God’s Provision of Grace
a sermon based on Romans 5:12,19
by Rev. Randy L. Quinn

 I don’t know how many of you heard the story last week about the woman who had a telephone installed in her house -- the first time she’s ever had a telephone in her home was three years ago; and she had lived in that same house since 1959.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone 129 years ago, and most homes in our country were connected by the late 1950’s.  Somehow, there were a few homes in Louisiana that got left out.

But that doesn’t mean they hadn’t been affected by the telephone until now.  Alice Bolton, the 83 year old woman who was the public image for the story three years ago, says she used to drive seven miles to make a phone call.

Even without one in her home, Alice had been living in the age of the telephone.

The same can be said of those who have never used a computer.  The world we live in has been so affected by these modern conveniences that our lives have been influenced by them whether we have ever tried to touch one or not.

That’s probably true of the strict Amish folks as well, though they are not as willing to admit it.

The invention of one man has affected every one here.  That invention has affected nearly every person on earth.

Alexander Graham Bell changed our lives and continues to make a difference in the world in which we live.

I don’t know if you’ve ever stood at the edge of a still pond and tossed in a rock.  It may be just a “little boy” thing, but I know you’ve seen or can imagine the results.  Ripples go out from where the rock enters the water -- waves that start where the rock enters the water and go until they reach the shore.  Often those same waves will “bounce back” from the shore and meet the newer ripples.

Every person in history creates a ripple.  Some have longer lasting effect, but we all create our own ripples.

Paul says that kind of ripple effect took place because of the sin of Adam, setting in motion a series of waves that we are still feeling today.  In choosing to betray God, Adam became separated from God, a separation that continues to be true for every one of us.

Like Adam, we all try to make our own rules; we each try to become our own god.

(He alludes to it in this passage, but Paul will later explain in detail how the Law of Moses serves to make us aware of the chasm that exists between us and God by making us aware that God is God and we are not.)

The truth is we are all like Adam.  We are all sinners.

Despite our sin, however, God still provides for us.  Despite our attempts to put ourselves in the position of God, God still loves us.  God still cares for us and about us.  Despite our sin, grace abounds.

The season of Lent serves many functions.  One of those is self-examination.  It is a season to look in the mirror to recognize the sin that lies there.  True self-examination will show us how many times and the variety of ways we have tried to be our own god.  True self-examination will reveal how we have separated ourselves from God, from one another, and even in some senses from our own selves.

No one likes to see that in a mirror.  But Lent is a season intended for us to see the truth of who we are and how dependent we are upon God.

It is also a season of fasting, a time in which we “let go” of the things we think are important so we can lean on the one who provides for us.  Fasting is both an aspect of self-examination and of repentance.  When I fast I see how much I depend upon things other than God and how much needs to change in my life.

I mean, I can fast from desserts and expect to lose weight during Lent.  But if I fast from desserts and never realize that God’s word is, as the Psalmist says, “sweeter than honey,” then I have not truly fasted (Ps. 19:10).  If I fast from desserts and never realize how much I long for a piece of chocolate cake and how little I long for time with God, then I have not truly fasted (Ps. 42:1).

Fasting from desserts, as a part of the self-examination process, helps me see how I turn to sweets when I should be turning to God.

I know there are some who fast because they are “supposed to fast” during Lent.  I know there are some who “give up” things during Lent for no other reason than because they have been taught to do that.  They often see fasting as a form of punishment for the sins of their past and to them Lent is a season to “make things right” with God before celebrating Easter.

In my mind, they are not truly fasting.  They are not involved in a season of self-reflection, but are merely complying with rules and laws.

What they do may be safer.  It may be easier to simply follow the rules set by someone else.  But it will not help us see the miracle of salvation, the wonder of God’s love, the provision of grace that God has provided.

You see, Paul goes on to talk about the free gift God has given that serves as an antidote to sin.  If our lives have all been affected by the actions of one man, Adam, then how much more, he asks, will our lives be affected by the actions of the one man, God’s son, Jesus?

The inventions of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison as well as the theories of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein pale in comparison.  These humans may have affected the way we live, but in Jesus, grace abounds.  In Jesus we find the purpose of life and death has been dramatically changed by grace.

It’s almost as if Paul is saying that God has changed the meaning of death.  It was a curse given to Adam as a result of his sin.  But it has been given to us as a hope and a promise as a result of Jesus.

We need no longer fear death because God will provide for us in this life and the next.  Death has lost its sting (1 Cor. 15:55).

Grace abounds.

But we are often blind to it.

True fasting both reveals our need for and God’s provision of grace.  It helps us see how we are children of Adam.  It helps us see our own tendency to sin.

But fasting is also a way to experience the joyous truth of God’s forgiving grace.  In Jesus, all of our needs are being met.  It is God’s provision of grace that carries us through the season of Lent and all of our lives.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.