The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year B (Advent 1) - November 30, 2008
Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:24-37
People always are in a hurry... especially this time of the year! Even so much that it caused a young man in New York to loose his life this week. On “black” Friday, he was merely doing his job by unlocking the doors to the Wal-Mart and he was overrun by thousands of people, just so they could shop during the wee hours of the morning. People always seem to be in a hurry, especially this time of year. In a hurry to rush to the store and spend money, in a hurry to put up the tree and bring out the decorations, and in a hurry to send cards and well wishes to folks they haven’t seen or heard from in years.
The stores are putting up the decorations earlier and earlier, wanting to create that rush toward Christmas. Wanting people to buy, buy, buy and make their financial woes go away. It almost seams the stores feel that if they put the decorations up earlier, that it will make people think Christmas will come earlier…
But what are folks really looking for?… are they looking for that “feeling” of Christmas to come – by putting candles in the window, tinsel on the evergreen, and mistletoe in the doorframe. Do they really want to spend all that money on all that stuff that they don’t really need?
What are folks wanting to happen? Are they wanting Christmas to come sooner… and then when it finally comes, why do they only celebrate for a day.
The saddest thing that I have ever saw was someone who put their Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving, and then tossed it out on the street on the 26th of December. They had it up so long that it was all dry by the time the actual holiday started… the holiday that lasts a whole 12 days!
That’s where we are today. Right here in the midst of all that social chaos that the commercial world has created twirling around us. We are here right here! Right here starting the new year.
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of the Christian year. This is the Sunday when we begin to re-tell the story, our story... the Christian story once again. And our story starts out as chaotic as the world around us. With the exhortation from Jesus to wait! Wait for his coming again... When the Son of Man will come with great power and glory, and the elect will be gathered from the four corners of the earth!
But know one knows when this will happen, so we are to keep alert, keep awake and watch! So advent for us is a season of waiting, and watching, and being alert. This may seem a bit strange for those that are in a hurry to get to the birth of Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem. That is such a sweet story, why in the world would we start out the year by being fussed at to stay awake, and make ourselves ready for Jesus’ coming again?
Well, the two kind of go hand in hand. Today, we are like the ones back then who awaited the birth of the Messiah. We know not the day, nor the hour when he will appear, so we must continuously watch and wait. The difference is, we know who we are waiting for. We live in the anticipation that Jesus will return like he said he would.
This is where we start our story. With the joyful anticipation, with the expectation that we will see the Christ face to face. But waiting is not a comfortable thing for most of us to do. In fact, it makes us worried and anxious... the longer we wait, the more anxious we get, and the more jittery and fearfully excited about the unknown.
So most of us choose not to wait at all. Or we make waiting a passive thing that we just routinely do. Instead of something we actively do. We may passively wait like we wait to be next in line at the grocery store, or for a bus to arrive. But active waiting is much different. It’s intentional, it’s deliberate, and it requires preparation.
I learned last year that the parade in Cleveland is a big affair, people line the streets and wait, wanting to get a good seat and a good view. They prepare most of the morning, and the little children are excited. Excited about what candy they will get thrown to them or what old cars or fire trucks they will see. We only know that the parade has started because of the sound of horns or drums. The excitement starts to build as each sight and sound goes bye. The excitement was expected, but there was some mystery surrounding the whole event. That’s the kind of waiting I am talking about...
The people of old waited to be delivered by a messiah, who the prophets told them would be born. So they lived in a continual state of readiness because they did not know the day or hour of his arrival. We wait today, at the beginning of Advent, in the very same way. But, we are not waiting for a baby to be born in a barn, that has already happened, and it is a wonderful story... and there will be twelve whole days to celebrate!
But today, we are called to wait, to prepare, to be pregnant with expectation and excitement, and to be actively watchful. We are called to take some time out and be still and listen for the Christ who will come when we least expect it.
Taking time out in this time of year for us is counter-cultural there is so much expected of us… go here, go there, do this, do that, buy this, buy that… We have gotten tied all up in these expectations of what we need to do and where we need to go that it has become our tradition, and our way of dealing with the season.
We have done it so long, that we don’t know any different. Kind of like the people that have lived by the train tracks for so long that they no longer hear the sound of the train. We get accustomed to the “noise” of Advent so much that we no longer notice it. Or if we do, it doesn’t jolt us awake as it once did.
I would like to invite you to the observance of a Holy Advent. Don’t be in a rush to put up the decorations, but wait, and let the anxiety build, be watchful, and expect something holy to happen.
As children, we used advent calendars that we opened each day of advent, counting down the days until the birth of Christ. We were innocently filled with anticipation as we waited to see what would be behind the next little door, and what story would it tell us.
Some use the advent wreath in the home, like the one we have here, to help us mark the time until our savior comes again. Each Sunday, lighting one more candle, until all the candles are lit. And we realize that God is getting nearer and nearer to us.
We are called today to keep a Holy Advent, a special place between the birth of a baby and the coming of Christ in glory. A place between the “already” and the “not yet.” As we strive to live in the middle of this paradox, we not only get to know better the One that has already come into the world, who lived as one of us, who died, and was raised again… But, we start to prepare ourselves to live in the realm that God has promised us. And then we can start to experience, even now, some of what that life might be like.
So keep alert, watch, and wait. For Jesus is near. Come Lord Jesus, Come.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
RCL Year A (Proper 29) - November 23, 2008
The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Proper 29) - November 23, 2009
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46
This is it! This is what the whole year has been building up to. Today we acclaim Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! But the idea of King isn’t exactly the best image for us Americans. When we think of King, we remember our country’s history, and us declaring independence from any sort of “king” in England or anywhere else for that matter. When we think of Kings, we think of tyrant rulers or monarchs claiming some sort of “divine” right to lead a nation. It’s just not a comfortable image of us…
So why do we say, Christ is King! And where might be his kingdom?
An elementary answer for us might be to say that Christ is King and he is seated on the throne in his heavenly kingdom. We have all heard Jesus himself acclaim, when asked at his trial, that his kingdom is not of this world.
The diocese of North Carolina has just launched an adult teaching and reflection series on “the kingdom of God.” It starts out by looking at the various stories in the scripture that describe the kingdom of God. It is called a reflection series, because the persons that participate in the class are to take the reading and reflect on “the kingdom of God” and what it might look like to them.
The “Kingdom of God” has been described throughout the scriptures during this whole season that ends with this day… The feast of Christ the King.
If you have paid any attention throughout this long season, you have heard a lot about The kingdom of God…
The Kingdom of God is compared to a person who sowed good seed on fertile ground that grows up and is ripe for the harvest.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant or a pearl of great value, or yeast, or a buried treasure in a field…
The Kingdom of God can be compared to a king who wished to settle his accounts and forgives a great debt…
The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who hires laborers for his vineyard…
The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who had a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country; only to have his only son killed trying to claim rights to the vineyard.
The Kingdom of God is like a King who gave a wedding banquet for his son and had the one guest that wasn’t wearing the robe cast out into the street...
The Kingdom of God is like Ten Bridesmaids with lamps, 5 were prepared and went into the feast, and 5 were unprepared and were unable to get in…
The Kingdom of God is like a Man Going on a Journey who gives his three slaves talents, only to return to find that one didn’t do anything with the talent he was given…
So, after all of the teaching about the Kingdom of God over the past 5 months, what is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven like to you? And what does it mean for you to say that Christ is King?
We have all heard the stories – some of them over and over again. I have used the images in sermons, and offered my own reflections throughout this season of growth for you to have an idea of the Kingdom.
We each, everyone in this room this morning, has his or her own idea of what the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is like. So take a minute and picture it in your head.
It is through this lens (though our own ideas of kingship) that we look at today’s readings.
Jesus says, “All the nations will be gathered before the Son of Man and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
It is easy for us to assume here that the sheep are good, and the goats are bad. But that’s not the case. There can be good goats and bad sheep. The audience that Jesus is talking to would immediately recognize that it’s not that the sheep and goats are good and bad… The relationship that Jesus was pointing out was more about their personalities, and the types of animals they are.
Sheep are gentle creatures that will be led. The shepherd calls them by name and they follow. They know the shepherd and the shepherd knows them. They trust the shepherd to lead them to green pastures and clean water. They depend on the shepherd for safety in times of trouble. The shepherd for the sheep is most often the difference between the sheep’s life and the sheep’s death.
Goats however, are different… They are stubborn animals, they have to be herded and rounded up. They are not good followers… they don’t listen, and they don’t respond well to any authority. They make their own decisions and most often depend on their own instincts to guide them. They have horns, so they think that they don’t need any shepherd to protect them. They think that they can protect themselves.
But remember, Jesus isn’t talking about sheep or goats here, he says that he “will separate people – one from another.” He is talking about divine judgment; when we who are on this earth will get the opportunity to stand before God and be separated…
Those who have desired to follow the Good Shepherd, those who have trusted and depended on God to guide them, they will spend eternity with God.
And they will be divided from those who have followed the devices and desires of their own hearts - those who have depended on themselves and not trusted in God. Those will spend eternity separated from God, because they chose in this life to separate themselves from God.
But you know what’s strange about this passage. It’s that Jesus isn’t the judge in the passage at all. He is simply the one that divvies up the creation that has already divided itself - He re-claiming what is already his and unites with God that which wants to be re- united. And he separates that which doesn’t want to be united with God.
Jesus then goes on in the passage to explain how you can tell the difference. And the difference between sheep and goats, between eternity with God or without God, all has to do with hospitality.
I’m not talking about whether or not we set out the correct forks or matching napkins for a place setting, or if we offered to refresh our friends cocktail, or help someone move into a new apartment.
I am talking about true, deep, meaningful, engagement of the “other” in this world. The forgotten and neglected of society. The hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the confined. That is where true hospitality starts - with the radical engagement and assistance of our true neighbors. The ones in this world, who the world has forgotten.
It involves laying aside our personal prejudices and judgments – and going out of the realm of worldly thought, or even our own personal thoughts of whether or not we think that they deserve it.
Jesus tells us very clearly that one day all the people of the earth will be divided. One day we all will be separated and we will have to be accountable for our actions or lack thereof.
Jesus Christ is king and his kingdom is not of this world. It is of another world called the Kingdom of God. A kingdom with no other king. A kingdom with no other kind of authority. So what does it mean for you to say that Christ is King?
Are you willing to help Christ build up his kingdom? Are you willing to have Jesus take on the role as Lord of your life? Do you let him lead you, and mold you? Do you trust him fully and allow him to protect you, teach you and guide you on your journey through life?
Are you willing to and do you engage the other, the forgotten of the world, and treat them as if they were Christ? Do you help them and heal them? Do you extend to them an arm of hospitality, seeking to serve the Christ in them?
Or do you keep doing what we have always done, going where you have always gone? And do you keep trusting your own self righteousness to save you?
These are very tough and challenging questions for us to hear, but the answers are simple.
Either the answer is yes or the answer is no…
It is how we choose to answer these questions that determines if we end up like the sheep…
or like the goats…
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Proper 29) - November 23, 2009
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46
This is it! This is what the whole year has been building up to. Today we acclaim Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! But the idea of King isn’t exactly the best image for us Americans. When we think of King, we remember our country’s history, and us declaring independence from any sort of “king” in England or anywhere else for that matter. When we think of Kings, we think of tyrant rulers or monarchs claiming some sort of “divine” right to lead a nation. It’s just not a comfortable image of us…
So why do we say, Christ is King! And where might be his kingdom?
An elementary answer for us might be to say that Christ is King and he is seated on the throne in his heavenly kingdom. We have all heard Jesus himself acclaim, when asked at his trial, that his kingdom is not of this world.
The diocese of North Carolina has just launched an adult teaching and reflection series on “the kingdom of God.” It starts out by looking at the various stories in the scripture that describe the kingdom of God. It is called a reflection series, because the persons that participate in the class are to take the reading and reflect on “the kingdom of God” and what it might look like to them.
The “Kingdom of God” has been described throughout the scriptures during this whole season that ends with this day… The feast of Christ the King.
If you have paid any attention throughout this long season, you have heard a lot about The kingdom of God…
The Kingdom of God is compared to a person who sowed good seed on fertile ground that grows up and is ripe for the harvest.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant or a pearl of great value, or yeast, or a buried treasure in a field…
The Kingdom of God can be compared to a king who wished to settle his accounts and forgives a great debt…
The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who hires laborers for his vineyard…
The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who had a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country; only to have his only son killed trying to claim rights to the vineyard.
The Kingdom of God is like a King who gave a wedding banquet for his son and had the one guest that wasn’t wearing the robe cast out into the street...
The Kingdom of God is like Ten Bridesmaids with lamps, 5 were prepared and went into the feast, and 5 were unprepared and were unable to get in…
The Kingdom of God is like a Man Going on a Journey who gives his three slaves talents, only to return to find that one didn’t do anything with the talent he was given…
So, after all of the teaching about the Kingdom of God over the past 5 months, what is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven like to you? And what does it mean for you to say that Christ is King?
We have all heard the stories – some of them over and over again. I have used the images in sermons, and offered my own reflections throughout this season of growth for you to have an idea of the Kingdom.
We each, everyone in this room this morning, has his or her own idea of what the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is like. So take a minute and picture it in your head.
It is through this lens (though our own ideas of kingship) that we look at today’s readings.
Jesus says, “All the nations will be gathered before the Son of Man and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
It is easy for us to assume here that the sheep are good, and the goats are bad. But that’s not the case. There can be good goats and bad sheep. The audience that Jesus is talking to would immediately recognize that it’s not that the sheep and goats are good and bad… The relationship that Jesus was pointing out was more about their personalities, and the types of animals they are.
Sheep are gentle creatures that will be led. The shepherd calls them by name and they follow. They know the shepherd and the shepherd knows them. They trust the shepherd to lead them to green pastures and clean water. They depend on the shepherd for safety in times of trouble. The shepherd for the sheep is most often the difference between the sheep’s life and the sheep’s death.
Goats however, are different… They are stubborn animals, they have to be herded and rounded up. They are not good followers… they don’t listen, and they don’t respond well to any authority. They make their own decisions and most often depend on their own instincts to guide them. They have horns, so they think that they don’t need any shepherd to protect them. They think that they can protect themselves.
But remember, Jesus isn’t talking about sheep or goats here, he says that he “will separate people – one from another.” He is talking about divine judgment; when we who are on this earth will get the opportunity to stand before God and be separated…
Those who have desired to follow the Good Shepherd, those who have trusted and depended on God to guide them, they will spend eternity with God.
And they will be divided from those who have followed the devices and desires of their own hearts - those who have depended on themselves and not trusted in God. Those will spend eternity separated from God, because they chose in this life to separate themselves from God.
But you know what’s strange about this passage. It’s that Jesus isn’t the judge in the passage at all. He is simply the one that divvies up the creation that has already divided itself - He re-claiming what is already his and unites with God that which wants to be re- united. And he separates that which doesn’t want to be united with God.
Jesus then goes on in the passage to explain how you can tell the difference. And the difference between sheep and goats, between eternity with God or without God, all has to do with hospitality.
I’m not talking about whether or not we set out the correct forks or matching napkins for a place setting, or if we offered to refresh our friends cocktail, or help someone move into a new apartment.
I am talking about true, deep, meaningful, engagement of the “other” in this world. The forgotten and neglected of society. The hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the confined. That is where true hospitality starts - with the radical engagement and assistance of our true neighbors. The ones in this world, who the world has forgotten.
It involves laying aside our personal prejudices and judgments – and going out of the realm of worldly thought, or even our own personal thoughts of whether or not we think that they deserve it.
Jesus tells us very clearly that one day all the people of the earth will be divided. One day we all will be separated and we will have to be accountable for our actions or lack thereof.
Jesus Christ is king and his kingdom is not of this world. It is of another world called the Kingdom of God. A kingdom with no other king. A kingdom with no other kind of authority. So what does it mean for you to say that Christ is King?
Are you willing to help Christ build up his kingdom? Are you willing to have Jesus take on the role as Lord of your life? Do you let him lead you, and mold you? Do you trust him fully and allow him to protect you, teach you and guide you on your journey through life?
Are you willing to and do you engage the other, the forgotten of the world, and treat them as if they were Christ? Do you help them and heal them? Do you extend to them an arm of hospitality, seeking to serve the Christ in them?
Or do you keep doing what we have always done, going where you have always gone? And do you keep trusting your own self righteousness to save you?
These are very tough and challenging questions for us to hear, but the answers are simple.
Either the answer is yes or the answer is no…
It is how we choose to answer these questions that determines if we end up like the sheep…
or like the goats…
Sunday, November 2, 2008
RCL Year A (All Saints' Sunday) - November 2, 2008
The Rev’d Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (All Saints’ Sunday) – November 2, 2008
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
Happy All Hallows’!
This is one of those special days toward the of the liturgical calendar where we pause for a minute and remember all the holy ones (All Hallows’)… the Saints that are part of our life as Christians… the saints that have gone on before us, the saints that are here today and the saints that will come after us… all part of that great communion or gathering of saints.
Most of you You know that the Episcopal Church celebrates a liturgical calendar with “saints” days on it. Those celebrations are contained in a book called Lesser Feasts and Fasts. They mark days that commemorate special folk that have been martyrs, strong witnesses to the faith, or great theologians.
Folks like Joseph of Arimathaea, the man in scripture who was a secret disciple and gave his new tomb for Jesus to be buried in… His life was filled with lore and stories about him bringing the Holy Grail (the cup of the last supper) back to England. His feast day on August 1st.
Or – folks like Richard Hooker… who was a priest in the church in 1600, and probably the greatest Anglican Theologian that ever lived. He gave us his masterpiece The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, in which he brings about the foundation of church being grounded in Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. His day is Tomorrow – November 3rd.
Or Justin, the Martyr at Rome in 167, who started a school in 150 to teach Christianity. He started to defend Christianity in the Hellenistic world that surrounded him and wrote what are called apologies (spiritual defenses) and got into public debates with the Greek philosophers. He was arrested with his companions because of these arguments, under the accusations of ignorance and his teaching of immortality… After being given a chance to renounce his faith – of which he didn’t – he was put to death. His day is June 1st.
But you know, as much as I love to learning about the great witnesses that have gone before us… I want you all to know most of the Saints’ that I know were not great witnesses to the faith, nor will they be martyrs, or great confessors, or not even great theologians. But they are Saints none the less… And that includes us. We are all saints…
There was once a wise priest who, was once asked, “How many people were at the early celebration of the Eucharist last Wednesday morning?” He replied, “There were three old ladies and the janitor… several thousand archangels, a large number of seraphim, along with several million of the triumphant saints of God.”
He had a grasp of what it meant to be celebrating communion with the great ‘cloud of witnesses’ or the communion of saints at every Eucharistic feast. It is actions like this that become the answer to our deep human urge to be part of something larger, to not just stand alone… It gives our simple individual lives meaning.
It has been said that “one drop of water, when left alone, evaporates very quickly. But one drop of water in the immense sea endures.”
We are connected to something larger… we are very much a part of that great communion of saints. We are as St. Paul said, “Children of God.” We hold that divine seed of Christ within us, because we have been created by the one true living God! We are Holy – All Hallow – We are blessed! We are Saints! That’s what we are! Because everyone who claims Christ as Lord and Savior, and has been baptized into Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has been purified and made holy, and made saints to dwell in the fellowship of the communion of saints. And this is our feast day!
This is our day to celebrate the everlasting life that we have as a result of our faith in Christ and our adoption as Children of God. That’s a lot to take in…
We have a special day on the calendar that is ours… I don’t know if any of us realized that... But not only do we have a special day, we share it with all the other great ones that don’t have another day specifically assigned on the liturgical calendar…
You can probably sit for a second and think of who those great ones are… You could name all the saints in your life… it could be your husband or wife, your sister, brother, cousin, child, nephew, grandparent… the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the peacemakers… anyone in whom you have been able to recognize that Christ within…
That Christ that is the light… the light of the world…
The Rev. Elizabeth Canham was our guest preacher last year on this great feast of All Saints’… she reminded us that a saint is like a stained glass window… it lets the light of Christ shine through. I like the metaphor that Samuel Coleridge uses that says… “a Christian is like a keyhole, though which other folk see God... All of the Christians in our lives are saints; it is just that some of them have day jobs and most of them will never have a feast day named for them.
The challenge this morning is for us to be that stained glass… to be that keyhole…
To be that person on the day job that lets the light of Christ shine through us… Allowing others to see that Christ within us because we live with that unquestionable faith in the God who created us, redeemed us, and is sustaining us…
It has been a long season of learning… learning how to live a life of discipleship… Learning of how to be the church and love one another, growing and learning about how to reach out to others and show others the kingdom of God… Learning how to build up God’s kingdom using our earthly treasures and talents. Letting the Christ that we believe in, whom we emulate… who is known by us, and who knows us – be known to the world.
And when it gets rough, that is when it is most important… That’s when we reach down deep, into our innermost selves, and trust that God in Christ within us will help us. It is our training to become saints…
Have you ever noticed the baptismal covenant promises, that we will say in a few minutes when we renew our baptismal vows, never says that we can do it all by ourselves… It never says that we have been shown, therefore we are on our own… It always says, with God’s help…
It is with God’s help that we are able to resist evil, and proclaim the Good News of God in Jesus Christ… It is with God’s help that we continue to learn about our faith in the apostles’ teaching, and continue to love “the other” our neighbor as our self. It is an ongoing process… with God’s help… so as assured as our sainthood may be, it is up to us to continually strive to become the best saints we can be – with God’s help…
Mother Teresa, a true saint in her own rite, did everything that she did with God’s help. She sheds some wisdom for us on “sainthood” when she says that we need to always keep in mind that a Christian community is not composed of those who are already saints… But of those who are striving to become saints. Therefore, she reminds us that we are to continue to love on another as Christ loved us, and become extremely patient with each other's human faults and failures.
As we stand in a few minutes and recite and renew our baptismal vows, we will once again get the chance to own these for ourselves, we get the chance to be refreshed, and transformed, as we seek to be formed in the image of Christ…
My prayer for us is that we all pay attention to the words as we own them once again… and seek to do the things that we promise to do together as followers of Christ… and then live a life worthy of the sainthood that we have all been given.
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (All Saints’ Sunday) – November 2, 2008
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
Happy All Hallows’!
This is one of those special days toward the of the liturgical calendar where we pause for a minute and remember all the holy ones (All Hallows’)… the Saints that are part of our life as Christians… the saints that have gone on before us, the saints that are here today and the saints that will come after us… all part of that great communion or gathering of saints.
Most of you You know that the Episcopal Church celebrates a liturgical calendar with “saints” days on it. Those celebrations are contained in a book called Lesser Feasts and Fasts. They mark days that commemorate special folk that have been martyrs, strong witnesses to the faith, or great theologians.
Folks like Joseph of Arimathaea, the man in scripture who was a secret disciple and gave his new tomb for Jesus to be buried in… His life was filled with lore and stories about him bringing the Holy Grail (the cup of the last supper) back to England. His feast day on August 1st.
Or – folks like Richard Hooker… who was a priest in the church in 1600, and probably the greatest Anglican Theologian that ever lived. He gave us his masterpiece The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, in which he brings about the foundation of church being grounded in Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. His day is Tomorrow – November 3rd.
Or Justin, the Martyr at Rome in 167, who started a school in 150 to teach Christianity. He started to defend Christianity in the Hellenistic world that surrounded him and wrote what are called apologies (spiritual defenses) and got into public debates with the Greek philosophers. He was arrested with his companions because of these arguments, under the accusations of ignorance and his teaching of immortality… After being given a chance to renounce his faith – of which he didn’t – he was put to death. His day is June 1st.
But you know, as much as I love to learning about the great witnesses that have gone before us… I want you all to know most of the Saints’ that I know were not great witnesses to the faith, nor will they be martyrs, or great confessors, or not even great theologians. But they are Saints none the less… And that includes us. We are all saints…
There was once a wise priest who, was once asked, “How many people were at the early celebration of the Eucharist last Wednesday morning?” He replied, “There were three old ladies and the janitor… several thousand archangels, a large number of seraphim, along with several million of the triumphant saints of God.”
He had a grasp of what it meant to be celebrating communion with the great ‘cloud of witnesses’ or the communion of saints at every Eucharistic feast. It is actions like this that become the answer to our deep human urge to be part of something larger, to not just stand alone… It gives our simple individual lives meaning.
It has been said that “one drop of water, when left alone, evaporates very quickly. But one drop of water in the immense sea endures.”
We are connected to something larger… we are very much a part of that great communion of saints. We are as St. Paul said, “Children of God.” We hold that divine seed of Christ within us, because we have been created by the one true living God! We are Holy – All Hallow – We are blessed! We are Saints! That’s what we are! Because everyone who claims Christ as Lord and Savior, and has been baptized into Christ’s life, death, and resurrection has been purified and made holy, and made saints to dwell in the fellowship of the communion of saints. And this is our feast day!
This is our day to celebrate the everlasting life that we have as a result of our faith in Christ and our adoption as Children of God. That’s a lot to take in…
We have a special day on the calendar that is ours… I don’t know if any of us realized that... But not only do we have a special day, we share it with all the other great ones that don’t have another day specifically assigned on the liturgical calendar…
You can probably sit for a second and think of who those great ones are… You could name all the saints in your life… it could be your husband or wife, your sister, brother, cousin, child, nephew, grandparent… the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the peacemakers… anyone in whom you have been able to recognize that Christ within…
That Christ that is the light… the light of the world…
The Rev. Elizabeth Canham was our guest preacher last year on this great feast of All Saints’… she reminded us that a saint is like a stained glass window… it lets the light of Christ shine through. I like the metaphor that Samuel Coleridge uses that says… “a Christian is like a keyhole, though which other folk see God... All of the Christians in our lives are saints; it is just that some of them have day jobs and most of them will never have a feast day named for them.
The challenge this morning is for us to be that stained glass… to be that keyhole…
To be that person on the day job that lets the light of Christ shine through us… Allowing others to see that Christ within us because we live with that unquestionable faith in the God who created us, redeemed us, and is sustaining us…
It has been a long season of learning… learning how to live a life of discipleship… Learning of how to be the church and love one another, growing and learning about how to reach out to others and show others the kingdom of God… Learning how to build up God’s kingdom using our earthly treasures and talents. Letting the Christ that we believe in, whom we emulate… who is known by us, and who knows us – be known to the world.
And when it gets rough, that is when it is most important… That’s when we reach down deep, into our innermost selves, and trust that God in Christ within us will help us. It is our training to become saints…
Have you ever noticed the baptismal covenant promises, that we will say in a few minutes when we renew our baptismal vows, never says that we can do it all by ourselves… It never says that we have been shown, therefore we are on our own… It always says, with God’s help…
It is with God’s help that we are able to resist evil, and proclaim the Good News of God in Jesus Christ… It is with God’s help that we continue to learn about our faith in the apostles’ teaching, and continue to love “the other” our neighbor as our self. It is an ongoing process… with God’s help… so as assured as our sainthood may be, it is up to us to continually strive to become the best saints we can be – with God’s help…
Mother Teresa, a true saint in her own rite, did everything that she did with God’s help. She sheds some wisdom for us on “sainthood” when she says that we need to always keep in mind that a Christian community is not composed of those who are already saints… But of those who are striving to become saints. Therefore, she reminds us that we are to continue to love on another as Christ loved us, and become extremely patient with each other's human faults and failures.
As we stand in a few minutes and recite and renew our baptismal vows, we will once again get the chance to own these for ourselves, we get the chance to be refreshed, and transformed, as we seek to be formed in the image of Christ…
My prayer for us is that we all pay attention to the words as we own them once again… and seek to do the things that we promise to do together as followers of Christ… and then live a life worthy of the sainthood that we have all been given.
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