7
November 2010
St. Athanasius Lutheran Church
The
Feast of All Saints Vienna, VA
“Saints!”
Text:
Revelation 7:9-17; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Who
are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come? . . .
These are the ones [who] . . . have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb.
That
right there is what we celebrate today.
Today
we do not celebrate the best of the best; those who have done such great and
heroic acts in the name of Jesus that they are called saints. Those folks are
important, but they generally have their own days of remembrance.
Today,
we celebrate the work of Jesus. The
great work of His death and resurrection for
you. His heroic work that has
made you and I His saints, His holy ones.
Today is for all
the saints.
All
those who have gone before us in Christ and now rest from their labors; all
those - like you - who live by faith now; and all the saints still to come -
like little Amber Biel, born on Friday, and who will be washed in the blood and
forgiveness of Christ in a few weeks.
We
have all been, as we prayed earlier, knit
together into one holy communion, into one church, one body of Christ.
Christians of all times and all places, united by Christ, united in
Christ. Today is for them. Today is for you.
Do you believe that? Do you believe that you are
a saint?
Actually
you have to believe it, because you can’t see it. Because you, quite frankly,
often do not act like one.
True
saints live with this paradox: true
saints know they’re sinners.
If
fact, true saints know it better than anyone else.
False
saints believe they’re saints by what they do.
True
saints know they’re not because of what they do.
For
sin includes not just the sin that others can see - the sin that makes it out
of our hearts and mouths and into our words and deeds, but also the sin that
lurks in our hearts and minds.
The
terrible, horrible thoughts and desires that pollute and corrupt us.
The
outward deeds we can control somewhat. And we do . . . somewhat.
But
the inward - who can control them?
The
dreams that come at night, so filled with sinful and impure thoughts.
The
anger or bitterness that so often rises in our hearts.
The
self-centeredness that so often causes us to stiffen our necks and desires
others serve us instead of giving ourselves for others.
True
saints know these things. That we are poor, not rich, in spirit. That we are
spiritual beggars. That we have no righteousness of our own, and no right to be
called sons of God.
So how can you, who are such a sinner, claim
today to be a saint?
Because
to just such people, Jesus says today: Blessed are you.
Blessed,
because when you have nothing and can claim nothing, then Jesus is your all.
His forgiveness, His righteousness, His Spirit, His obedience, His perfection,
His sacrifice, His life, His blood, give you what you do not have.
For to be a
saint is not something earned, but given.
And
so true saints look not to themselves, but fix
their eyes on Jesus (Heb 12:1).
And if He calls you blessed, you are blessed indeed. For His Word does what it
says.
Now,
by outward appearance, you may not look very blessed; you may not look very
saintly. In fact, you may looked cursed, with a life full of problems,
difficulties, sins, and troubles. You may not look any different than the next
guy, who may be anything - a Buddhist, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, or an
atheist.
And
yet you are different.
That
is what John said to us today: Beloved, we are God's children now, and what
we will be has not yet appeared. You see, yes, you are God’s child now,
His dearly beloved, even if you do not look so now to the eyes of the world, or
even in your own eyes. You are in the eyes of the only one that matters
- in the eyes of God.
For
in Holy Baptism God has made you His child, and so He looks at you differently
now. Perhaps an example might be to liken how God looks at you to how many
earthly parents look at their children and think they are the most beautiful
creatures they have ever seen. And they should think that. But honestly, I’ve
seen some pretty ugly babies! But parents think their child is beautiful
because he or she is their child, and therefore precious and valuable and
perfect. And so are you, dear child of God.
And
so as John said: See what kind of love the Father has given to us - or some
translation say: lavished on us! - that
we should be called children of God; and so we are. Called children of
God not just in words, but in reality.
For
baptized into Christ, you are new, you are beautiful, you are a saint.
For
in baptism, your sins, your ugliness, your imperfection, are forgiven.
And
if you are forgiven, then you are holy. And if holy, then a saint.
And
notice: that is what you are. Not what you will be, and not what you must become. That is the mistake some make in
their theology - that what God has begun, we must finish. That God has made us
children, but we must must now become saints. It is up to you. No! What you are
you are made so by Christ. It is His work in
you and His work for you.
And
so true saints are not those who are
perfect, or almost perfect, or mostly good, or more good than bad -
but
those who know their sins and mourn them;
who
know their sins and hunger and thirst for righteousness;
who
know their sins and so consider others better than themselves;
who
know their sins and cry for mercy;
who know their sins and rely on one thing only:
the lavish love and forgiveness of the crucified one.
The
lavish love of Jesus, who came to bear our sins and take them away from us;
who
came to atone for them on the cross for us and bear their punishment;
who
came to us in lowliness to raise us to a new life in Him;
who
came to us who are poor in spirit to give us His Spirit.
And
so we are blessed.
The
saints who have gone before us are blessed in the eternal presence of Christ,
as we heard from John in the words of his Revelation. But we are blessed in the
presence of the eternal Christ too, for Christ is present with us even here and
now.
For
as we sing in the liturgy of Holy Communion, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Those words first
sung as Jesus entered Jerusalem to die
for our sins are now sung as Jesus comes to us here in His Body and
Blood for the forgiveness of our
sins.
And
we are blessed. We sinners are made saints.
Our
robes
are washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb.
Or
as John also then said: everyone who thus hopes in him - not
in ourselves and what we do, but everyone who thus hopes in him purifies
himself as he is pure.
And
so you are pure, forgiven, clean. Saints and children of God in Christ Jesus.
And
know that this work of God in you will not leave you untouched. It will change
your life. For you will live not just as the sinner you are, but also as the
saint you are, as Christ and His Spirit live in you. And that will be hard -
the old sinner in you will rebel and not go down without a fight, and the world
will perhaps persecute and revile you. What then?
Rejoice
and glad, Jesus says! For great is your reward in
heaven.
Nothing
that happens to you here and now can change the reality of what your Saviour
has done for you. For salvation belongs to our God who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb!
And
this salvation has been given to you.
And
one day, you will join with that great multitude that no one could number,
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, where
persecution and hardship, pain and sadness, will be no more.
For
now, what
we will be has not yet appeared.
But
what you will be is who you now are!
A
dearly beloved child of God, one of His saints.
Do you believe that?
Believe
it! For the tomb is empty, and Christ is here for you.
To
give you what you do not have.
To
raise you to life and make you His saint, that you may rest in Him, in His
peace and love, both now and forevermore.
In
the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now
the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds
through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.