Receiving the Gift of Grace – Romans 5:1-8

One of the things that I tend to emphasize is the desire of God to be in a relationship with humanity and the created world. However messed up we may be or this world may be, God wants to be part of our lives and the life of this world until the time when our Lord shall return and bring to reality the vision of St. John the Divine who witnessed a new heaven and a new earth. Creating a new world is not something beyond the scope or ability of the one who created this world just as restoring us to life in that new world is not beyond the scope or ability of the one who gave us breath and life in this world.

From the pages of the Bible where history records the presence of God in the lives of people for generations, centuries, and millennia, it is clear that this God is not a disinterested bystander nor is this God one who wants to leave us to figure life out for ourselves.  This God is concerned with our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.  The Ten Commandments – although often interpreted narrowly as laws to be obeyed – are prefaced by God seeking for a relationship.  It is out of the covenant between God and the people that the commandments are given to direct the people to discover the respect, love, and honour that they are to have for God and for one another

The words of the prophets are words that echo the call of God to remember and renew the covenant – a recognition that each generation needs to not only acknowledge but commit to the covenant. That commitment binds the people and God together. Living according to the commandments is the people’s way of expressing their acceptance of God’s vision and direction. No one but the Creator could have a better idea of what this life is meant to be.

From the calling of Abram right through to the present day, we can trace the historical journey of those who have encountered God and trace the spiritual journey that led them to be the people of faith in their generation.  As each generation faced different circumstances in their lives and each generation suffered the realities of life,  the presence of this God whom they acknowledged as their Creator was with them.

The great hope of God has always been that people would accept instruction and guidance as a sign of God’s love and care, and that they would exercise  the freedom they had to be in covenant with God that they might experience the truth of what this life was meant to be not only for themselves but for the larger society of which they were a part and hopefully for all the peoples of the world.

But as I indicated last week, our freedom does not guarantee that we will always make the best choice. As much as we may strive to follow the commandments and to be the people of God, we will find ourselves falling short. And it was this shortfall that most troubled even those whose lives came closest to the vision of God. The great lament was that nothing could overcome the end to this life that came at death – a chasm, a shadowland that took away from God’s people that spark of life, that breath of the Spirit that had enlivened their bodies and minds.

When Jesus appeared, he sought to teach the people the heart that was behind the words of the commandments. He sought to help them understand the spirit that lay at the heart of God’s commands to them. But how were the people to feel the love of God, the peace that God sought to be in their lives? How could they feel the care of God? No sacrifice that they had ever made had brought them any lasting peace or hope or love.  What we could not do for ourselves, God would do for us. He would offer himself as a sacrifice that could bridge the gap between us. Our imperfections could be overcome by the perfection of the one who embodied love, hope and peace beyond anything we might ever imagine.

God would become more than their Creator and more than their Sustainer. He would be for them their Redeemer and their Saviour. They would not only be granted the presence of God in the time of this life, but the presence of God for a life beyond death.

In a few short verses Paul shares a truth that has uplifted and sustained people of the Christian faith for centuries.  Paul knew how much many people desired to put things right with God and with each other. He knew that many people wanted to be at peace and feel a wholeness in their body, mind, and spirit. No good deed or life of good deeds could ever bring that about, but God provided a way. We can be right with God and one another only by receiving the gift of faith – faith in the Word of God as revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus allowing the Spirit of God to strengthen our faith day by day.

And that gift is the gift of grace – a promise of forgiveness that brings peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  God offers this to us out of love.

Paul affirms that this gift of grace, this gift of forgiveness grants to us a peace that will attend us throughout this life and a hope that will sustain us throughout this life. We can trust in this peace and this hope because of the gift of God’s own Holy Spirit which constantly reminds us of God’s love and promise.

How are we to respond to this gift of grace? We are to do everything in our power to show our thankfulness by living the truth of the commandments to love God with our whole being, to show true love to neighbour and to show true filial love to one another.

AMEN