There was once a man who lived in a quaint village on the coast of the sea. This village was picturesque like you might see in an artists rendering of the typical New England fishing village. This man was quiet and unassuming. He was the kind of man who blended in to any crowd and never stood out. No one would have ever noticed him except that he had a passion. He loved the sea. He wanted everyone to be able to share in the love of his life. The problem was that the village was surrounded by cliffs. The rapidly changing tides made the waters around this village often dangerous and even the most sea-faring of captains could quickly find themselves in danger.
The old man had a plan. He began organizing a volunteer coast guard. He trained the volunteers on navigating the treacherous currents. He trained the volunteers on open sea rescue techniques. He supplied the village with a safety net so all the people could enjoy the sea, without worrying about getting in too much trouble. One foggy evening, the old man heard cries for help coming from the nearby cliffs. He awoke with a start. He tolled the bell, but no one came. He had a decision to make. Should he go out alone – something he trained the volunteers never to do – or should he wait for help? Should he go rescue the people himself, or should he compound their danger by waiting for help? He went alone.
When he arrived, he found a vessel with a dozen or so people on board including women and children. It was taking on water as it had been dashed upon the rocks. He tied the boats together and as they listed together, he got every man, woman and child aboard his boat. As they returned to harbor, they all watched helplessly as their boat disappeared beneath the fury of the seas.
Word spread quickly throughout the town as the sun peaked above the now quiet seas to the east. This quiet, unassuming, ordinary man was a hero. The town council called an emergency meeting. After a brief meeting, the bells of the town hall beckoned everyone to come for a special town-hall meeting. At the meeting, the community decided to commission an artist to sculpt a statue in the man’s likeness to honor his work with the coast guard and to remember this amazing act of bravery.
One year later to the day, the town was gathered yet again. This time, however, it gathered on the town square. In the middle of the crowd was a large tarp. With a quick woosh, the tarp was removed and the statue was unveiled. The crowd erupted in cheers as all the crowd applauded this brave man.
For years this statue stood as the centerpiece of the quaint harbor town. But one night, some youth from a nearby village came to town looking for trouble. They were loud and obnoxious. They egged windows and they slashed tires. Then they came upon the statue. At first they egged it too, but then they spray-painted it, then they began climbing on it, and pushing it and pulling it, until finally it toppled over and lay – smashed to bits – on the ground.
READ ROMANS 5.12-21
This season of Lent is a reminder that we are all sinners and it was because of our sin that Christ suffered death and was buried. Paul explains our sin and our guilt by drawing our attention to yet another story. It too is a story of one who has a passion. It too is a story of one with a great love. It too is a story of a creation made in the likeness and image of the loving one. It too is a story of that beautiful creation being smashed and shattered, lying helplessly in pieces on the ground.
That one who is full of love is God. The fullness of God’s love moved him to create a whole race in God’s own image. We are that creation: you and I, our friends and family, those who live in the next house over and those who have no house to call their own, the most innocent of all babies and the most guilty of death row inmates. Whether Christian or Muslim, gay or straight, black or white, we are all the same. The Almighty Creator crafts us each in the image of his holy-love. The divine Word of God brings us each into being from the dust of the earth. The very Breath of God breathes each us to life. We are all the same, in the life business together.
And we too are all together in the sin business. I can just image a young child sitting around the dinner table. As all little children are, this one too is quite inquisitive. She asks, “Daddy, Mommy, why is the world so evil? How did sin get in the world?” Mommy and Daddy look at one another. Mommy speaks. “Well, you remember how you asked how the whole earth got here and we told you the story of Creation? Do you remember Adam and Eve? Well Adam and Eve lived in a garden and God told them they could eat anything they liked except for the fruit of one specific tree…” You all know how the story goes.
Paul explains it for us. Sin entered the world when Adam sinned. The presence of sin in the world is not because God put it here. Sin entered the world, and with it all kinds of evil leading to death, when Adam chose his own way rather than Gods. It is interesting that though we usually understand Adam as a specific person, the name Adam means “humanity.” In Adam’s act, all of humanity stands united as we face the consequence of sin, which is death. And so, Paul says, when Adam sinned, we all sinned and for our sin we will all die. We lie together on the ground, the image of the creator smashed to bits within us.
During Lent, we stand united as the holy church of Christ – just like we all stood together in Adam – recognizing our sin; recognizing our guilt. Our standing together becomes kneeling together as we confess together that we have sinned, that we fall short of the glory of God. United we sinned, united we confess. But the focus of Lent is not the sin. The focus of Lent is the cross. It has been said that a Christian is but a sinner who gets up facing the cross. And so Paul says, just as one man’s sin condemned us all, so one man’s righteousness justifies us all. Just as by one man’s disobedience, the many became sinners, so too by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
Just as we all stand united in Adam, so too we all stand united in Christ. In Adam we all sin; in Christ we all are saved. In Adam we all find death, in Christ we all find life. Just as we were made sinners by the act of the one man, so to by the act of the ONE we are all given a free gift. That gift is our freedom; that free gift is a new life. That is truly good news.
But the news just keeps getting better, for the free gift is not like the trespass. How so? Two words: much more. The free gift is much more than the trespass. The free gift is far greater than the trespass. Paul is quite explicit about how abundantly greater the gift is than the trespass. It is certain that sin entered the world. It is certain that the world in which we live is deeply sinful. It is certain that we are all condemned to die. Aside from taxes, death is the only certainty we have in life. But, Paul says, if that much is certain, then it is much more certain that the gift is given freely to the many. If death is certain, it is much more certain that in Christ we all have life. So regarding the reality of the gift, we can be much more certain than we are of the reality of sin. Regarding the effect of the gift which is life, we can be much more certain than we are of death. The gift is much more than the trespass. The gift is far greater than the trespass.
There is one other way the gift far surpasses the trespass. That is the quality of the gift. Now, I suppose it would suffice for the gift to equal the trespass. It only makes sense that we only pay back that which we owe. So I suppose the gift would simply have to forgive us of our sins. “Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for us all.” And there it is. By Jesus’ act of righteousness we are all justified and have life. There is really no need to go any further. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He says much more, for even the quality of the gift is far greater than the trespass. “For by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Not only does Jesus justify us – not only does he free us from death and give us life – he does much more. He doesn’t just forgive us our sins, he purifies us from all unrighteousness. The season of Lent is captured in one small but profound prayer. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right Spirit within me.” Yes, He forgives us. Yes, He gives us life. But he goes much further and he does much more. He makes us righteous. He makes us holy, just as He is holy.
PAUSE
When the sun rose the next morning, the town’s people didn’t know what to do. The image of the beloved was shattered and destroyed. So they called the sculptor. They begged her to come quick. When she arrived in town they quickly brought her to the town square where her masterpiece lay unrecognizably, in pieces on the ground. They begged and they pleaded for her to find a way to put the statue back together and restore it to its original beauty.
The sculptor collected all the pieces, took them back to her studio and began the difficult and painful task of recreating this work of art. One year later, to the day, she was finally done, she covered it and brought it back to the town square. The people waited with baited breath to see if she had been able to make it as it was. With the familiar woosh, the statue was revealed and the people gasped. “You did not restore this statue to the way it used to be!” the people questioned. “No,” said the artist, “I did not. It simply would not do to restore the statue, I recreated it and now it is much more than it ever was before.” She was right. For now the statue was far greater: much larger, much stronger and much more beautiful than any of them could have imagined.
The people wept with joy. They mayor stepped forward to greet the magnanimous sculptor. A smile radiate across his face. “How can we ever thank you,” asked the mayor. The sculptor looked first across the crowd and then deep into the mayors eyes. “You owe me nothing,” she said as she embraced the mayor in her arms. “Consider it,” she said, “a free gift.”
To the glory of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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