All Saint’s Sunday
Text: Luke 6:20-31
Pastor Jean M. Hansen
All Saints’ Day is an ambiguous day. On the one hand, we celebrate the lives and faith of those who have gone before us, this is, loved ones who have died and are at peace in God’s eternal care. But, on the other hand, we are sad that they are no longer among us, especially if someone we love is on the list of those who have departed since the last All Saints’ Sunday.
Today I remember my friend Anne, who is being named among the saints at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in St. Louis today. Had someone told me a year ago that would be the case, I would not have believed it, a fact which causes me to feel somewhat vulnerable. It's a reminder that no one is exempt from death, loss and grief, which also is a reminder of our solidarity with and need for one another.
I don’t know about you, but today’s reading from Luke also makes me feel rather vulnerable too. In it, Jesus was speaking to his closest disciples, but also to a large number of people who were impressed by him and were following, but perhaps not yet fully committed. In the crowd there also were many who came a long way seeking healing.
So, in this “Sermon on the Plain”, Jesus taught what life in the Kingdom of God looks like, first by describing who is and is not blessed, and then by listing how “all of the above” are supposed to live. And I’ll tell you, if the first part doesn’t make you feel vulnerable, the second part will do the trick.
Why? It’s because Jesus said that those who are poor, hungry, grieving and reviled because of their faith are blessed. Those deserving of woe, that is, unpleasant consequences, are the rich, well fed, joyful and honored. As we hear these words of Jesus, we may feel vulnerable not because this is difficult to understand, but because it’s so challenging.
Those who were called blessed by Jesus probably did not feel blessed in their present reality and those to whom Jesus spoke words of woe were hoping Jesus got it wrong. That was true then, and it continues to be true today. Yet, Jesus’ words are a vision of God’s kingdom, not fully accomplished, but in process, which was the case then and now.
In other words, God’s will for the world is the reversal of how it is, as Jesus said more than once, the last will be first and the first will be last and Christians are compelled to make it happen.
But how is that possible given the second part of the passage, which gives detailed directions on how we are to live? Jesus tells us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, pray for those who abuse us, and to forgive and give sacrificially. No doubt that makes every one of us feel vulnerable, since none of us can fully do what Jesus asks of us. Are these the requirements of sainthood?
And, not only are these actions incomprehensible, they are also counter cultural. Loving, blessing, praying for and forgiving our enemies – or perhaps we would say opponents or “those people” – and giving beyond a token donation is not behavior that is praised in our world, now more than ever. Living in this way in this age is likely to earn us the title “loser” and not garner much support except from other losers.
So, on this All Saints’ Sunday we might ask, are we up the proverbial creek without a paddle when it comes to sainthood? NO! As was stressed last week, we are saved by grace, made saints by God’s actions, not our own, and then empowered to do to others as we would have them do to us, not to become a saint, but because we already are one. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but we are sinners made saints in the gift of Jesus.
As we remember those who have achieved eternal sainthood, it’s important to recall that sometimes – perhaps often – they got it right and the light of Jesus was revealed through them. I know that was true of my friend Anne, and it certainly can be true for each one of us as well.
Still, we are vulnerable; but vulnerability is a gift, causing us to turn to God in need, and to need one another. God has promised to meet us at the point of our vulnerability, especially when our own death, or that of those we love, is at hand. In the ultimate reversal, Jesus’ resurrection assures us that death does not have the final word, not in the Communion of Saints.
We are singing one of my favorite hymns today – Reformation Sunday and All Saints’ Sunday are banner days for me when it comes to hymns! Of course, we have to sing all seven verses because of the story “For All the Saints” tells.
I love the picture the words paint, especially the last three verses. “The golden evening brightens in the west; soon, soon to faithful servants cometh rest; sweet is the calm of paradise the blest. Alleluia! BUT then there breaks a yet more glorious day: the saints triumphant rise in bright array; the King of Glory passes on his way. Alleluia! From earth’s wide bounds, for ocean’s farthest coast, through gates of pear streams in the countless host, singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Allelluia!
That is our destiny, although the reality may be far different and more wonderful than the picture the hymn paints. We will be eternally saints. But in the meantime we wear the title of saint, vulnerable, yes, but also forgiven, inspired and with the immeasurable greatness of God’s power at work in and through us. We are among the “all” on this All Saints Sunday. For that we proclaim, thanks be to God! AMEN