Chapter by chapter 5

 5. Grace and Truth

 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 Emet and Hanan stepped outside into the midmorning sunlight. The air had already warmed up considerably, and the small intersection in front of their bakery was bustling with people buying and selling ingredients for their evening meals. Emet shielded his eyes from the brightness of the sun, pointed west to the far corner of a patio where no one had set up shop yet, and said, “Let’s head over to that clear spot, Hanan. I’d like to show you something.” The two picked their way through the crowd of morning shoppers, greeted a few fellow shopkeepers—those selling salt, flour, vegetables, cloth, and ceramics—and found their way to a well-worn stone patio. A small wooden bench sat on the outer edge of the square under the shade of a fig tree. Emet sat down and patted the seat next to him, inviting Hanan to sit as well. “A lot has happened in this space, Hanan,” Emet began. “Items have been bought and sold. Speeches have been given—along with debates about those speeches—and well . . . I suppose if stones could talk, these would have lots of stories to tell.” Hanan smiled and said, “I remember playing here as a kid.” “Yes, indeed, and so did your dad—and if I recall correctly, I believe I did, too!” Emet mused. “But that was a long time ago.” A pair of neighborhood children ran up to Emet and Hanan, presented them with a few wildflowers they’d just picked, giggled, and then ran off to play again. “But the most important thing that ever happened here”—Emet said as he admired the fresh flowers—“was hearing Uncle Andrew talk about what he’d learned during one of his trips with Jesus and the other disciples.” Emet paused. “Have you still got that handful of flour, Hanan?” “Right here, Grandpa.” “Good, sprinkle it on the ground there,” Emet instructed. Slightly confused, but remembering their talk about obedience, Hanan scattered the flour on the flat stones in front of them. “That’s perfect, Hanan. You’ve just sprinkled that flour with the finesse of the finest baker in town.” Hanan grinned even though he was still puzzled as to where this was all going. “Andrew sat right where you’re sitting now when he first explained to me what I’m about to tell you. And guess who taught it to him?” Hanan shrugged. “Jesus?” “Nope,” Emet replied. “But he learned it from someone very close to Jesus.” “Peter?” “Nope, not him either. Keep guessing.” Hanan thought for a moment, then remembered the disciple who was described as the one Jesus loved. “Was it John?” “Yep. John once explained to Andrew and the others that Jesus was always full of two things,” Emet said, and then paused for a second. “Or shall I say two ingredients—to put it in the language we bakers understand.” “Two ingredients, huh?” Hanan smiled. “I guess that makes Jesus similar to our bread, right, Grandpa? Just about everything we bake has two ingredients—flour and water.” “Other than an occasional pinch of salt and a splash of oil, yep, you’re right. Our bread recipe is pretty basic, Hanan—just a simple combination of flour and water.” Emet paused, then asked, “But what about Jesus? Which two ingredients do you think He’s full of?” “Hmm,” Hanan said thoughtfully. “What two ingredients is Jesus full of?” His eyes darted back and forth across the bustling market, his mind attempting to find the answer. He looked at his grandpa and quietly said, “Grace and Truth.” “Very good, my boy!” Emet exclaimed, a bit surprised. “How did you know that?” “I was thinking of the phrase our family uses to begin times of worship: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father—’” “‘—full of Grace and Truth.’” Emet finished the sentence with his grandson. “Grandpa, didn’t John put that in the scroll he sent out to the churches? The Good News According to John?” “That’s right, son.” Emet smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pinch of salt he’d put there on his way out of the bakery. While Hanan watched, Emet sprinkled the salt over the flour Hanan had just spread there—then mixed it slightly with his sandaled feet. “That looks about right,” he said, putting his hand on Hanan’s shoulder. “Now then, could you do something for me?” “Sure, Grandpa.” “Separate the salt granules from the flour.” Hanan looked at the scattered mixture of flour and salt—two ingredients about the same in color and size; separating them was a fairly impossible task. He gave a confused look at his grandpa, saying, “I’m not sure I can do that, Grandpa.” “I didn’t think so, and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t either! I just want you to see how inseparable Grace and Truth are in the life of Jesus.” He crossed his arms and peeked over at Hanan. “You see,” he clarified, “Jesus always spoke the Truth wrapped in Grace, and He always extended Grace couched in Truth. He never gave away one without the other.” Hanan nodded his understanding. Emet took his walking stick and drew a line—from left to right—through the middle of the mixture with an arrow on either side extending in opposite directions. “The problem is, Hanan, people generally think it’s one or the other.” “What do you mean?” “Well,” Emet paused to smile and wave to a few friends that passed by in the market, and then said, “when people get a little Yeast in their dough—” “When they get a little Yeast in their dough?” Hanan repeated. Emet chuckled, and then tapped himself on the forehead. “When their brains come under the influence of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod—” “Oh, I see,” Hanan said slowly, attempting to understand, but still not fully grasping Emet’s meaning. Emet tapped on the left side of the line. “When Yeast gets in their dough, they tend to see Jesus as either full of Grace”—and then tapping on the right side he said—“or they see Him as full of Truth. But they have difficulty seeing Jesus as full of both.” Thinking for a moment, he attempted to clarify. “I guess you could say that they see Jesus as being a bit of a dichotomy—do you know what that is?” “Hmm,” Hanan began, “I think you’re saying that the Yeast makes people see Grace and Truth as being opposed to each other. Like they’re not compatible or something? Is that what you mean?” Emet smiled with admiration at his grandson. “I think you just might be smarter than I was at your age.” “I won’t argue with that.” Hanan beamed. Chuckling and shaking his head, Emet continued. “But, you’re right, son. They see Grace and Truth as being diametrically opposed to one another—like two ends of a line extending in opposite directions that never meet.” “But, Grandpa, don’t the two ends of this line meet in the middle?” “Clever boy!” Emet said as he patted Hanan on the back and looked down at the line. “Yes, I guess you could say this line meets itself in the middle.” Emet tapped the center point of the line. “But if you’re in the middle, you’re not on one side or the other. You’re just in the—” “—middle,” Hanan caught on and finished the sentence with his grandfather. “And if you’re in the middle,” Emet continued, “then you’re not really full of Grace or Truth; you’re just a weak mixture of half-Truths and partial Grace, and that’s not what we know to be true of Jesus, is it?” “Right,” Hanan asserted. “Jesus was full of both.” “Yes,” Emet confirmed, “and it has to be both.” “It does?” “Absolutely,” Emet replied. “You see, Truth without Grace doesn’t set you free; it only makes you a slave. It becomes a hammer of destruction rather than the chisel of transformation God intended it to be.” “I see,” Hanan said. “And Grace without Truth?” “Grace without Truth enables when it should empower,” Emet stated. “It enables you to continue in your same life-destroying sins, offering no encouragement to break free and walk in the light of God’s Truth.” Hanan looked down and studied the mixture of flour and salt at their feet. “I think I’m beginning to understand what you’re saying.” Emet tapped on the left end of the line again. “You see, Jesus demonstrated to us the full measure of Grace”—Emet then tapped on the right end of the line—“and Jesus spoke to us the full expression of Truth.” “But how, Grandpa?” Hanan asked, trying to imagine walking in Truth and Grace simultaneously. “How was Jesus both extremes at once but still not in the—” “—in the middle?” Emet asked, finishing Hanan’s question as he stood. He used his foot to sweep away the mixture of flour and salt, erasing the image of the line. “Because Jesus doesn’t view them as being opposed to each other, Hanan. In Jesus, Grace and Truth are not only inseparable, they are also completely compatible.” Looking at where the mixture had been, he said, “Besides, Andrew showed me a much better way to draw this picture.” Hanan looked up at his grandfather and then down at the scattered mess of flour and salt, now spread across the stone patio, hardly distinguishable from the dust of the ground. “Well, aren’t you going to show me the picture, Grandpa?” “Indeed, I will! But. . . .” Emet sighed, looking up toward the sun, “I do believe that break time is over, and you’ve got more bread to bake. Let’s continue back at the bakery.”bread story when Jesus shared the most important bread lesson of all.”