Psalm 24 puts the question starkly: “Who can climb the mountain of the Lord; who can stand in his holy place?” And the Psalm offers an immediate answer: “The clean of hand and the pure of heart, who has not given his soul to useless things.”

But there’s a problem. Who can confidently claim to be clean of hand and pure of heart? Who can confidently assert that they have never given their souls to useless things? Of course, our efforts are important, but, as the saints point out, under our own power no one can climb the mountain of the Lord.

And that brings us to the lovely little word “grace.” In the Greek New Testament, the word we translate as grace is xaris (sometimes transliterated as “charis”), and its root is very interesting. Xar means, literally, to lean down towards, to lean into. Is there any better description of God’s continual attitude and action towards us?

God is not afraid of the messiness of life. God is not afraid of our sins and failures. God does not stand far off, but, whether we realize it or not, leans into this world he loves so much. Jesus Christ, we might say, is God-Leaning-Into-Our-Life.

What if Christianity is not a titanic effort to ascend the mountain of the Lord, but rather a trusting surrender and response to the God who leans into all our hopes and fears and sufferings and joys? And filled with his grace—which is another word for his constant loving presence—we know that the lives we live, with all their ups and downs, bear fruit that will last for all eternity (Jn 15:16). 

God bless you,

Fr. John Pietropaoli