Undifferentiated Grace

Dear People of God: The image attached speaks to me of undifferentiated grace. It was taken by my dear friend Judith on the occasion of Gracie's (!) baptism at Christ Church Episcopal. It speaks of grace and love and beauty!

One of the most memorable phrases I took away from seminary was the notion of "undifferentiated grace" which was gently presented by Stephen Burns. Undifferentiated points to the unlikely and often unfathomable quality of God's grace poured into the world. We spend so much time parsing and dividing and ranking that it is hard to grasp this characteristic. But when you do, or when you come close, I imagine things like absolute freedom come to mind, boundless generosity, unconditional love, complete justice, and unqualified mercy. Undifferentiated means boundless, unrestricted, and full. 

I think of a river with no diversions or dams.

I think of an ocean with no end, accessible to all.

I think of floating in that river or that ocean. 

And I think of every single other creature floating with me. We are different and diverse. Grace is not. 

I don't really have much more to say this morning. I think I will simply gaze at the undifferentiated light, albeit beautifully refracted, and imagine that holy water being poured out on all of us...every single one of us! Grace upon grace upon grace. No differentiation. None. No separation from God. Wholly holy.