Time for a little grace

"Competence in a language is not a matter of applying rigid rules to the decoding of utterances."

Cal-Berkeley philosophy professor Donald Davidson (1917-2003)

Much can be made of a speech flub -- particularly at a public event. Seventeen years ago, I was master of ceremonies at a dinner honoring a retiring United Methodist bishop. The now-deceased prelate was, for me, a forbidding presence and rather tough-minded. Yes, I had butterflies. Making sure everything goes smoothly and adding a touch of entertainment are part and parcel of a master of ceremonies' responsibility.

Well, I made one unfortunate comment that evening; when I tried to be amusing, a solid and unforgiving wall suddenly appeared. The moment the words left my mouth, it was evident my humor had splattered on concrete. Afterward, in speaking to dinner guests, it seemed all they could remember was my faux pas.

Sometimes we just don't get it right.

Jimmy Carter, in a speech at the 1980 Democratic Convention, referred to a senator as Hubert Horatio ... Hornblower? The surname the former president was searching for was "Humphrey."

This past Tuesday, President Obama jumped in a bit early in reciting the oath of office. Apparently thrown off his cadence, the man administering the oath, Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, placed the adverb "faithfully" in the wrong place in the ritual, which caused Mr. Obama to stop speaking. Long story short, the 35-word oath -- which no doubt both men had practiced in privacy -- came out a bit mangled. Commentators were left a bit agog at how this could have happened. It appeared a few were a bit gleeful at the error.

Sometimes we just don't get it right. When that happens, it's time for a little grace. Next time, the flub, the faux pas, the mistake could be yours. My late father-in-law, an honorable man full of integrity, could get his words jumbled up at times. In those moments, he would say to the family, "You know what I'm trying to say." And, in truth, we did.

Grace is the single irreducible reality of the Christian faith. Grace is undeserved forgiveness. Grace is the gift of God made real by the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. His death, Christians accept by faith, gave an undeserving humanity an unfettered pass to a full relationship with God. If we are to be, as the seminal reformer Martin Luther put it, "little Christs," obliged to follow Jesus' example, we cannot help but extend that freely given grace to others.

So one more time for good measure: Sometimes we just don't get it right. When that happens, it's time for a little grace.

Jeff Long is pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. Married with two daughters, he is of Scots and Swedish descent, loves movies and is a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.