All Saints Sunday C               R Lundquist                           11/4/07

Matthew 5:1-12  http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=61156462

When I was a youth minister in Tennessee in the late ‘70’s a priest named Bill Breyfogle became a mentor of mine.  He was rector of All Saints, Morristown.  He was a big guy fond of hugging women.  And he taught me a lot about how to run a church.  What he said to me one day has remained with me – Bill said, “Rob, the Church is in business to give itself away.”  Meeting space, loaning chairs & tables, outreach & feeding ministries…  “The Church is in business to give itself away.”        In imitation of Jesus, who gave himself away.  Completely.  This is a sentiment worthy of every saint.

And we are all saints.  According to St Paul, all who are baptized are saints of God.  The word “saint” is from the same root as “sanctified” (made holy, set apart by God) and “sacrifice” (made holy by offering to God).  We are saints through living and giving to the glory of God, and to the coming of the Kingdom, the Holy Realm.  We are all saints – but not by own doing.  No one can earn sainthood; it can only be accepted.  It’s all about the heavenly banquet table – those who are already gathered there, those of us here on earth, and all who will follow us in the years and centuries to come.  The banquet table represented by our altar.  All are gathered in God’s timeless presence.  The party is already in full swing.  And we get a taste here in the sacrament of Communion…

Saints are the ones the light shines through – a young child, growing up in one of those fine old churches with beautiful stained glass windows depicting the saints of old, was asked “Who is a saint?”  After a moment the answer, in all childlike wisdom, came:  “A saint is someone who the light shines through.”  Whether backlit by the sun, or from the inner light of Christ, a saint is someone who the light shines through.  You are someone who the light shines through!

            It is for us that Jesus describes saintliness, the values of the Kingdom.  In the Gospel lesson today we hear what is blessed:  poverty, mourning, meekness, hunger, mercy, purity.  What kind of blessings are these?  The certainly are not what the world would recognize.  The definition of blessed (in Greek, makarios) was “Those who live in godlike happiness.”  Jesus upends this concept quite handily.  He calls followers to live within, to inhabit, the values of God.  The thinking goes something like this:.

Have you received?  Then give generously.

Have you eaten lately?  Then feed the hungry.

Have you received mercy?  Then show mercy to others.

Do you feel peace?  Then be a peacemaker.

                        AND blessed you will be.

Not as a reward – but as a reflection of God dwelling within.  It is mirroring the Divine.  Living these values is reflected to the world by your life, your words and actions.

            Your giving enables you to understand receiving.

            Your comforting allows you to understand mourning.

            Your mercy opens the path to your being forgiven.

            Your purity enables you to recognize God.

It’s not a transaction, but transformation.

The bitter cynic Ambrose Bierce wrote that a saint is “a dead sinner, revised & edited.”  Not so.  We who are saints alive stand around the table, hungry & needy.  We know we need help.  We know we need rescuing.  The Feast of All Saints reminds that all are saved only by God.  We cannot save ourselves – there is no other hope than God.  And we have the NERVE to celebrate our sainthood in the midst of a world that is despairing.

            That is our hope.  The acknowledgement that we are the saints of God, needy and sinful as we are.

The 20^th century theologian Karl Barth wrote, “Rightly understood, there are no Christians; there is only the eternal opportunity of becoming Christians.”

            That brings you up short if you think you’ve got it made, that you’ve arrived.  There is really nothing you can do – it’s ALL been done.  Your life, your call – all gifts and grace from God.

            How to respond?  By returning, reflecting on your blessings.

I ask you to do 2 things today:

            Remember your baptism.  It’s your covenant with God, God’s covenant with you.  In your baptism you committed to continue learning from the apostles; sharing bread with one another; praying; resisting evil; repenting of sin (brokenness); proclaiming Good News without exception or excuse; seeking and serving Christ in your neighbor, striving for justice and peace; and respecting the dignity of everybody, without exception, without excuse.  Remember your baptism.  Remember.

            Reconnect & recommit with your substance.  Make the sacrifice of a saint on a commitment card, to be dedicated at this altar in a few moments.  Put hands and feet on your faith by making a pledge to the work of God through St Paul’s in the coming year.  Much more important than the amount is your commitment. Commitment to being part of something larger than yourself.  Commitment to putting your money where your heart is.  Being in the world and not of the world calls for cash.  For a place to gather, for staff to administer, for alms for the needy.  After all, we’re in the business of giving ourselves away, individually & corporately.  For we are the Body of Christ, broken for the world for the healing of all.

            Amen.