All Saints Yr A Nov 2 2014

Audio 11.2.2014

Grandmothers and Grandfathers, ancestors and forebears, the entire cloud of witnesses, stand here beside us. On this day of all saints, we call upon all of those who have taken this journey before us, to stand here with us as we are witnesses today to the love of our creator God, to the life and love and work of Jesus, and the enlivening presence of the Spirit. Stand here beside us, as we struggle to follow Jesus. Stand here beside us, as we grieve for our mothers and fathers and our loved ones who have died. Stand here beside us, as we endeavor to find our identity as the ones who are marked as God's own forever. Stand here beside us, as we continue to hope and find encouragement in the face of loss and discouragement. Stand here beside us, as we courageously invite those we love into a relationship with one another and with Jesus. Stand here beside us, as we strive to be a blessing in the lives of all we encounter. Stand here beside us, as we wonder about what blessing is even all about. Grandmothers and Grandfathers, ancestors and forebears, stand here beside us, we remember your fidelity, your strength, your courage, as we ask our creator God for the same.

On this day of all saints, we will reaffirm our baptismal promises. We remember who and whose we are, we recall our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God. We vow to live our lives from that center, from that identity. On this day of all saints, we remember, we reaffirm, and we renew our courage and bravery to be witnesses to God's amazing and abundant love.

We remember our grief and our losses, whatever they may be. We remember the people we love and see no more; and we remember the leave-takings, those who have left us and those we have left, through departing for a new jobs and new homes and leave behind beloved friends and colleagues. Or the grief and loss of slowly losing a loved one to Alzheimer’s or dementia. Or in the loss of employment or dignity. Or the struggles with illness both of body and mind or aging. Or the exhaustion of caring for a special needs child and the occasional recognition of all the things given up in order to offer that care. Or the disappointment at home or work or school, of dreams deferred or hopes dashed. Loss comes at us from so many sources.

From Revelation today we hear words of encouragement, hope, and comfort to followers of Jesus who were struggling with enormous loss of identity and the threat of losing their independence and even their lives. Saints are not only those who are robed in white or gathered into the church triumphant but also each of us, as we too have come, or perhaps are still coming, through ordeals great and small. To all of us who are struggling to find hope or healing, Christ’s promise to “wipe away every tear” is hopeful to hear at any time, we hear it often at funerals, but this promise is to us at all times and in all places. We can hope for a future, not defined by our past.

We reaffirm our identity as God's beloved, sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ's own forever. God continually claims us as children and Jesus speaks of blessings. Jesus blesses all kinds of people, but especially the kinds of people who aren’t normally blessed – the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn, and so on. The world typically gives these folk little regard, just as few notice many of our silent losses and grief, and yet Jesus calls them blessed. Jesus doesn’t say, “one day you will be blessed,” but  “blessed are…,” even now, even here. Why? Because blessing isn’t like the flu shot. Blessing doesn’t immunize you from pain or loss, and it’s not a guarantee of safe passage through this life unscathed. Rather, it’s a sense of fullness, of contentment, of joy that is like, but also transcends, ordinary happiness. It is not something you have and others are lacking. And like love and hope and so many other things, it can’t simply be mustered into existence but rather is responsive, springing forth in response to the love and promises of another, of God. 

And we renew and are renewed. As we reaffirm our identity as God's beloved, we are renewed for the journey. This community of faithful saints, along with the cloud of witnesses, the saints who have gone before us, we are renewed by hope and blessing for the journey we take together. We call upon each other and God to stand here beside us as we follow Jesus into the world to do the work that we are called to do, and that work is to be agents of God's healing and reconciliation. We are already, bearers of Jesus' light and love, Jesus' blessing. And it is our own pain and loss, our own grief and sadness, our own joy and blessing, our own forgiveness and healing that enables and equips us for this work.  You have been broken by loss and life, you have been filled by bread and wine, body and blood, you have been loved by God and by this community of faith. You are renewed for this brave and courageous work of being God's beloved. You are renewed for this radical endeavor of following Jesus into the world to feed, and clothe, and love. 

I invite you to stand, with the saints who have gone before us, and the saints who are here with us, and the saints who will carry on after us, and renew your baptismal vows.