By the grace of God
Sermon preached in St Salvator's Chapel, St Andrews on Sunday 7 February 2010 (Fifth Sunday after Epiphany) by The Revd Gareth J M Saunders, Assistant Information Architect/Web Manager.
Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Introduction
In two weeks time (that's the end of Week 2, Semester 2 for those who think in those terms) we will celebrate the first Sunday of Lent — that period in the Christian calendar that allows us the space to reflect on who we are before God, to confess our sins and turn back to Christ.
But before we get there we are encouraged to hear Saint Paul, in preparation, reminding us that before we even turn back to God, God has already said YES to us. This is something we can often forget. It is something that gets lost in our preoccupation with ourselves and our faults. God has already said YES to us.
"I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, ... Through which ... you are being saved... That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, And that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day."
(1 Corinthians 15)
The whole preparatory season of Lent is meant to be a focus to guide us back to the root of who we are: a people redeemed by Jesus, and made holy in Christ. Our identity as Christians, people in relationship with the living Jesus, necessarily arises out of the Christ event: that is, the birth, life, crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. We are Easter people: our new life in God is made possible because of the resurrection of the crucified Jesus.
We are Easter people because before we even asked, God has already said YES to us; before we asked God sent us his Son, to draw us back to Him.
The grace of God
And it's that line in 1 Coronthians that really stood out for me this week: "By the grace of God I am what I am." (1 Corinthians 15:10) By the grace of God I am what I am. The "grace of God": unmerited favour from God, God's outpouring of His love on humanity, expressed most perfectly in His sending of his Son Jesus.
In the Scottish Episcopal Church, in our communion liturgy the confession each week begins: "God is love and we are [God's] children, there is no room for fear in love, we love because [God] loved us first. We love, because God loved us first."
Our response then to God's initiative in journeying towards us in love and in Him giving Himself completely for us, is in turn to love God back, to return to God and offer God all that we are. By the grace of God I am what I am.
Return to God
It's not always the easiest thing to do to turn back to God; to give back control of our lives to God — we human beings do like to be in control.
And there is always the fear of how God might receive us: We might often think: how can God accept me? after all that I have done, the things I've thought the things I've said, the times when I've focused on myself and not on others or on God. How can God possibly accept me?
But God does — with open arms, a loving smile, and in complete acceptance. God has already said YES to us.
By the grace of God, God accepts us as we are, in all of our broken-ness, and God receives all that we bring to Him, as unworthy as that may seem to us.
God accepts us when we bring to Him who we are, and what we have, even though it may be damaged through our own selfishness and sinfulness; even though what we have to offer may be broken because of circumstances beyond our control.
But God is in the business of turning our failures, our brokenness, our deaths into new life. That is something of what it means to be a follower of the Risen Crucified Christ. And the good news is that God doesn't leave us where we are — in accepting us, and welcoming us back to Him, we are slowly changed into His likeness.
Parable
I want to illustrate this with a story — a parable, if you like — which for me gives us a glimpse of God's response to us when we bring ourselves, our gifts to Him.
The story is about a group of friends that one of my theology lecturers would often refer to in class. In Dr George Hall's theology class in the early 1990s, in fact, we dedicated almost half a term alone to studying these characters; because in their interactions they helped us get in touch with how we respond to God.
Many of you, no doubt, will have recognised immediately the story to which I am referring. It is, of course, the "Parable of Eeyore has a birthday". (This is where I need to be brave and do the voices.)
Eeyore has a birthday
And we pick up the story when Winnie-the-Pooh has discovered that it is Eeyore's birthday and everyone else has forgotten about it. So Pooh rushes home to get Eeyore a present and on the way he meets Piglet, standing outside his front door, and he explains to Piglet that it is Eeyore's birthday and he should give him a present too.
The first things Pooh did [when he got home] was to go to the cupboard to see if he had quite a small jar of honey left; and he had, so he took it down. "I'm giving this to Eeyore," he explained, "as a present. What are you going to give?"
"Couldn't I give it too?" said Piglet. "From both of us?"
"No," said Pooh. "That would not be a good plan."
"All right, then, I'll give him a balloon. I've got one left from my party. I'll go and get it now shall I?"
"That Piglet, is a very good idea. It is just what Eeyore wants to cheer him up. Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon."
So off Piglet trotted; and in the other direction went Pooh, with his jar of honey.
It was a warm day, and he had a long way to go. He hadn't gone more than half-way when a sort of funny feeling began to creep all over him. It began at the tip of his nose and trickled all through him and out at the soles of his feet. It was just as if somebody inside him were saying, "Now then, Pooh, time for a little something."... So he sat down and took the top off his jar of honey... and he began to eat.
"Now let me see," he thought, as he took his last lick of the inside of the jar, "where was I going? Ah, yes, Eeyore."
He got up slowly.
And then suddenly, he remembered. He had eaten Eeyore's birthday present!
"Bother!" said Pooh. "What shall I do? I must give him something."
For a little while he couldn't think of anything. Then he thought: "Well, it's a very nice pot, even if there're no honey in it, and if I washed it clean, and got somebody to write ‘A Happy Birthday' on it, Eeyore could keep things in it, which might be Useful."
So, as he was just passing the Hundred Acre Wood, he went inside to call on Owl, who lives there...
While all this was happening, Piglet had gone back to his own house to get Eeyore's balloon. He held it very tightly against himself, so that it shouldn't blow away, and he ran as fast as he could so as to get to Eeyore before Pooh did; for he thought that he would like to be the first one to give a present, just as if he had thought of it without being told by anybody.
And running along, and thinking how pleased Eeyore would be, he didn't look where he was going ... and suddenly he put his foot in a rabbit hole, and fell down flat on his face.
BANG!!!???***!!!
... [Piglet] got cautiously up and looked about him... "Well, that's funny," he thought. "I wonder what that bang was. I couldn't have made such a noise just falling down. And where's my balloon? And what's that small piece of damp rag doing?"
It was the balloon.
"Oh, dear!" said Piglet. "Oh, dear, oh, dearie, dearie, dear! Well it's too late now. I can't go back, and I haven't another balloon, and perhaps Eeyore doesn't like balloons so very much."
So, he trotted on, rather sadly now, and down he came to the side of the stream where Eeyore was, and called out to him.
"Good morning, Eeyore," shouted Piglet.
"Good morning, Little Piglet," said Eeyore. "If it is a good morning," he said. "Which I doubt," said he. "Not that it matters," he said.
"Many happy returns of the day," said Piglet, having now got closer....
"Meaning me?"
"Of course, Eeyore... and I've brought you a present.... I brought you a balloon."
"Balloon?" said Eeyore. "You did say balloon? One of those big coloured things you blow up? gaiety, song-and-dance, here we are and there we are?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid — I'm very sorry, Eeyore — but when I was running along to bring it to you, I fell down."
"Dear, dear, how unlucky! You ran too fast, I expect. You didn't hurt yourself, Little Piglet?"
"No, but I — I — oh, Eeyore, I burst the balloon!"
There was a long silence
"My balloon?" said Eeyore at last.
Piglet nodded.
"My birthday balloon?"
"Yes, Eeyore," said Piglet sniffling a little. "Here it is. With many happy returns of the day." And he gave Eeyore the small piece of damp rag.
"Is this it?" said Eeyore, a little surprised.
Piglet nodded.
"My present?"
Piglet nodded again.
"The balloon?"
"Yes."
"Thank you Piglet," said Eeyore. "You don't mind my asking," he went on, "but what colour was this balloon when it — when it was a balloon?"
"Red."
"I just wondered. . . . Red," he murmured to himself. "My favourite colour. . . . How big was it?"
"About as big as me."
"I just wondered. . . . About as big as Piglet," he said to himself sadly. "My favourite size. Well, well."
[Suddenly they] heard a shout from the other side of the river, and there was Pooh.
"Many happy returns of the day," called out Pooh, forgetting that he had said it already.
"Thank you. Pooh, I'm having them," said Eeyore gloomily.
"I've brought you a little present," said Pooh excitedly.
"I've had it," said Eeyore.
Pooh had now splashed across the stream to Eeyore, and Piglet was sitting a little way off, his head in his paws, snuffling to himself.
"It's a Useful Pot," said Pooh. "Here it is. And it's got ‘A Very Happy Birthday with love from Pooh' written on it. That's what all that writing is. And it's for putting things in. There!"
When Eeyore saw the pot, he became quite excited.
"Why!" he said. "I believe my Balloon will just go into that Pot!"
"Oh, no, Eeyore," said Pooh. "Balloons are much too big to go into Pots. What you do with a balloon is, you hold the balloon—"
"Not mine," said Eeyore proudly. "Look, Piglet!"
And as Piglet looked sorrowfully round, Eeyore picked the balloon up with his teeth, and placed it carefully in the pot; picked it out and put it on the ground; and then picked it up again and put it carefully back.
"So it does!" said Pooh. "It goes in!"
"So it does!" said Piglet. "And it comes out!"
"Doesn't it?" said Eeyore. "It goes in and out like anything."
"I'm very glad," said Pooh happily, "that I thought of giving you a Useful Pot to put things in."
"I'm very glad," said Piglet happily, "that I thought of giving you Something to put in a Useful Pot."
But Eeyore wasn't listening. He was taking the balloon out, and putting it back again, as happy as could be...
(Taken from Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne)
Conclusion
There is something of Eeyore's response to Pooh and Piglet's gifts that reminds me of God's response to us when we bring him the empty jars and burst balloons of our lives.
Because we often set out with great intentions to present to God our best gifts. And on the way we mess things up. On the way we eat our pots of honey and burst our balloons. And yet God, in His grace, still receives us and accepts us as we are.
By the grace of God I am what I am. But because God has already said YES to us, because God has already given us a gift, Jesus, before we even think about bringing anything to Him,God doesn't just leave us with our empty jars and burst balloons. God walks with us, guides us, supports us, encourages us. So that the next time maybe our jars will have a little honey in the bottom, or our balloons will look a little shrivelled and not completely burst.
In the meantime, I simply rejoice that God loves us.