Beloved People of God
1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12
All Saints Sunday
Rev. Dr. Bruce Roth
Beloved People of God…
There is a great Peanuts cartoon in which Lucy and Charlie Brown are having deep and meaningful conversations. "Life is a mystery Charlie Brown," says Lucy, "Do you know the answer?" Charlie Brown answers, "Be kind. Don't smoke. Be prompt. Smile a lot. Eat sensibly. Avoid cavities and mark your ballot carefully . . . Avoid too much sun. Send overseas packages early. Love all creatures above and below. Insure your belongings and try to keep the ball low . . ." Before he can get out another platitude, Lucy interrupts: "Hold real still," she says, "because I am going to hit you a very sharp blow upon the nose!"
This is All Saint’ Day. As Lutheran Christians we lift up All Saints ’ Day as a universal Christian celebration that honors and remembers all Christian saints, known and unknown. It is something we affirm every Sunday in the words of the Apostles’ Creed when we say we believe in the “communion of saints.” Today we recognize and celebrate, “all the saints/who from their labors rest. . .” But when it comes to our understanding of what a saint is, I wonder if we might be like Lucy, and see the idea of sainthood as a great mystery. Lucy might ask, "What is a saint anyway?" And Charlie Brown might answer: "Well, a saint is someone who is kind, is prompt, smiles a lot, eats sensibly, and marks their ballot carefully..." Is that what saint is? Is a saint simply a nice person who abides by all the rules?
There is some confusion on the concept. It’s like the story I was told about a five year old girl who was visiting her grandfather one Saturday afternoon. Her Grandfather said, “Amy, I wish you could stay the night so you could go to church with me tomorrow.”
Amy asked, “Why are you going to church tomorrow, Grandpa?”
“Because it’s All saints’ Sunday!” answered the grandfather.
“But Grandpa,” Amy said, “we’re not saints, we’re Lutherans!”
What is a saint? Some I know believe idea saints are those who have achieved special prominence by God, someone on the top of God’s good list—The Holy Hall of Fame as it were. Perhaps we envision someone like St. Paul, St. Augustine, or St. Aquinas. And we think, “We’ll never be like that.”
Now, growing up, I have to admit, I didn’t have a great understanding of the lives of saints. I too understood saints to be a holy lot who were a spiritual cut above most human beings. But I came across a definition of “saint” offered by one of my favorite authors, Frederick Buechner. In his book, Wishful Thinking, he defines saint this way: “In his holy flirtation with the world, God occasionally drops a pocket handkerchief. These handkerchiefs are called saints.
These saints will never achieve perfection on earth; they might not even come close. It’s what Luther described as simul Justus et peccatar, simultaneously saint or justified and sinner. While we are saints—we are also—sinners. We as human don’t always live up to the potential of perfect relationship that God desires.
Just think of some of those saints on that list:
St. Peter denied Christ three times
St. Paul persecuted Christians and cheered at Stephan’s stoning
St. Augustine was a spoiled, promiscuous, rebellious youth
St. Aquinas was gluttonous, rude, and abusive
They might resemble more a “Rogues’ Gallery” than a Hall of saints. It is true, every “saint” is a “sinner.” But one thing these saints held in common is that they knew that all too well and confessed it to God. Maybe this is what Luther had in mind when he said that a Christian is a saint and a sinner at the same time. He is a sinner but one who stands against sin both in himself and in life around him. What is a saint? A saint is one who recognizes himself or herself as a sinner.
But there is more than being a saint than the recognition and confession of our own sin and brokenness. That is what our reading from John proclaims. We read, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” God, by God’s grace makes us saints. A Saint is one who is claimed as a child of God. To be a saint means you are a child of God -- beloved, blessed, cherished, one of a kind, and God is doing great things through you (and you and you). In Christ God has chosen each of us, set us apart, named and claimed us in Baptism to be God's own child forever and made you a saint! Beloved people of God you are saints because God has claimed you and named you Beloved! Do you know that? I say it every week to begin the sermon and begin every pastor’s article and letter I write to remind you that you are beloved people of God. Do you know that? Do you believe it?
I wonder if we know that we are God's children intellectually but I don't know how often we really revel in that element of our identity. Do you know what I mean? David Lose, a Lutheran biblical scholar shares, “On the one hand, I'd wager that whatever else way may say about ourselves, the most important thing about us is that God loves us as only an incredibly adoring parent can love. On the other hand, though, this is incredibly easy to forget.” Isn’t that the truth? Life, for most of us, is just so crazy busy that it's really hard to find the time to acknowledge, let alone reflect deeply on, the fact that God so loved us that God was willing to send God's own beloved child ... for us. There was a cartoon I saw in the paper about the definition of a “jobcation, the staycation” where after all the games, practices and events of the weekend you get to take a break by going back to work. Life is busy.
But it's more than that life's busy. It's also that most of us, day in and day out, don't feel like beloved children. Or maybe don't believe that we should be, could be, or really are. After all, all too often we speak and act in ways that aren't loving, that don't reflect God's love for us, and that wouldn't seem to invite God's love.
And yet God loves us anyway. That's the heart of the Gospel. Hear the words of John again, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are!” (1 Jn. 3:1a). A saint is one who was made a saint by the love of God and through the waters of baptism where we were drowned to ourselves and made a new creation, given new life and sealed with the Holy Spirit. The great news is that it’s not because of what we've done, or what we may do, but because of who God is.
Of course, John goes on to write, “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. (3:1b-2). So, in a way Lucy was right! Our lives are a mystery. There is something about our true identity -- the identity God has given us -- that is somewhat mysterious, even hidden. It's hidden from the world -- those who cannot see beyond our accomplishments or failures, our wealth or poverty, our abilities or disabilities, our physical appearance or limitations. No, our true identity is hidden, unavailable to most of the world but established by God's unconditional love and regard and therefore available to us. Do you see what that means? No matter what you may have done, or had done to you, you are God's beloved child. No matter where you have been or where you may go, God will be with you. No matter what you may said, or have had said to you, God will keep you in God's heart now and forever.
Our true identity is also something of a mystery to us. That is, we have no idea what God might do with us or through us. We only know that, in the end, all that we are and do will be caught into Christ and somehow the totality of who we are will look like Jesus. That means, of course, that God is not done with us. That God has something in store for us -- big or little, hard or easy, yet God is at work to love the world through the unique person God has created each of us to be.
I think this is what it means to be a saint -- to recognize we are sinful and broken but God, through the waters of baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit has called us by name, chosen us before the founding of the world, and promised to do great things through us for the sake of all the other saints God loves so much. We might seem like unlikely characters for God to choose and use, but anyone who is even a little bit familiar with the biblical story can tell you that's pretty typical of our God.
This also is why we can face the loss of our loved ones we remember on this day. We can remember the saints who were members of our congregation: whose names we share today. There are many with us this day who have lost loved ones. Who are the loved ones you remember this day? Who is it that had great influence in your life because they knew their baptismal identity? There are so many I remember and reflect upon. People who were not members of this church but are part of the communion of saints, people. Who are the saints you have known? God assures us we can face their loss because God has loved and still loves each one of them. God has brought them over from this life through the gateway of death to new and abundant life with God and all the saints triumphant. And one day, we will be reunited. We light a candle in their honor. It is our hope that it will serve as a reminder of how they let the light of Christ shine and how it is that we can go out into this week and world and face the challenges set before us -- because in the waters of baptism you too were marked with the cross of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit—called to “let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven”
So let the light of Christ shine and remember, you are blessed, cherished, one of a kind, and God is doing great things through you. You are part of the beloved people, the saints of God . Let there be no mystery about it. Amen.
Now, on this All Saints Sunday we light individual candles and name people who have died in the past year. This practice evokes the lit candle given at baptism to symbolize bearing Christ’s light. I invite you to reflect on how this parallel practice can expand our understanding of what it means to carry the light of Christ in our own lives. How can this light comfort us? How can it inspire us? How can it guide us? How can it connect us to those who have gone before and those we remember in grief? Not only do we name the names of our faithful members who have entered the Church Triumphant since last All Saints Sunday, following the prayer and the reading of their names, I invite you to come forward and light a candle in memory of one of your beloved Saints, following the format for continuous communion, please come down the center aisle, light the candle from one of the candles placed in the sand, place your candle, and return from the outer aisle.
With grateful hearts we remember our members and friends who have died and now rest from their labors (May Alice Bradshaw; Bev Gorman; Dottie Hansen; Ken Messick; William ‘Skip’ Schweikert; Steve Thompson; Peggy Messick; Linda Lewis; Don Dillahunt; Dick Eichner; Chuck Gerdes; Heather Parr.) Fill us with songs of praise until we too are gathered at your side. In Christ’s holy and precious name, we pray.
I now invite you to light a candle to mark the memory of a beloved saint or saints in your life. (Light first candle.)