#Grace

Press the play button to watch the video above or press 'more' to read the transcript of the daily devotion below. Please read 2 Thessalonians 3:14-18 (use your own Bible or use the link above to access the in-App Bible)

‘I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write.’ 2 Thessalonians 3:17

‘I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, with every Christmas card I write,’ goes the Christmas countdown classic. Today the countdown is over. Here we are. Christmas Day. May I wish you and yours a very Happy Christmas. As beautiful as our Advent Devotionals are, the printed word doesn’t quite have the same impact, as me writing personally to each one of you.

There’s something about the hand-written touch that makes all the difference. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Lancaster, Paul Swarbrick, impressed me mightily with his hand-writing. I emailed him a question about the Lancaster Martyrs, and he replied with a two-sided A4 letter. Hand-written. ‘Because I can put more of myself into it’.

If you’re a regular reader of the apostle Paul’s letters, you will notice that he often grabs the pen off his scribe at the end, to write a greeting in his own hand. And, more often than not, he adds a throwaway line which sums up his entire letter. As we come to the end of his letters to the church in Thessalonica, what is the sum up?

 ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you' (v. 18).

In these earliest of Paul’s letters, his most important hashtag is #Grace. Paul finishes as he starts (1 Thess. 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:2) with grace. When he was taken up to heaven, presumably at the start of his ministry, Paul heard Jesus say: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor. 12:9). A tiny baby, mothered by an unmarried teenager, born amongst the animals because there was no room at the inn… that’s God’s grace in weakness.

For some of us, today is a joy – unwrapping presents with excited children, singing carols with the angels. For some it may be more of a quiet surrender in the pain – family tensions, empty seat at the table. But whether you celebrate in joy or surrender in weakness – may you know His grace this Christmas Day. Amen

The Rt Revd Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster.