A Sermon at St. Matthew’s, St. Paul, November 6, 2011

Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Blair Pogue

In For All the Saints Herbert O’Driscoll, an Anglican priest from Canada, tells the story of climbing up Mount Sinai early one morning with a group of pilgrims. Far below was the fortress monastery of Saint Catherine, dating from the fourth century, its buildings from the sixth, a reminder of the long and unbroken line of faithful Christians we think of at this time of year. When O’Driscoll and his group reached the top, they were joined by a group of Korean Pentecostals as well as a group of Orthodox Christians. Each group wanted to mark the moment in some special way. The Korean Pentecostals sang gospel songs. The Anglicans read from Exodus and sang a hymn, and the Orthodox Christians sang a beautiful and haunting chant from their liturgy. As they headed down the mountain the pilgrims felt as though they had been given a glimpse of the feast of All Saints .

Our reading from Revelation presents a powerful scene. A great multitude from every tribe and nation, speaking every language, stands before the heavenly throne to worship God. Together they cry out, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

One of the elders present wonders out loud who composes this multitude. “Who are these, robed in white,” he asks, “and where do they come from?” The narrator tells him that those before the throne worshipping God “have come out of the great ordeal.” They are the ones who remained faithful despite hardship and persecution for their faith. This is not a scene written to provoke fear, but to offer comfort and hope.

In this portion of Revelation it is clear that the whole earth is included in God’s promise of salvation. God is not the God of a particular tribe or nation, but of all people. Despite expectations of a God who would lead revolutionary armies and devastate Israel’s enemies, this God showed up as a carpenter in Nazareth. This God came in weakness, not with vengeance. This God is the God of the beatitudes, a God who constantly works through surprising people, who then do surprising things. This is a God who works most often through our brokenness.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to have high expectations of everyone and everything, beginning with myself. I want to do everything right, I want my extended family to be close and loving, I want my faith community always to walk the way of Jesus, and I want the world to live in peace. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t always live up to my expectations. I am broken, my family is broken, the world is broken, and even our faith community, as wonderful as it is, has revealed and will reveal the brokenness of the human condition.

Some of us take the brokenness and hurt we see in ourselves, our families, our faith communities and our world as a sign that God is absent. God created the world and then left us to our own devices. But I would argue that our brokenness –the human propensity for making bad choices, for hurting others, for creating division, polluting the earth, hoarding resources, and thinking of ourselves and our own needs more than others, shows us how very much we need God. More often than not, the times we finally turn to God are when we realize that we can’t really do this on our own. We can’t live abundant lives without God. We can’t live lives of trust and hope and reconciled diversity without God. We can’t experience healing and new life without God. It is often only when we are broken open that we realize that we can’t do much of anything without God. The saints of the church were broken people, just like us, who acknowledged their brokenness and let God in. Only then was God’s light able to shine through their fractures.

As Christians we are part of a long continuum of saints. We are part of a long line of followers of the Way of Jesus who have gone before us. Our predecessors remained faithful to God despite and because of their brokenness. They faced every imaginable challenge including extreme persecution and death. They remained faithful to God despite their questions, their struggles, their disappointments and their personal limitations.

We are living in a challenging era. This past week the 7 billionth person in the world was born. This beautiful earth our island home is stressed. So many people in our world live in want. A recent report stated that 1 in 15 Minnesotans is living in poverty. Around the world people of different faiths continue to be persecuted, including Christians who lose everything – their jobs, their families and their lives for following Jesus. In the mainline church things are shifting quickly. Many old ways of doing things no longer work.

In the midst of all this change and uncertainty the communion of Saints gives me hope. More than that, the memory of how the Holy Spirit has continued to raise up men, women and children who have been the light in every generation lifts up my heart. Our Christian saints come from every possible context and country. The Holy Spirit worked in their midst to bring healing and new possibilities. The Holy Spirit continues to bring healing and new possibilities today. God’s Spirit creates a force field in which peace is possible, in which former enemies become friends, in which honest words are spoken, in which lives are changed for the better, in which people walk alongside and pray with one another during tough times. The saints remind us that ultimately our destination is that of resurrection, new life with God, communion with those around us, and unceasing joy.

The communion of saints surrounds us constantly. They surround us in our daily lives and they surround us at this altar table. They remind us that we are not the first ones to face difficult challenges, and they remind us of the great rewards that come to those who remain faithful and steadfast. As the bread is broken we get a glimpse of the saints dancing around this table, cheering us on. Together we give profound thanks to God as we celebrate the hope and the future God has given us. “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever!” Amen.