SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON JUNE 22^nd, 2008

Romans 5.16: "Much more has the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many."

Free Gift. Last week Fr. Ned talked about free gifts, and particularly what we find at the time of fathers' day: "buy one, get one free".

I get excited about free gifts. But, as many of you know, I'm even more excited and interested in frequent flyer miles. It's a bit of a joke around the parish that I know every restaurant in San Diego where you can get frequent flyer miles!

There are other tempting sales slogans: "free gift with every purchase". This is usually associated with women's cosmetics and men's fragrances. I'm sure that when I lived in Melbourne, Australia, every second person had an Aramis umbrella!

"Free gift with every purchase" or "Buy one, get one free" - it's all a bit the same. In today's Epistle, Saint Paul is talking about a free gift. But the purchase price was not something like men's fragrance. For this free gift was purchased through the Blood of Christ. The free gift that was purchased by Christ's Blood is, of course, salvation. The salvation which Christ won for us by his death on the Cross. Was there ever so rich a purchase as the Blood of Christ? Was there ever so great a gift as salvation?

I am tempted to expand about what Saint Paul is writing about in Romans 5, about salvation, justification - all those wonderful, if slightly difficult, theological words that we associate with the death of Christ on the Cross, and what it means for us. I just want to point out one thing: you will note that Saint Paul says that this free gift "abounded for many".

"Abounded" - from the word bountiful, and abundance. This is the same word that Jesus used in Saint John 10:10, where he says: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly".

So the free gift Jesus offers us is life abundantly, life in abundance, life to the full. That is what salvation means to us as day by day we try to life out our lives as followers of Jesus. It is a fairly simple transaction, a fairly simple offer. This free gift, leads to life to the full.

Yet when we look at today's Gospel, the free gift seems a little complicated. Today's Gospel is full of sayings of Our Lord, that at first sight seem rather difficult - even impossible to understand. Saint Paul's words about justification, the sin of Adam, and Jesus' reversal of that seems complicated enough - but what do we make of Jesus in saying: Nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" and: "Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father, who is in heaven" - and in between those two different statements: "Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul"?

We might say, what happened to the free gift? It seems a little complicated with a number of conditions attached. In fact is living the Christian life complicated and not so simple?

Of course there is a cost to the Gospel. Saint Paul makes it clear in Romans that the cost of this free gift is the death of Christ. Therefore this gift demands a response from those who wish to have it. If Christ died that we might gain salvation, we surely must reply and respond in lives that mean something. Lives in which there is a commitment, faithfulness, and discipleship.

For the truth is, a free gift is only a gift if it is taken and used. That is what being a disciple means: using the free gift. However the more we deal with today's Gospel, the harder is seems And, as always, we have to take what we hear today in context.

So let me remind you about the previous verses. There we hear about the calling of the twelve apostles. We heard their names, and Jesus' charge to them that they were to go out into the world and preach the Gospel. To do wonderful things for God and for his people. It was all rather lovely, and we get a nice feeling about it. But today, we see the other side of the coin - it's not going to be easy, there will be persecution and the devil will be hanging around. Jesus says: "Fear him who can destroy both body and soul".

Whenever I prepare adults for confirmation I always say at some stage before the confirmation, that the worst week they will face is immediately afterwards - because from the high of being confirmed and receiving that sacrament, the devil is just waiting to trap newly converted disciples of Jesus. He hates it when people turn to Christ. So the week after when we are on a spiritual high, is the week we need to be on our guard. So Jesus says: "Fear him who can destroy both body and soul".

So the response required to this free gift is commitment, faithfulness, and discipleship - but as you and I know so well, these three often seem so elusive. Because we are human we so easily slip up on our discipleship, our faithfulness, and our commitment.

So it is important this morning to hear once again that our salvation is firstly a free gift. It is also important to hear again that this free gift demands a response.

It is true that Gospel readings like today seem complicated or difficult. But sometimes that suits us! We like to think that the Bible is so difficult, so hard to understand, so illogical, that we often don't want to think too much about its meaning, or to find time for it, because it's too difficult.

For instance, think about the calling of the twelve apostles. Jesus told them take nothing much for their journey - not much food, not much money, not much clothing. Have we ever wondered how they were fed? Was there an altar guild at Capernaum to assist them and welcome them? Or did Manna suddenly fall down from heaven again to feed them on the way?

If for instance Peter said to Jesus as they went on their way: "How many loaves of bread will we need tomorrow?", we can probably imagine Jesus saying: "Take no thought for tomorrow - life is more than food and drink”!! That's what we might think. More likely Jesus would have said: "Go to subway and get six sandwiches.

You see in the reality of the Word made Flesh - even lunch is part of God's life with us.

Being a Christian is not about difficult theology or esoteric Bible stories. It’s all related to real life. In the context of lunch, God created the wheat, taught us how to make bread, and also, more significantly, taught us how to treat the baker.

Today in the heart of Jesus' strong and difficult teachings, we find in a simple image of two sparrows a profound statement that God loves and cares for us. Jesus says: "Even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows".

The fact that God loves you and me is at the heart of everything that Jesus Christ said, no matter how complicated it seems.

The fact that God loves us individually is, of course, at the heart of what Saint Paul writes so deeply about in Romans. Justification and redemption its all about God loving us.

That is why it is a free gift - because it comes from the heart of God, it comes from the love of God.

As Saint Paul said: "A free gift in the Grace of that one man, Jesus Christ".

That man who came that we may have life, and have it in abundance.