I’ve been thinking about grace all week. How is it defined? Mirriam-Webster favors the biblical definition:
1 a : unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification
b : a virtue coming from God
c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine assistance
Cambridge has this right up front:
Grace: noun
C1 [ U ] a quality of moving in a smooth, relaxed, and attractive way:
The Free Dictionary:
Grace:
(grās)
n.1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.3. A sense of fitness or propriety.
The swan as a symbol is often associated with light, grace, beauty, love, and purity. I don’t think the above official definitions quite capture what is going on in this picture.
In the Tarot the swan is associated with the 11th card of the Major Arcana, La Force, or the Strength card.
These swans hang out in this channel between two lakes all winter near where I live. The water typically stays open unless the forecast looks like this, which screenshot I downloaded just before I took this video:
I took the pictures and video on the way to church, which I go to about once or twice a year when my mother asks me to. As I was getting out of the vehicle to take the picture the singer on the radio kept repeating the word grace.
I took these pictures at church:
Christians like to believe Grace is a thing bestowed upon you by God, something you neither earned nor necessarily deserve. This pastor though, did get into the sense of peace that comes from having grace, which is an important point. These swans I think might disagree that Christians have a lock on the kind of grace that is also strength, the kind of grace that can sit on the ice at -15F all night long and then flap your wings in the morning sun at -10 like it is nothing. Grace is also a thing earned by strength of character, tempered by adversity.
Grace in all it’s meaning is perhaps the opposite of the culture and political war in America and the west generally. Grace is something the medical freedom/bodily autonomy/personal sovereignty movement could reflect on, as we fight the centralizing forces of the bio-medical security state, and the Transhuman, woke, postmodern destroyers of the values of the West.
Grace is something to reflect on too, if you are engaged in the Great Work, the search for the philosophers stone, the unification of science and faith in what Eliphas Levi calls “their fraternal confluence.”
Grace is a sense of peace in a world gone mad. Meditate on these swans, if you get to feeling like it is all too overwhelming (just a suggestion).
Great and timely post.
"Grace through Faith" has always been an enigma to me. Supposedly in the Gospels Jesus never used the word "Grace" though he did speak of "Peace" and "Faith" many, many times (one must take into account translations though).
"Faith" is a tough nut to crack. Faith was very important to Jesus. Is Faith belief in God? Or is it much deeper? My take on "Grace through Faith" is one must have true Faith to receive "Grace" from God.
Most people do not have true Faith. Hence most people do not have Grace. I know I don't have Grace (or do I?).
Yet I still question what is "Grace?." Is it Peace?" The Peace Jesus spoke of? Is it the calmness one should have trusting that God has our back regardless of what happens in our earthly life?
"Grace through Faith" is spoken about in many churches and people will nod their heads in agreement when a pastor/priest brings it up in sermons. I look at those head nodders and wonder if they have Grace. Then I wonder why can't I have it? It's a puzzle to me...
Women are graceful, men are plodding.
That is my swan song for the day.