The Rev. Kathi Johnson
All Saints Sunday – 5 November 2017
Texts: Psalm 34:1-9, Matthew 5:1-12
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
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| The beginning of our All Saints display... |
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As early as the Second Century
A.D., Christians began to honor the memory of the faithful departed. At first,
these people were honored individually on the days of their deaths. In the
Fourth Century, the names of all the faithful departed began to be honored on
one single day, and in the Eighth Century is when All Saints Day was set on
November 1.
So every year for centuries, the
Church has named those who have died so that we can remember their lives and
give thanks for them. But All Saints Day also reminds us that we are connected
to the saints, past and present, and what connects us all is the very love of
God.
Contrary to the image of saints we
may hold in our heads, the lives of saints are very rarely perfect. Here is one
saint’s story, written in her own words:
“Long ago, when the Lord told me to
go free my people I said, ‘No, Lord! I can’t go. Don’t ask me.’ But He came
another time, and I said again, ‘Lord, go away. Get some better-educated
person. Get a person with more culture than I have.’ But He came back a third
time, and spoke to me just as He did to Moses. He said, ‘Harriet, I want you.’
And I knew then I must do what he bid me to do.”[1]
American abolitionist Harriet
Tubman grew up in slavery, suffering a serious head trauma at the hands of her
masters. As an adult, she escaped from slavery and began leading other slaves
to freedom. She worked for the Union Army as a spy, scout, recruiter, and led
the raid at Combahee Ferry in South Carolina, at which over 700 slaves were
freed.
The story of every saint is written
out of particular places, times, and circumstances. Similarly, the writings of
Scripture are also borne out of particular places, times, and circumstances.
Many parts of Scripture were written in places, times, or circumstances that
were less than ideal.
Our psalm today – a portion of
Psalm 34 – shows us that those who are saints are sometimes terrified,
sometimes afflicted, sometimes in trouble. This psalm is a perfect example, for
it was likely written by King David when he was – quite literally – on the run
for his life.
This psalm reminds us that there is
nothing about sainthood that guarantees an easy, carefree life. In fact, the
psalmist makes it quite clear that it is in times of terror that he has cried
out to God for help. In his affliction, God has heard him. There is no mention
of a bed of roses.
I once heard of a newer Christian
asking her pastor, “OK, I have faith in Jesus. When does life get easier?”
I said that the psalm doesn’t
mention a bed of roses, but even without the bed of roses, the psalmist has a
strong faith in God, recounting that it is God who encamps around him and gives
him refuge. When do our lives get easier? Possibly never.
But it is in the words of this
psalm that we can see the unveiling of God in our own lives. When we are
afflicted in body, mind, or spirit, we call out to God, who hears us. It is on
All Saints Day especially that we can see the unveiling of God in the lives of
the saints – God calling saints to acts of strength and courage and faith. And
then, we can remember that the God of David, and the God of Harriet Tubman, is
also the God of us. God is the constant – God is the thread that ties us
together into one mystical body.
Who are the saints in your life?
You can start with yourself – for each of us in this room is a saint. Each of
us is loved by God, made holy by God, and called by God to work for God’s
purposes in the world. But who are the other saints?
As one author has said, “We have
communion not only with our contemporaries, as we struggle together in the
midst of a broken world; we also commune with the saints who have gone before
us and received their eternal rest…We continue to wrestle with faith, but we
are connected to a faith that is secure…”[2]
Our faith is in God, the same God
who assures us that
·
the poor in spirit and the persecuted will
inherit the kingdom of heaven,
·
those who mourn will be comforted,
·
the meek will inherit the earth,
·
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
will be filled,
·
the merciful will receive mercy,
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the pure in heart will see God, and
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the peacemakers will be called children of God.
Our faith is in God, who loves us.
Amen.
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| Each of us wrote our own names on a ribbon plus names of the saints whom we've lost, then we tied them together and connected them to the cross. We are all one in God's love! |
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