Sermons for the Month
One Great Preacher: The Church
DATE: November 4th, 2007
SERVICE: All Saints' Sunday
TEXT: Luke 6:20-31 and Ephesians 1:11-23“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
I read an interesting quote this week. P.T. Forsyth said, "the one great preacher … is the church. And the first business of the individual preacher is to enable the church to preach." (1) That means that we are the only word from the Lord that many will ever hear. Now, you may not realize it, but that qualifies you not only as a preacher, but as a saint. If that statement makes you uncomfortable that's because many of us think of a saint as someone we admire, look up to, but not someone we'd like to have for a spouse, a parent, a friend or a date. So, we need to hear the definition of a saint offered by William Willoman who says a saint is any Christian, anybody whom God has called out to be blessed, baptized, different and distinctive. (2) That's us; that's all of us. So, in his Sermon on the Plain, which is today's Gospel lesson, Jesus speaks to the saints. He blesses us and tells us to be God's word in the world by living in an upside down way. His sermon begins with the blessings and the woes. Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the grieving, the persecuted, but woe to the rich, the satisfied, the revelers and the admired. His words seem a bit harsh, but Jesus is describing reality as he sees it, which is the opposite of what we expect to be the case. That's the way it is in the Kingdom of God; it's a mirror-image of the world. So, using the interpretation of The Message Bible, if you have lost it all, you are blessed, because the Kingdom of God is there for the finding. If you are hungry, you are blessed, because you are ready to receive the food Jesus provides. If you are weeping, you are blessed, because the joy of the Lord will comfort you. You should count your blessing when people cut you down or smear your name in order to discredit Jesus, it means that the truth is too close for comfort; you are in good company with other witnesses who have been derided. But, if you think you've made it, think again, what you have is fleeting and it has no eternal value. If you are satisfied with yourself, do not be so smug, you won't satisfy you for long. If you think life is all fun and games, reconsider, suffering will come and you don't have the spiritual strength to face it. There's trouble ahead when you live for the approval of others, popularity contests are not truth contests. Your task is to be true, not popular. There's no doubt that all this is disconcerting, particularly if we identify more with the "woe to you" statements than those that announce "blessed are you". But, the discomfort level increases for everyone with the next part of Jesus' sermon. He says to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate and abuse us; go so far as to bless them and pray for them. In fact, if someone slaps you, do not retaliate. Give away more than is requested and if someone takes advantage of you, use it as an opportunity to practice the servant life. Did you notice that Jesus speaks not just of our attitudes, but of our actions? Do this, don't do that; give this, practice that. As one commentator noted, the examples which Jesus provides to illustrate the word "love" are not directed at feelings but at actions. Jesus calls us to love, but that does not mean that we must have warm and fuzzy feelings for those who mistreat us. Instead, we are to act in ways calculated to benefit the other person - to make that person's welfare our concern. …Jesus clearly establishes that we, as his disciples, are not to allow people of lesser principles to set the agenda. We are to seize the initiative by loving, doing good, blessing and praying." (3) And, it is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives that makes this possible. In other words, saintliness is not based on perfect internal piousness, but on how we allow God's grace to thrive in spite of and in the midst of our humanness. Speaking of "real live" saints, lately we've been hearing about Mother Teresa's extended "dark night of the soul" when she felt she had made no progress at all in the life of holiness, and God seemed far away. This went on for years, yet she kept on going, continuing to pray, worship and especially to serve humanity, not focused on her own emotional satisfaction. David Steinmetz writes that to such people God does not deny grace. Now that we know of Mother Teresa's spiritual struggles she is an even more impressive witness to a grace that kept her from abandoning God even when it felt like God had abandoned her. (4) She is a saint who did not allow anything but love to set the agenda. As we read today's second lesson did you note that when the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus he gave thanks for their faith in Jesus and their love toward all the saints? He heard that they were being a living sermon, and rejoiced. So, wanting them to do so more and more, Paul prays that "the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened". Isn't that a great phrase? He wants them to have a sense of connection with Jesus and to be able to discern, with clear vision, exactly what they are being called to do. Not only that, Paul wants them to grasp the glorious way of life that is an option for believers and to tap into the immeasurable greatness of God's power for them. Now, if we had a strong sense of connection with Jesus, if we had a clear vision of the direction he is leading us and if we used even a fraction of the Divine power that is available to us, don't you supposed we would be living sermons, allowing love to set our agenda? If the eyes of our hearts were enlightened in that way, the sermon we would live could have transforming power. The combined strength of the Communion of Saints (that's us and all believers) would impact our world in astounding ways. But, the amazing thing is that even when we have less than enlightened hearts - as was true even for Mother Teresa at times - we are still saints who are used by God. I like the story of Gladys Aylward who was a 28-year-old parlor maid when she decided to go to China as a missionary. But, the missionary agency to which she applied turned her down. I won't relay all the details of how it happened, but she ended up in China at the home of an older missionary who took her in but did not quite know what to do with her. Of herself Gladys said, "I wasn't God's first choice for what I've done in China. There was somebody else…I don't know who it was - God's first choice. I don't know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn't willing. And God looked down … and saw Gladys Aylward." In her own eyes she was not saintly, yet, she became one of the most amazing missionaries of modern history. (5) To such people God does not deny grace. So, saints of God, see God's love with an enlightened heart, but if that's difficult, rely on the power of the Holy Spirit at work within you. Then, speak God's word with your lives, and be both a blessing and among the blessed.
(1) Sermon Archive: "Saints, All of You" by William Willoman, Luke 6:20-26, Duke Chapel, www.chapel.duke.edu AMEN
(2) Same as above
(3) All Saints: Luke 6:20-31, Richard Donovan, pg. 9, www.sermonwriter.com
(4) "Growing in Grace" by David C. Steinmetz, Christian Century, October 30, 2007, pg. 10.
(5) On This Day by Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 1997, October 15.