Blessed Hope - A Sermon for All Saints Sunday November 5 2023
GOSPEL: Matthew 5:1-12
The holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus provides a unique description of those who are blessed with God’s favour. His teaching is surprising and shocking to those who seek wealth, fame, and control over others.
1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
The Festival of All Saints
dates back as early as the third century.
On the church calendar,
we recognize All Saints Day on November 1st,
in addition to All Souls Day,
which is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church
on November 2nd.
The timing of the commemoration of All Saints
may have begun in Ireland,
linked to the Celtic Samhain,
the night in which the boundary
between the living and the dead
is violated
with the visits of the spirits of the departed.
A vigil would be held
on the eve of All Saints - All Hallows,
or All Hallows Eve.
We aren’t so concerned
about being visited by spirits on Halloween anymore.
In fact, Halloween is the one day of the year
in which we send our children out into the streets
to not only talk to strangers,
but to ask them for candy.
But for those who know grief,
for those who have loved and lost,
The commemoration of All Saints
is the opportunity to give thanks to God
for all the saints,
and to name our losses,
to name our grief,
while clinging to the hope that is ours
in Jesus Christ,
The hope we have in the Gospel,
that Jesus Christ is risen,
and so we too may arise.
Blessed are you who mourn,
for you will be comforted.
On this All Saints Sunday,
I give thanks for the many saints,
both living and those who have died in the faith,
and I am reminded, particularly,
of the saints that I have had to say goodbye to.
It is part of getting older,
and part of friendships, family,
it is the cost of love,
that we grieve,
that we find ourselves saying goodbye
to too many saints.
Sometimes that goodbye comes
when loves ones move away,
often it is because of death.
There are more goodbyes to come.
Yet I was once again reminded this past week
that the person of faith never really says
“Goodbye”.
We say “See you later.”
We have the hope of resurrection unto eternal life.
When we gather for a funeral
we give thanks for that day
in which we shall be reunited
with all the saints
in our heavenly home.
We give thanks for that same gift today.
We believe in the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come;
life everlasting with our God.
Grief is real,
and there is no pain in this life like it,
we will grieve,
yet we can grieve with hope.
The person of faith never really says
“Goodbye”.
We say “See you later.”
At the same time,
even with the hope we have of life everlasting,
eternity is a difficult concept,
It is like trying to understand infinite.
Humans can get good at economics and mathematics
and account for Trillions of dollars,
but eternity - infinite - it doesn’t end.
It’s trillions upon trillions… forever.
We can’t truly grasp the infinite.
I’ve witnessed sermon illustrations about eternity,
using a long rope.
It’s sort of helpful, so I’ll show you
The long rope is laid out on the stage,
and just a couple feet of rope
represents your life,
the rest is eternity.
But you can all see where the rope ends.
Even this illustration fails.
We can’t truly grasp how long eternity is.
What I can grasp - Eternity is a long time
to not be at peace,
to be un-reconciled,
to be not-loved.
The place that is being prepared for the saints,
our everlasting home with our God
is a place of peace
for there will be no more tears;
it is a place of reconciliation,
for we will be joined
with the multitude of saints;
it is a place filled with love,
for we will be in Christ’s presence,
forever.
We hold onto this hope.
There’s a saying:
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
There’s another saying:
forever starts now.
While we may we cling to the hope of life everlasting,
our forever - our eternity -
has already started.
This life matters.
We are not on this earth to merely exist,
to wait until we die for things to improve.
If we live,
we live to the Lord.
If we die,
we die to the Lord.
So whether we live or whether we die,
we are the Lord’s.
With Jesus,
the kingdom of heaven has come near.
Eternity with God has already begun.
So, why wait until the next life
for peace to happen?
Why wait for reconciliation to happen?
Why wait for love to happen?
Live peace, now.
Live reconciliation, now.
Live love, now.
The kingdom of Heaven awaits,
and the kingdom of Heaven is right now, in our midst.
We recently heard the story
about the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians
trying to trap Jesus in his words.
They say “Rabbi, we know that you are sincere
and teach the way of God in accordance with truth,
and you show difference to no one,
for you do not regard people with partiality.”
Except Jesus does show partiality.
Again and again,
Jesus offers preferential treatment
to the poor,
the outcast,
the widow,
the orphan,
the children,
the sinner,
the tax collector,
the prostitute,
Jesus extends a welcome
to the people who are not welcome.
Jesus values the people
who have little to no societal value.
The kingdom of heaven is near
for the poor in spirit,
the mourning, the meek, the merciful,
the hungry and thirsty,
the persecuted,
the pure in heart,
the peacemakers.
God’s blessings are coming,
and indeed they are blessed now.
This hope will be realized in the life to come,
but by God’s Spirit,
this hope can be realized now.
The word translated as Blessed,
can also mean happy, or congratulations,
or Honour.
Those named in the Beatitudes,
these are people without honour in society.
God honours you, now.
God blesses you, now.
The poor (the poor in spirit)
perhaps those who are economically poor,
or those who are lack honour
because of misfortune or injustice,
those who are considered less-than,
or illegal.
You are blessed.
Those who are persecuted unjustly,
reviled falsely,
those who are ostracized or shunned by their family,
those who might then find themselves hungry
and in a particular kind of mourning,
beggars in one way or another,
You are blessed.
Those who are merciful,
those who repay debts,
those who seek to please God,
who seek God’s presence,
You are blessed.
Those who make peace happen,
who join in God’s Shalom,
who strive for meaningful human existence,
for self and for others,
you are blessed.
God blesses the unblessed.
God honours those who have been shamed.
God values the dis-valued.
Like the people Israel,
We are blessed to be a blessing,
God pronounces favour upon us,
that we might join God’s work of blessing others,
of blessing God’s creation.
The beatitudes aren’t there so that those who are less fortunate
might just be happy amidst their deprivation.
They offer genuine hope to the hopeless.
and the Beatitudes serve as an indictment of the society
that has forgotten its responsibility
to the neighbour.
They serve as a warning to us.
They remind us of our purpose as followers of Jesus,
to be lavish and eclectic in sharing God’s blessing,
to welcome, to include, to honour,
particularly those without.
In the words of Osvaldo Vena,
“If God blesses the ones that you curse,
there is something fundamentally wrong
with your theology.”
(Osvaldo Vena. Commentary on Matthew 5:1-12. https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/all-saints-sunday/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-10)
God’s work in the world right now,
isn’t much different than what we expect
and what we receive in the life to come:
Peace,
Reconciliation,
Love.
Amidst conflict,
God calls us into peace with equity.
Amidst broken relationships,
God moves us into reconciliation.
Amidst despair and hopelessness,
God calls us to love.
Many people today,
like those named in the Beatitudes,
are at the brink,
on the edge,
stressed to the max,
some wonder how they will pay the rent,
or how much longer they will suffer.
Some only have food to last a meal or two,
some live in genuine fear
because of things they have no control over.
Some are mourning and grieving losses:
health,
mobility,
death.
Many of God’s saints are suffering.
We don’t just wait until death relieves their suffering.
We live out our hope, now.
In Christ, we have peace,
we have reconciliation,
we have love,
now and always.
Amidst conflict,
God calls us into peace with equity.
Amidst broken relationships,
God moves us into reconciliation.
Amidst despair and hopelessness,
God calls us to love.
We know that eternity with God awaits.
The person of faith never really says goodbye,
we say “See you later”
And at the same time,
forever starts now.
Amidst our various losses,
May God bring us comfort,
now and in the life to come.
May we live peace,
live reconciliation,
and live love, today.
May we find our hope,
in and with our God who is with us,
now and always.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
