Week One

Clutching at straws: Grace

What if, when all is said and done, that the last straw is grace…What if — when we’re so deep we can’t get deeper, when we’re so far-flung we can’t be flung further, when we’re so broken there’s no more broke to get — what if then, with all pretence and illusion gone, we find that the last straw that we are clutching is: grace. It’s the ancient love of the universe Father, Son and Holy Spirit saying: I know, I’ve got you, I understand, I will never leave you. And the voice is familiar. And it speaks from experience, from having weathered all the world throws at it. It’s a voice that’s qualified to know. It’s the last straw. It’s grace.

Seeds to sow: What does Jesus sound like do you think?

Read Isaiah 64: 1-9

The clay cries out to be remoulded!

What is your response to the metaphor? The Bible is full of metaphors and they don’t all speak to us all equally throughout our lives. Some pictures or analogies might fire your imagination, while others aren’t perhaps as relevant for where you are at this moment.

In pottery, tempering is when other materials are introduced to clay to help bind it and to reduce shrinkage and cracking. Historically certain plant fibres have been used as part of this process, working through the clay. Perhaps it’s fruitful to think of the Holy Spirit tempering us, working through the clay, strengthening us and binding us — using straws of grace to hold us together.

As we picture God as a potter, working the clay, what could be some of the ordinary but invaluable things that the Holy Spirit could be using to ‘temper’ us — to help us bind together and become more resilient? Perhaps particular acts of grace, compassion or generosity?

Read 1 Peter 1

As we go into Advent, preparing to celebrate Christmas in a world riven by inequality, uncertainty and conflict are we simply clutching at straws when we say that’s God’s transforming grace can make a difference?

How do we take hope? And where do you find hope or encouragement in this reading?

Read Luke 1: 26-38

As straw is our theme for Advent, we picture Mary illuminated by the angel’s light while small motes that normally she would have missed are illuminated — suspended in the air — as her life is suspended between two chapters. Mary catches a glimpse of a microscopic world of wonder as her life changes course, the contours redefined by grace. Read this beautiful poem Annunciation by Katy Emslie-Smith and discuss it as a group alongside the reading. What emotions does it conjure? How does it make you feel about Mary?