Sermon for: Nov 23, 2008 (St. Peter’s, Santa Maria CA) Brian H.O.A. McHugh, priest
Season: Proper 29A_RCL_Last Pentecost_Reign of Christ
Are we fools, we Christians, or what?? Here we stand, poised in hope, at the end of our liturgical year, on the last Sunday of the long season of Pentecost, claiming God is in charge of everything. In the blinding light of the Mystery of the Resurrection, for 28 weeks, we have pondered what the Spirit of God has attempted to show us, in the Eternal Present in which we live, about Life, about the Creation, about humanity, about the core Reality of Love. The question is always the same: How can, may, shall we be faithful manifestations of the Shepherd God in the World?
Today is sometimes called The Feast of Christ the King, or Of the Reign of Christ. Many of us keep it in the Episcopal Church, though it is not “official” in the Calendar. Our Collect, referring to the Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords is a “somewhat free”[1] translation of the Latin collect from the Roman Missal. The Roman Church has kept the feast since 1925, and it is included in the Lutheran Calendar.
Let’s look at the Collect for a minute. It speaks of God’s will to “restore all things” in God’s” well-beloved Son”, especially “the peoples of the Earth, divided and enslaved by sin”. I buy that. I believe the Gospel and the Hebrew Scriptures indeed speak to a deep desire for all of humanity to be one in God’s unconditional and abiding Love. The real question for me, after 40 years pondering and preaching about the Gospel, is, How? And, What does “brought together under His most gracious rule” mean?? Many Christians over the last 2000 years have interpreted it as meaning that God wants everyone to be a Christian, to be part of the Christian Church, broadly defined. With respect, I disagree.
Now, it may be that my concept of God’s Time is impoverished. But, looking back over 2000 years, I think I have adequate basis for thinking metaphorically rather than literally. Jesus is, to my mind, essentially, in the lovely phrase from the hymn, the King of Love, and our Shepherd. The human community does not show, in all recorded history, a tendency towards unity under one temporal, religious, or spiritual “ruler”. We human beings have free will, will not be coerced or subjugated (as history surely shows), and unity only comes through Choice. Unity cannot be imposed for long. It is like Love. Love can only be given or received freely, and is the only way that true Unity can be achieved. As that other lovely hymn says, Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est - Where is found compassion and love, there is God. In other words, God’s purpose can only be achieved when Love reigns as “King” ….. or “Queen”.
In preaching two Sundays ago about the nature of “The Kingdom of God” I said I based my core understanding on three sayings of Jesus: First, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; Second, My Kingdom is not of this world; and, Third, The Kingdom of God is within you.
At hand means that that the Kingdom is a kind of parallel universe – and it can break through in what are called these days “thin” spots - holy places, or people, or events. The Church is meant to be such a “thin” place. By my observation, we are failing widely. We have made the institutional church and the Bible “golden calves”, often worshipping them than the Living God.
Not of this World means that the Church can’t be a kind of spiritualized replacement of the United Nations with some religious leader at the top, Pope, Imam, llama, avatar, or whomever. The Kingdom is not of bricks and mortar, and in Gethsemane Jesus would not allow Peter to act as if it were. The Kingdom of God is a vision of the heart, mind, and spirit. It transcends all boundaries of power, control, and inequality. Love is the only “sword” that can be wielded in it’s construction or defense.
Within you means that the seeds of Kingdom-building rest within each human being. The seed is divine Love, the presence of the Holy One. There is only one way in which that seed can grow, as Jesus taught in a parable. The seed must be buried and die in order to produce abundant fruit. We must rise to the consciousness that we are matter infused by spirit. We are a manifestation of God – and are called to live accordingly.
“Becoming Christ” is fundamentally what our religious practice is all about. Baptism unites our material nature, signified by the water, with the life-giving Spirit, signified by the Dove, and sets us on the path to full humanity. The Body and Blood of the Christ – our spiritual food and drink - nourishes the Christ Within. All our personal and communal piety – and, critically, the physical structures and organization of the church in the World – have only one central aim: to awaken us to the presence of God incarnate within us. When the Christ is alive within us, the Kingdom manifests itself in the Earth.
The writer to the church in Ephesus understood this. He says of the Church, The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. But, he warns, the Church is dead unless the Church’s members be “intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!”.
The Reign of Christ is not established by Worldly might. Nor, I have come to realize, by some final allegiance by all to some one or another institutional Church or Faith, especially those which resort to coercion or fear. Nor by the fundamentalist’s vain delusion that God will override our free will to choose, and intervene to impose Her will. The Reign of Christ only becomes a reality in the World when Divine Love pours out of us. This is God’s message to all human beings, and certainly to those of us called to witness to this truth by “taking up the Cross”. Here is the meaning of the parable of the separation of the Sheep and the Goats: Either you see God in human beings or you don’t. God reigns only as human beings love God and each other and the whole Creation as God loves us. If we remember nothing else from the Gospel, Jesus drove the message home in His Great Commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. As 1 John reminds us, Anyone who says he love God but hates his “neighbour” is a lair.
Are we Christians fools? Today, we end our liturgical year expressing our hope that the Kingdom of Divine Love, headed by a Shepherd King, is possible. Next Sunday, we will begin our new liturgical year in the same way. We will immerse ourselves in the truth and hope that the Kingdom is at hand, that it transcends this physical World, that it is within us and every human being. At the Christ-mass, we will rejoice that the Christ is born in us and every person. Then we will set out once again to give Life to the hope of the unity and freedom of all the peoples of the Earth, “divided and enslaved by sin”. Each will do what we can, in Love.
Fools? Yes we are. Can we know and liberate the God-in-Us; give ourselves to Love; care for Mother Earth; see every human being as our sister, our brother; have compassion for the poor; defend the oppressed and the victims of false witness, including our Gay and Lesbian brothers and sisters; choose Love over defending institutions of power, both secular and religious?
As a man just elected to be President of the United States calmly says: Yes we can.
[1] Marion Hatchett, Commentary on the American Prayer Book
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Sermon for: Nov 9, 2008 (Good Shepherd, Salinas CA)
Brian H.O.A. McHugh, priest
Season: Proper 27A_RCL_Pentecost XXVI
Basileia tou Theou, in the Greek. The Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven. The Reign of God. The phrase, in its various English forms, appears in the Gospels and the Christian Testament over 100 times. It is a strong theme in Judaism, as the hope that God will restore the nation of Israel to the land. In Islam, it refers to the absolute reign of Allah over all things or Creation; or, to a possible earthly entity, sometimes referred to as the caliphate or imamate, where Allah’s laws are embraced and adhered to, bringing peace and unity to the devout [Islamic scholars have used Matt 13: 13ff to support their position]; or to a spiritual entity revealed after the Day of Judgment, inhabited by those who have gone to Heaven. We find all these various aspects of the nature of the Kingdom in the history of Christianity. Why? I believe, because somewhere inside, we all want Peace, Justice, Compassion, and Joy as the context for Life. Essentially, human beings are creatures of Hope, which Barack Obama tapped into.
It has been argued that the theme of the Kingdom is the core, central heart of Jesus’ message in the synoptic Gospels. The theologian Tom Harpur, a Canadian Anglican priest, has put it succinctly: “Jesus did not come to save us from our sins; He came to usher us into the Kingdom of God” (paraphrased). Certainly most of the Gospel parables speak to the nature of the Kingdom of God. We have one today – the Wise and Foolish Virgins.
We could argue all day about the nature of the Kingdom – and scholars have. Every one of them uses Scripture to support their view. Personally, I have centered my thinking on three of the sayings ascribed to Jesus: First, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; Second, My Kingdom is not of this world; and, Third, The Kingdom of God is within you. This morning, I want to share some thoughts about the Kingdom, and for us to look at what the parable we have today says about that Kingdom and about how we become a citizen of it.
In the history of Christianity, various attempts have been made, both in the East and the West, to merge the temporal and spiritual realms. In the East, it was Byzantium, where from Constantine on, the church and the empire were seen as one, and the Church’s Liturgy reflected the splendor of the Oriental court. In the West, it was the rise of the Roman Catholic Church as a temporal power, using spiritual power and the fear it held to control politics and wealth. The Medieval period implied that church and state were one. This collapsed in the 16th C with the Reformation, though vestiges still remain, for example in Vatican State, English establishment, and the Islamic Ulema. In my opinion, reading over history, the attempt to associate the Kingdom of God with an Earthly Kingdom has both never worked, and has missed Christ’s message. It hasn’t worked because we have failed to understand the meaning of the Incarnate Christ, and therefore failed to see what must lie at the heart of the manifestation of the Kingdom.
I use “truth-story” for “myth” so that we understand that “myth” indeed expresses truth and not falsehood or fantasy. Over the decades, I have come to understand that the truth-stories/myths of all faiths and religions attempt to answer two central and related questions: What is the nature of Existence?, and Who are we as human beings? In the Christian tradition, though I disagree with some interpretations, the Genesis Creation stories answer the first question: All Existence is a manifestation of the Divine.
The second question is powerfully answered by the Cross on which, in the Christian myth, the Christ died. The cross in some form has existed in many religions, including Egyptian and Buddhist. It has always been a symbol of Life. This is why Protestantism rejected the crucifix, which had come to represent suffering more than Life in popular understanding. The Cross represents, by it’s horizontal arm, matter/flesh; by it’s vertical arm, spirit. This is who we are as human beings: matter enlivened by Divine spirit. The story of the birth of God to Mary by the “coming upon her” of the Spirit tells us this. Other religions and their myths have made the same point. As one example, note the story of the birth of the Egyptian god Horus, son of Osiris, to Isis. The meaning is the same: What animates us, what makes us a unified living human “soul” is the indwelling of the Divine. In essence, this is what we mean by "Christ died that we might live”.
Here I think lies the meaning of the Kingdom, and it’s manifestation. The Kingdom of God cannot manifest itself until each one of us realizes that God lives at our core, in our heart. We are a part of the Divine energy that created and creates the Universe. Tom Harpur puts it this way: …the story of Jesus is the story of each of us in allegorical form. As spirit-gifted animals, we are crucified on the cross of matter; we are bearers of the Christ within, and will one day be resurrected to a glorious destiny with God.[1]
The Kingdom is God is within you, Jesus said. To me, this means that it can’t appear until the light of Christ flares up in us and flows out from us. It is not going to be imposed at the end of some eschatological Age, or after some last, destructive Judgment. The Kingdom of God is at hand, Jesus said, for there He stood among them, mirroring the Divine within them. Which means that we must stand in the World as Christ. My Kingdom is not of this World, Jesus said ….. implying that the Kingdom cannot come through worldly power or Peter’s sword or might, but only by the light of the Divine shining out of each of us, giving light to the World. The Gospel is clear that the greatest sign of the Kingdom breaking through is Love.
And so, what does the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins tell us? Here’s my take. I understand the home to which the Bridegroom arrives to be each of our hearts. He is coming to marry His divinity with our flesh, to make us a whole human being. But in reality, the Divine Bridegroom is always there, or we would not be alive. So the issue is, are we prepared to Welcome Him? All of us have lamps: our bodies, our hearts, our minds, our senses, our intellects. But do these lamps have adequate fuel? Worship is a fuel: How do we worship? The Eucharist is the heart of our worship for a reason. It sacramentally fuels us with the Body and Blood of the Christ, teaching us to feed on God. Reading is a fuel: What do we read, or watch, or study? Do they shed light to help us recognize the Bridegroom? Relationships are a fuel: Do our relationships glow with the love, justice, kindness of God? Self-love is a fuel: Do we love ourselves as God loves us, or mistreat ourselves? How we love God and ourselves determines how we love others. Charity is a fuel: How do we give of ourselves to sustain others?
The parable tells us that the Bridegroom comes at moments we don’t anticipate. Our work this week is to ponder the ways we keep our lamps burning. God is always here, bidden or unbidden. It is a darkened heart that obscures God’s Presence. Our work is to keep as many lamps as possible well fueled and burning brightly, creating a welcome for Holy Wisdom, like a plane honing in on a runway at night. As our reading says, and it is Good News: Wisdom .. hastens to make herself known to those who desire her .. she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought. When Holy Wisdom leads us to the Christ Within, the Kingdom makes its appearance. Only then can the World be transformed.
[1] The Pagan Christ, Tom Harpur, pg. 147
Brian H.O.A. McHugh, priest
Season: Proper 27A_RCL_Pentecost XXVI
Basileia tou Theou, in the Greek. The Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven. The Reign of God. The phrase, in its various English forms, appears in the Gospels and the Christian Testament over 100 times. It is a strong theme in Judaism, as the hope that God will restore the nation of Israel to the land. In Islam, it refers to the absolute reign of Allah over all things or Creation; or, to a possible earthly entity, sometimes referred to as the caliphate or imamate, where Allah’s laws are embraced and adhered to, bringing peace and unity to the devout [Islamic scholars have used Matt 13: 13ff to support their position]; or to a spiritual entity revealed after the Day of Judgment, inhabited by those who have gone to Heaven. We find all these various aspects of the nature of the Kingdom in the history of Christianity. Why? I believe, because somewhere inside, we all want Peace, Justice, Compassion, and Joy as the context for Life. Essentially, human beings are creatures of Hope, which Barack Obama tapped into.
It has been argued that the theme of the Kingdom is the core, central heart of Jesus’ message in the synoptic Gospels. The theologian Tom Harpur, a Canadian Anglican priest, has put it succinctly: “Jesus did not come to save us from our sins; He came to usher us into the Kingdom of God” (paraphrased). Certainly most of the Gospel parables speak to the nature of the Kingdom of God. We have one today – the Wise and Foolish Virgins.
We could argue all day about the nature of the Kingdom – and scholars have. Every one of them uses Scripture to support their view. Personally, I have centered my thinking on three of the sayings ascribed to Jesus: First, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; Second, My Kingdom is not of this world; and, Third, The Kingdom of God is within you. This morning, I want to share some thoughts about the Kingdom, and for us to look at what the parable we have today says about that Kingdom and about how we become a citizen of it.
In the history of Christianity, various attempts have been made, both in the East and the West, to merge the temporal and spiritual realms. In the East, it was Byzantium, where from Constantine on, the church and the empire were seen as one, and the Church’s Liturgy reflected the splendor of the Oriental court. In the West, it was the rise of the Roman Catholic Church as a temporal power, using spiritual power and the fear it held to control politics and wealth. The Medieval period implied that church and state were one. This collapsed in the 16th C with the Reformation, though vestiges still remain, for example in Vatican State, English establishment, and the Islamic Ulema. In my opinion, reading over history, the attempt to associate the Kingdom of God with an Earthly Kingdom has both never worked, and has missed Christ’s message. It hasn’t worked because we have failed to understand the meaning of the Incarnate Christ, and therefore failed to see what must lie at the heart of the manifestation of the Kingdom.
I use “truth-story” for “myth” so that we understand that “myth” indeed expresses truth and not falsehood or fantasy. Over the decades, I have come to understand that the truth-stories/myths of all faiths and religions attempt to answer two central and related questions: What is the nature of Existence?, and Who are we as human beings? In the Christian tradition, though I disagree with some interpretations, the Genesis Creation stories answer the first question: All Existence is a manifestation of the Divine.
The second question is powerfully answered by the Cross on which, in the Christian myth, the Christ died. The cross in some form has existed in many religions, including Egyptian and Buddhist. It has always been a symbol of Life. This is why Protestantism rejected the crucifix, which had come to represent suffering more than Life in popular understanding. The Cross represents, by it’s horizontal arm, matter/flesh; by it’s vertical arm, spirit. This is who we are as human beings: matter enlivened by Divine spirit. The story of the birth of God to Mary by the “coming upon her” of the Spirit tells us this. Other religions and their myths have made the same point. As one example, note the story of the birth of the Egyptian god Horus, son of Osiris, to Isis. The meaning is the same: What animates us, what makes us a unified living human “soul” is the indwelling of the Divine. In essence, this is what we mean by "Christ died that we might live”.
Here I think lies the meaning of the Kingdom, and it’s manifestation. The Kingdom of God cannot manifest itself until each one of us realizes that God lives at our core, in our heart. We are a part of the Divine energy that created and creates the Universe. Tom Harpur puts it this way: …the story of Jesus is the story of each of us in allegorical form. As spirit-gifted animals, we are crucified on the cross of matter; we are bearers of the Christ within, and will one day be resurrected to a glorious destiny with God.[1]
The Kingdom is God is within you, Jesus said. To me, this means that it can’t appear until the light of Christ flares up in us and flows out from us. It is not going to be imposed at the end of some eschatological Age, or after some last, destructive Judgment. The Kingdom of God is at hand, Jesus said, for there He stood among them, mirroring the Divine within them. Which means that we must stand in the World as Christ. My Kingdom is not of this World, Jesus said ….. implying that the Kingdom cannot come through worldly power or Peter’s sword or might, but only by the light of the Divine shining out of each of us, giving light to the World. The Gospel is clear that the greatest sign of the Kingdom breaking through is Love.
And so, what does the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins tell us? Here’s my take. I understand the home to which the Bridegroom arrives to be each of our hearts. He is coming to marry His divinity with our flesh, to make us a whole human being. But in reality, the Divine Bridegroom is always there, or we would not be alive. So the issue is, are we prepared to Welcome Him? All of us have lamps: our bodies, our hearts, our minds, our senses, our intellects. But do these lamps have adequate fuel? Worship is a fuel: How do we worship? The Eucharist is the heart of our worship for a reason. It sacramentally fuels us with the Body and Blood of the Christ, teaching us to feed on God. Reading is a fuel: What do we read, or watch, or study? Do they shed light to help us recognize the Bridegroom? Relationships are a fuel: Do our relationships glow with the love, justice, kindness of God? Self-love is a fuel: Do we love ourselves as God loves us, or mistreat ourselves? How we love God and ourselves determines how we love others. Charity is a fuel: How do we give of ourselves to sustain others?
The parable tells us that the Bridegroom comes at moments we don’t anticipate. Our work this week is to ponder the ways we keep our lamps burning. God is always here, bidden or unbidden. It is a darkened heart that obscures God’s Presence. Our work is to keep as many lamps as possible well fueled and burning brightly, creating a welcome for Holy Wisdom, like a plane honing in on a runway at night. As our reading says, and it is Good News: Wisdom .. hastens to make herself known to those who desire her .. she goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought. When Holy Wisdom leads us to the Christ Within, the Kingdom makes its appearance. Only then can the World be transformed.
[1] The Pagan Christ, Tom Harpur, pg. 147
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Sermon for: All Saints Day [Nov 2, 2008]
Season: St. Benedict’s, Los Osos, CA
From the Letter to the Church at Ephesus:
"Now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He is our Peace..In His flesh He has made (all) into one...reconciling (all) to God, in one Body, through the cross. So then, you are no longer strangers or aliens, but you are citizens with the saints, and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in Whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God."
Every year we give ourselves a party, a party that includes us, all who have gone before, and all who will follow us. Our celebration of the Feast of All Saints is a rejoicing that you and I are fellow citizens with all those who have walked the Gospel path before us - from Stephen the Deacon to the last who passed on among us. We claim our place in the Communion of Saints - not with a bunch of perfect goody, goodies, but with the whole bunch of fallible human beings who opened their hearts to the transforming power of God’s grace.
Being disciples of Jesus is not easy! Nor, despite the somewhat sanitized picture we tend to have of the great saints and their great deeds, was it easy for them. They, like us, were human, and we all share propensities both for good and for evil. Polycarp and Benedict and Thomas Gallaudet and Sojourner Truth and Martin Luther King were flawed human beings, capable of great courage and love as well as human weakness. We are no different. In our humanness, we can speak carelessly, act thoughtlessly; we can judge each other harshly or in ignorance; we can disappoint each other. It is all too easy for us to forget why God has brought us together. Yet each one of us, by virtue of our baptism, has been drawn here to come into an intimate relationship with our God. As promised, Christ’s yoke is easy, and His burden light.
We Present-Day "Saints" – the Mormons don’t have a patent on the name - seek to live according to a vision, because we know that "without vision, the people perish". What is that vision? It is this:
· that we are deeply, deeply beloved.
· that the God Who makes us whole and free has made our flesh Her home.
· that in listening to Jesus, His teachings, His values, and by letting go of false priorities, we will find joy and fierce energy and freedom for the living of our lives, by loving Self and others as God loves us.
· that in service to others we will find our true Selves, and true greatness. Jesus said, "those who seek their lives will lose them, but those who give their lives for My sake and the Gospel will find them".
· that by Truth-seeking and repentance, we will by Grace live our humanity in a Christ-like way.
The Beatitudes are always the Gospel reading for this Feast. They hold the heart of what, in the end, makes any of us a member of the Communion of Saints. On this All Saints Day, let’s take a few moments to meditate on them (the text is from The Message, by Dr. Eugene Peterson)
· "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and God’s rule.
· "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
· "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
· "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
· "You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.
· "You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
· "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
· "You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom. Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.
Do you know the song Earthen Vessels? [ Behold a treasure / not made of gold / in earthern vessels, wealth untold / One treasure only / the Lord, the Christ / in earthen vessels ] The Beatitudes are a basic map for finding the treasure “not made of gold” which we hold within ourselves as earthen vessels. They are the path to wholeness and authentic humanity. We are earthen vessels filled with the compassion, justice, mercy, and peace which defines the Holy One, and defines us as Christ-filled beings. Rightly, the First Letter of John says: “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! … we're called children of God! That's who we really are” ….. What our baptism calls us to become more deeply every day.
The Beatitudes are the path to sainthood that so many have sought to walk. As Ecclesiasticus (44) reminds us, some were great and famous; of some there is no memory. Today we honour them, give thanks for them, especially those living and dead who have inspired us. We count ourselves among them as we stream towards the throne of God, made worthy to stand before God, scrubbed clean by the blood of the Lamb.
Our psalm [34] for today best expresses both our goal and our hope:
I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. 2 I live and breathe God … 4 God met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears. 5 Look at him; give him your warmest smile. Never hide your feelings from him.8 Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. 9 Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all [God’s] goodness. [The Message]
As the hymn says (293): For the saints of God are just folk like me / And I mean to be one too.
Season: St. Benedict’s, Los Osos, CA
From the Letter to the Church at Ephesus:
"Now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He is our Peace..In His flesh He has made (all) into one...reconciling (all) to God, in one Body, through the cross. So then, you are no longer strangers or aliens, but you are citizens with the saints, and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in Whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God."
Every year we give ourselves a party, a party that includes us, all who have gone before, and all who will follow us. Our celebration of the Feast of All Saints is a rejoicing that you and I are fellow citizens with all those who have walked the Gospel path before us - from Stephen the Deacon to the last who passed on among us. We claim our place in the Communion of Saints - not with a bunch of perfect goody, goodies, but with the whole bunch of fallible human beings who opened their hearts to the transforming power of God’s grace.
Being disciples of Jesus is not easy! Nor, despite the somewhat sanitized picture we tend to have of the great saints and their great deeds, was it easy for them. They, like us, were human, and we all share propensities both for good and for evil. Polycarp and Benedict and Thomas Gallaudet and Sojourner Truth and Martin Luther King were flawed human beings, capable of great courage and love as well as human weakness. We are no different. In our humanness, we can speak carelessly, act thoughtlessly; we can judge each other harshly or in ignorance; we can disappoint each other. It is all too easy for us to forget why God has brought us together. Yet each one of us, by virtue of our baptism, has been drawn here to come into an intimate relationship with our God. As promised, Christ’s yoke is easy, and His burden light.
We Present-Day "Saints" – the Mormons don’t have a patent on the name - seek to live according to a vision, because we know that "without vision, the people perish". What is that vision? It is this:
· that we are deeply, deeply beloved.
· that the God Who makes us whole and free has made our flesh Her home.
· that in listening to Jesus, His teachings, His values, and by letting go of false priorities, we will find joy and fierce energy and freedom for the living of our lives, by loving Self and others as God loves us.
· that in service to others we will find our true Selves, and true greatness. Jesus said, "those who seek their lives will lose them, but those who give their lives for My sake and the Gospel will find them".
· that by Truth-seeking and repentance, we will by Grace live our humanity in a Christ-like way.
The Beatitudes are always the Gospel reading for this Feast. They hold the heart of what, in the end, makes any of us a member of the Communion of Saints. On this All Saints Day, let’s take a few moments to meditate on them (the text is from The Message, by Dr. Eugene Peterson)
· "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and God’s rule.
· "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
· "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
· "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
· "You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.
· "You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
· "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
· "You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom. Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable.
Do you know the song Earthen Vessels? [ Behold a treasure / not made of gold / in earthern vessels, wealth untold / One treasure only / the Lord, the Christ / in earthen vessels ] The Beatitudes are a basic map for finding the treasure “not made of gold” which we hold within ourselves as earthen vessels. They are the path to wholeness and authentic humanity. We are earthen vessels filled with the compassion, justice, mercy, and peace which defines the Holy One, and defines us as Christ-filled beings. Rightly, the First Letter of John says: “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! … we're called children of God! That's who we really are” ….. What our baptism calls us to become more deeply every day.
The Beatitudes are the path to sainthood that so many have sought to walk. As Ecclesiasticus (44) reminds us, some were great and famous; of some there is no memory. Today we honour them, give thanks for them, especially those living and dead who have inspired us. We count ourselves among them as we stream towards the throne of God, made worthy to stand before God, scrubbed clean by the blood of the Lamb.
Our psalm [34] for today best expresses both our goal and our hope:
I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. 2 I live and breathe God … 4 God met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears. 5 Look at him; give him your warmest smile. Never hide your feelings from him.8 Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. 9 Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all [God’s] goodness. [The Message]
As the hymn says (293): For the saints of God are just folk like me / And I mean to be one too.
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