Both ends of the stick

• The readings for this Sunday, the 8th Sunday after the Epiphany, 27th February can include: Isaiah 49:8-16a, Psalm 131, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Matthew 6:24-34

Today in the parish we are having two celebrations. At different ends of the spectrum of Christian experience.

We are interring the ashes of a beloved parishioner Molly who has died after a long and faithful Christian life

and we are baptising Maile.

These might seem, to some, to be at odds with each other

But because they both speak of the Christian call

one at the beginning of a Christian life

and one at the end

they reflect each other

So, at the heart of what we hear this morning

is not a warning but a truth

No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other

This, as I say, is not a threat

it is a truth.

If we are to give ourselves to Jesus

then it is all or nothing.

Molly knew this, more and more throughout her life

and also discovered that not only was this "work"

but also a joy

The greatest joy that we can know.

The promises of the gospel we hear this morning

is that if we enter into this mystery

then we also come to know

that this is not a slog

this is something that God enables in our life.

We open ourselves to the life of God

and God responds with faithfulness

and abundant life.

At the other end of the scale

the parents and godparents

are being asked to initiate this journey

in Maile's life

Their role is principally by their own example

to help her understand the truth of the gospel.

It is important to hear the particular emphasis of the gospel today

---as we try to share the gospel with each other

we are not being invited to to teach them how to be clever

or even prudent, or wise---

But rather to have faith in God

We sometimes get this wrong

we think at best that being a Christian is about common sense

when it is about trusting God.

We think it's about developing good habits, saving, planning, discipline

...and it's not that these things are not involved

It is rather that faith in God is our prime concern

So we all ask ourselves at such a time:

(and chiefly those who make the baptismal promises)

How do I help this person to have faith in God?

We have the example of one faithful person as well today, Molly.

As we watch (so often) life stripped away

or as we witness as we have this week

lives cut short

we actually are reminded that

when things are cut back, when they dwindle

when we are pushed for what is important

..it is not how rich we are, it is not how well we play sport

or how good we have been at work

BUT rather how have we opened ourself to the mystery of God's life.

This is not 'common sense'...it is the life of faith

not a contradiction but a deeper profounder approach to life.

Turning to Christ, repenting of sin, rejecting selfishness and renouncing evil

All of these are at the heart of what one life has been about

and what another life is to be about.

Jesus says what energises your life, what we are to strive for is this:

Strive first for the kingdom of God and a right relationship with God

and these other things will be given to you

The Memorial Garden at St John's Coromandel Valley

And grace upon grace....

The Funeral of Molly Carvosso

All Hallows’ Blackwood, 31^st December 2010

1Peter 1:3-6; John 6:35-40

A lot of careless words are spoken at funerals

Often, and almost always, this is done with the best of intentions

We could be pardoned for thinking

that our beloved Molly

will soon rival Mary MacKillop as Australia’s chief saint!

I certainly have something in me that thinks of Molly like this today!

I suspect she would be the first to think this was hilarious

There is a serious side to this

It is not authentically Christian

to try and whitewash a person

at their funeral

so that we can believe

with confidence

that they are going to be with Jesus

in heaven

We must resist at all costs

the temptation to paint Molly in such a light

that God should consider himself lucky

that such a high quality candidate

is deigning to enter heaven.

Yet we often talk like this.

Molly, as I say, would find this hilarious!

With her wry smile and impish look

she would say to me when I would be pulling her leg

“Ahh go on with you, don’t be so silly”

Molly knew, as we should be glad to know.

If we have to be perfect to get into heaven

then none of us ever gets there.

We hear Peter tell us today that it’s not what we have done, but what we believe

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

It is as the hungry we come to Christ,

and find that he feeds us with the bread of life.

That as we believe in him

so we may have eternal life.

Earlier in John’s Gospel

(which we recall at this Christmas time)

We hear God saves us not because we deserve it

but because God wants it

not because we are so good that we earn merit

but by God’s grace.

Grace is the word of Christmas

it means FREE GIFT

all these gifts that we get at Christmas

are not because it is jesus’s birthday

but to celebrate that our God is the god who gives.

And John says it’s not just “grace”

It’s “grace upon grace”

Today, Molly would laugh

at being good enough to get into heaven.

But she also knew

that God loves her

because God wants to love her.

She wants each one of us to know that today.

God wants to love you.

It’s grace…and not just grace…but grace upon grace upon grace.

Not just Molly, but each one of us. Today is a good day to turn and receive that free gift