Grace, Cirque Performers and Me

This weekend my family and I went to see Cirque Du Soleil's Quidam. If you've never been to see a Cirque performance, let me say that they are simply the most creative and engaging shows you'll ever witness. This one was no exception.The moment in the show that captivated my attention was when two performers, whitish blond and completely devoid of body fat, took center stage.

Then, methodically and slowly, they engaged in feats of strength and balance that I can't even explain. At one point the female was in a headstand position balanced by her shoulders resting on his shoulder. No hands.

The strength was impressive, but more than that was the grace. 

They moved slowly, patiently, methodically and without stumbling. They did tremendous things and did them with the semblance of little or no effort.

The word grace kept coming to mind, and the phrase from Paul "by grace we are saved, through faith" kept coming to mind and it brought me to one specific idea.

The grace of God, to rescue all of humanity from darkness, is a powerful thing but it is applied in the lives of those who follow Him slowly and deliberately.

Grace is not a battering ram.

Grace is not a canon.

Grace is the slow and methodical application of God's strength that leads to the poetic motion of His people.

Walter Brueggemann's statement about preaching as "poetically articulating an alternative reality" makes sense here.

How are you exercising the power of grace today? In that conversation, in that business decision, in response to that temptation or that personal injury?

Trust me, those Cirque folks could have taken any number of highly masculine people I know. But they wouldn't have.

They saved their muscle for the graceful movements that are truly powerful and memorable.