May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable to you O Lord our strength and our redeemer.

For those of you who don't know it, I am a great fan of rugby. I used to play in my younger days and now I like nothing better than to watch - whether that is watching my son playing for Whitchurch Under 14's or watching a great Premiership club game or an International. At this time of the year, we rugby fans get particularly excited because we are right at the start of the annual 6 Nations tournament. For those not in the know, this is the competition that pits England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy against one another. We had the unimportant warm-up games yesterday and, of course, the tournament proper starts today with Ireland's opening win over Wales.

This is a great time to be a rugby fan because the game has finally found its feet after a period of great uncertainty during the changeover from amateur to professional status. There was a time in the early 70's that I thought would never be surpassed - when the game was at its peak of amateur perfection. A wonderful period when throughout the British Isles, there seemed to be an abundance of wonderful players; Barry John, JPR Williams, Gareth Edwards, Willy John McBride, David Duckham, Mike Gibson.

Then in the 80's the game lost it's way. There were increasingly acrimonious rows between the amateur code of Rugby Union and the professional code of Rugby League until, in the 90's, Union gave way against the tide of money and turned professional. The benefit that this has brought has been two fold. Firstly, it has meant that the very best of the Rugby League players have now come across to play Union and secondly, that the finances of the game mean that we can now attract the best of the International stars to play for clubs in this country.

I wanted to talk specifically about two ex Rugby league players who now play Union in the context of today's sermon. The thing that connects these two players, apart from a wonderful talent for the game is that they are both committed and avowed Christians.

The first, who plays for Newcastle and hails from the other side of the world on the rugby mad island of Samoa, is a man by the name of Va'aiga Tuigemala. He is a man of significant proportions - a solid wall of muscle. He has thighs that would put most mature oaks trees to shame but he combines this imposing size with amazing speed and that is what makes him such a great player.

The year before last, Newcastle won the Heinekin Cup final and Tuigemala was one of the heroes of Newcastle's victory. He was interviewed afterwards by the BBC and gave, for me one of the best testimonies that I have ever heard. When asked, the usual post match questions about what had been the key to their win and he had given the usual post match answers about teamwork etc, he was asked about how he felt about his own excellent performance.

I can't recall his exact words but the gist of it was as follows. He turned to the camera and said that he wanted to thank God for his good fortune. It was only through God's blessing that he enjoyed a wonderful rugby career and a blissful family life. Without God in his life, everything else meant nothing. He said this with a grin from ear to ear - a picture of total contentment.

The second of my ex Rugby League players actually plays his rugby now just up the road at Sale and he is English. He is probably the most exciting new talent to hit English rugby in the last 10 years. He was a phenomenally successful league player with Wigan from a very young age and in his early 20's, changed codes. In his first season playing Union, he was picked for England on the wing and is now a regular fixture at full back. He was a star of the recent British Lions tour to Australia, scoring a wonderful try in the first minute of the opening test match. He is, of course, Jason Robinson.

Unlike Tuigemala, Robinson is small - only 5' 7" but he is very strong and phenomenally fast. He has the ability to accelerate away from opponents like a drag racer and that is what makes him so good. Robinson is also an avowed Christian and there was an article in Monday's Telegraph, which explained how this had come about.

Jason was a bit of a wild boy when he was young. As a 21 year old, he had it all. He was playing for the best Rugby League club in the country and was being well paid for it. He had fast cars, girls and would go out drinking at every opportunity. As he puts it himself:- "I was a wild boy. I was earning more money than I'd ever imagined possible. Living in Wigan, which is a small town where everything revolves around rugby league, people were forever telling me how great I was and I started believing them. You read stories day in and day out about actors, professional footballers, whatever, who give into the pressures with drink or drugs. But for the grace of God, I don't know where I'd be now."

God unexpectedly entered Robinson's fragile existence in the shape of Samoan International Va'aiga Tuigemala. Says Robinson; "A lot of people talk about being Christians but don't actually live it. Va'aiga walked the walk. I used to watch him in the dressing room and thought, 'What is it about this guy?'. He didn't go out drinking, he wasn't looking round the car park to see if anyone had a better car, he didn't sleep around, all the things that you misguidedly think are the clever things to do. Yet he turned up for training every morning smiling from ear to ear. He was at peace with himself and just looked such a happy man. I didn't have to ask him the secret of this happiness, I knew what it was - his relationship with God.

Six years on, Robinson has switched codes, from league to rugby union, from Wigan to Sale, from Great Britain to England and the British Lions. He still has all the toys, the BMW, the Tissot watch, but has also switched lives. Before running out at Murrayfield in Saturday's Calcutta cup match, just as he does before every club or international match, he will give thanks to his God in silent prayer.

"I'm truly blessed. I've been a Christian for six years and in all that time I haven't had a single hangover whereas I used to regularly wake up with no idea where I was. It's no coincidence that since giving my life to the Lord, I've only missed four games through injury because I'm fitter and healthier than I've ever been."

"I believe the Lord had a plan for my life and maybe I had to go through all those things in order to be where I am now. I'd like to go back and erase the mistakes I made and the pain I caused various people but I genuinely feel blessed." With a sigh of new found contentment, Jason Robinson was off home. Not to the trendy bachelor pad of his youth but to the love of his wife, two children and his God. He is a most remarkable young man.

The reason for going through all that for you this morning is two fold. Firstly, I find it inspiring to hear of God working in peoples lives every day and this was a testimony worth sharing. I hope that in that context it can do something to encourage each one of us in our own journeys. But secondly, I wanted to share it with you because of the nature of Jason Robinson's conversion to Christ and that was through his observation of Va'aiga Tuigemala. I was struck forcefully last year, when I saw that interview on Grandstand at the sheer power of his faith and the impact it had on his life. His happiness was palpable even through the impersonal nature of television. I actually remember talking to Rick about it the next day, it had struck me so much. It obviously struck Jason Robinson in the same way. He was face to face with this man's faith every day and it was such a powerful force that it spilled over into his life and changed it forever.

I want to come on to the relevance of all this to our gospel today shortly, but first we will take a break to sing

HYMN -

If you recall, I finished by talking about the faith of Va'aiga Tuigemala that is working so powerfully in his life that his blissful happiness is apparent for all to see. It was apparent to me in his Grandstand interview and to Jason Robinson in the changing rooms at Wigan and that's what I want to focus on - the happiness that comes from true faith.

We heard today from St Matthews gospel, the first part of the Sermon on the Mount - The Beatitudes. The word 'beatitude' means 'supreme blessedness or happiness' so it describes a state of mind and here we find Jesus discussing the blessedness or happiness of those who display certain qualities; the poor in spirit, the meek, the peacemakers. The key thing to remember here is that Jesus is not giving us a checklist of behaviours. The beatitudes are results not activities. They describe the status of true believers. They are the fruits of belief rather than the actions.

So there is no use our looking down this list, rather as we might the 10 commandments and assume that is we 'do' the things listed, then we are true Christians. We can't 'be meek' or 'be merciful' in the eyes of God by changing our behaviours. Being meek and merciful is what comes from total commitment to Christ. If we are truly to be Citizens of Heaven, then our characters will reflect the graces listed in the beatitudes. All of them not two or three. The graces listed are interrelated.

There are eight qualities listed by Jesus. They are as follows:-

1) To be poor in Spirit. This means that we will have a humble opinion of ourselves, we will recognise that we are sinners. It means that we will recognise that we have no righteousness in ourselves and can only be saved by the mercy of God.

2) To mourn but to do so in a specific sense. To mourn over our own spiritual poverty and our own sinfulness.

3) To be meek. To be gentle. To prefer to suffer injury than to cause it - not out of weakness but out of humility.

4) To hunger and thirst for righteousness. The search for righteousness that will meet our spiritual poverty and assuage our mourning. This hunger and thirsting doesn't describe some half hearted search - it describes a life threatening and urgent search driven by our own survival.

5) To be merciful. To be loving towards those who are suffering. To forgive those who sin against us just as Jesus did on the cross.

6) To be pure in heart. An honesty which reflects no selfish motives and is true and open in all things.

7) To be peacemakers. To devote our lives to making peace with all men and to help others to make peace with God by proclaiming the gospel.

8) To be persecuted for righteousness' sake. Misunderstood by the proud and arrogant who do not hear God's word, we are not afraid to stand up and declare our faith regardless of the consequence.

Eight graces that reflect the true citizens of heaven. The Christian who displays these graces has surely met with Christ and can experience that perfect happiness, that perfect blessedness of the Beatitudes. But in our struggle for this perfection, it is easy to lose heart. To think that this high standard can never be ours and that we will never know the happiness of true belief and that is where our rugby story is so encouraging.

Sometimes, we meet someone who is so at one with themselves, so content and so happy that we know this can only come from their relationship with God. That is what struck Jason Robinson when he watched Va'aiga Tuigemala in the changing rooms at Wigan each day. There is a peace and a contentment about them that is infectious. We don't have to read the lives of the saints to find people living their lives in harmony with God. Just look around and you will find them here on earth doing ordinary things and leading extraordinary lives. You'll know them by their smile. It's best described as beatific!

Tom Crotty