaneia” meaning “appearance” or “manifestation”, more specifically the appearance of God in this world, also referred to as “theophanies”. I have written about numerous theophanies for the past seven years, yet never published a single story. I have prayed about this many times. Knowing these must be shared, I have been given the recent gift of publishing these true stories as a new columnist in “The Times” for Hamilton and Montgomery counties.
But God provides gifts we can never imagine. I will also be reaching out to the clergy in these areas, encouraging them to share a bit about themselves, their favorite sermon or scripture, and about their current churches with the hope of reaching new audiences and growing God’s Kingdom, first in print, then later perhaps through podcasts. Did you know in 2021 (according to Google AI), only 29% of people reported ever reading the Bible and did not read it because they were bored or confused or didn’t know where to start? Some shy away due to earlier life experiences. It is clear to me that we all must try to do a better job of sharing the best gift ever given to us- God’s love—by sharing our own stories.
In closing, here is my recent shameful story about grace and epiphany. As I scantily decorated for Christmas this year, I thought about how my husband always bought me a poinsettia for Christmas. I thanked God in my prayers for that and I resolved to buy one for myself as a widow’s holiday treat, but never did.
Going about my daily life, I visited a friend in hospice just before Christmas. As I was leaving the facility, a gentleman resident near the exit door explained that the two flowers nearby were free for the taking. Free! Another visitor took one as she left, but I did not, thinking that a resident there might enjoy it (and who was I to take a free gift like that?).
As I drove home, I realized that I just passed up a gift from God in the form a beautiful free red poinsettia- my scornful epiphany. And by the grace of God, I will try to keep my eyes wide open to the gift of God’s love shared with us, especially since I’ve never eaten pecan pie! I wonder what store Pastor Jesse went to that gives away those free pies?
Bonnie Zickgraf is a retired pastor, author, columnist for The Times and an RN in mental health nursing and health plan accreditations. Send comments and prayer requests to [email protected].