Good Shepherd Lutheran Church(elca)

Following Christ, Growing in Faith, Sharing God's Love

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Saints

Pastor: 
Pr. John Gerike
Sermon audio: 
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Sermon: “Saints”
November 5 and 6, 2011
All Saints
 
 
 
I have a tendency to focus on the immediate.
            On deadlines.
                        On that which needs to be completed today.
            So, I have my list for work—
                        --which has those things
                                    which absolutely need to be completed today
                        --and those which it would be nice
                                    if they were completed today
                        --and those that need to be completed sometime,
                                    but probably not today.
 
            And then I have a similar list for home.
 
 
And in most ways,
            I like that system.
                        It works well for me.
            Once I put something on the list,
                        I can usually stop thinking about it
                                    and worrying about it.
            And just focus on the first thing on the list.
 
 
 
But there’s a downside, too.
            Sometimes, in the midst of focusing on the urgent,
                        I lose sight of what’s really important.
            Sometimes, by focusing on the immediate,
                        I miss the big picture.
            Sometimes, by focusing on what I need to get done,
                        I lose sight of those around me.
            And sometimes, by keeping my sights focused on today,
                        I lose sight of forever.
 
 
All Saints (Sunday) is a day
            that God can use
                        to break into our everyday existence,
                                    and give us a picture of what’s really important.
 
 
What is All Saints Day about anyway?
            We have a tendency to think of saints
                        as the super-heroes of the faith.
            But that’s not the way the Bible uses the word.
                        The two words that are translated “Saint”
                                    are makarioi and hagioi.
                        Which means “Blessed ones”
                                    and “Holy ones”.
            And in both cases those are things that are gifts.
                        To be blessed is a gift from God.
                        To be holy means to be set apart—
                                    --and God is the one who sets us apart.
 
 
Think about the Corinthian church that the Apostle Paul wrote to?
            Were they super-hero Christians?
                                    Hardly.
            He wrote to them because they couldn’t get along.
                                    Because they were always fighting.
                        Especially about who was best.
                                    They had lots of problems.
           
            And what did Paul call them?
                        Saints.
 
           
Take a look at our reading from 1 John.
            How does it start out:
 
See what love the Father has given us,
            that we should be called children of God;
                        and that is what we are.
 
 
Why are we called children of God?
            Because of what we’ve done.
                        No, because of the love God has given us.
                        It starts with God’s love.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sometimes,
            we are good, obedient children.
 And sometimes,
            we are not.
 
 
But are we only children of our parents
            when we are good?
   Hardly.
            It’s not how well I do
                        at being a son,
                                    that makes me a son.
            It’s the love that’s given from the parents.
 
 
And that’s even more true
            in our relationship with God.
 “See what love the Father has given us,
                        that we should be called children of God.
                                    And we are.”
 
 
We are God’s children,
            not because of what we’ve done,
            not because of what we do,
                        but because of the love that God
                                    has first given us.
            We are blessed.
                        We are holy—
                                    --which means God sets us apart.
                                    So, we are saints.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And because I am God’s child because of God’s love,
            and you are God’s child because of God’s love,
                        we are brothers and sisters in Christ
                                    because of God’s love.
 
 
That doesn’t mean we always agree.
            That doesn’t even mean we always even like each other.
 There are times my brother and I don’t agree.
                        And don’t get along.
            There are times I’m sure,
                        when I drive my brother crazy.
                                    At least I know I used to.
 
But it does mean that we’re still brothers and sisters,
                        because we are God’s children.
 
 
And that says something
            about how we relate to each other.
 Do you think it might make a difference
                        how I treat someone I’m frustrated with,
                                    if I realize that God loves him
                                    like God loves me?
            That God loved her so much
                        that Jesus died for her?
 
 
Do you think it might make a difference
            in my relationships
                        with people of other nationalities
                                    if I see that they are God’s children?
 
People of different race?
            People with different ideas?
                                    People who are just different?
            Still God’s children.
                        People God loves.
 
 
And, as it says a little later in 1 John,
            “Because God so loved us,
                        we also ought to….
                                    ….love one another.”
 
 
And because we are children of God,
            we are with God always—
                        --forever.
 
All Saints (Sunday) is good for helping us remember that, too
            Because one part of All Saints
                        is remembering the saints,
                                    God’s beloved children,
                                                who have gone before us.
 
The fancy language the church uses
            is to talk about those who are now in the church triumphant.
                        In heaven, with God, forever.
 
 
I think of my Dad,
            and my grandparents,
                        and Ruth’s Mom and Dad.
            And I remember.
                        And I give thanks to God for them.
 
 
In just a little while,
            you’ll have a chance to write the names of loved ones
                        who have died,
                                    on crosses.
            And we’ll collect those at the end of the service,
                        and put them up on the wall.
                                    To remember.
                                                Remember the saints.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Take a look at verse 2 of our reading from 1 John:
 
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
            what we will be has not yet been revealed.
 What we do know is this;
            when he is revealed, we will be like him,
                        for we will see him as he is.
 
 
Do you know what pastors talk about
            when they play golf?
 I think Ruth has stopped asking.
            But she used to ask,
                        “What do you talk about
                                    when you’re out there on the golf course
                                                for 4 or 5 hours?”
 
            You know what I’d answer:
                        “We talked about—
                                    --golf.”
            That’s about it.
 
 
But a while ago,
            I was golfing with another pastor,
                        and somehow—on the golf course—
                                    --we started talking about heaven.
            Maybe it started by wondering if there would be golf
                                    in heaven.
            But we starting talking about
                        our ideas of heaven,
                        our thoughts about heaven,
                        our images of heaven.
 
And at one point,
            I said:
                        “You know,
                                    heaven will probably be really different
                                                than anything we are imagining,
                                                            except for a couple things.
                        First,
                                    it will be good.
                                                Better than we can imagine.
                        And second,
                                    we’ll always be with God.”
 
 
Our reading from 1 John reminds us
            that we really don’t know a lot about our heavenly future.
 But we do know
            that God is always with us.
                        God is with us now.
                                    And we’ll be with God forever.
 
            And maybe that’s the most important thing
                        we can know.
 
 
 
Many of you have probably heard about Joni Eareckson Tada.
            When she was a teenager,
                        she dove into a lake—
                                    --but it wasn’t deep enough
                                    --and she broke her neck.
            Ever since,
                        she’s been paralyzed from the neck down.
 
But she has spent her life,
            as a witness to her faith in God,
                        even being paralyzed,
                                    and facing times of depression.
 
 
You get a glimpse of her spirit
            when you hear her say:
                        “It’s ironic.
                                    In heaven,
                                                where I will be able once again to wipe my own tears,
                                                            I won’t have to.
 
 
 
 
She tells a true story
                        about a retreat she helped lead          
                                    for families affected by disabilities.
            And at the end of that 5-day retreat,
                        they passed around a microphone,
                                    so all the participants could share a couple sentences
                                                about how meaningful,
                                                            how fun the week had been.
 
 
And after a few people had shared,
            little, freckle-faced, red-haired Jeff
                        raised his hand.
            Everybody was so excited to hear what Jeff would say,
                        because he’d become a favorite—
                                    --having such a great time
                                    --and sharing it with everyone around.
            And so they were looking forward to him
                        Telling what a great time he had.
 
 
Jeff has Downs Syndrome.
            And he took the microphone,
                        put it right up to his mouth,
                                    and said:
            “Let’s go home.”
 
 
 
Later, his mother explained,
            “Jeff really missed his Dad this week.
                        His dad couldn’t come because of work.”
            And even though Jeff had a great time,
                        a fun-filled week,
                                    he was ready to go home
                                                because he missed his Dad.
 
 
When our life gets so filled up with the everyday,
            and get so caught up in the immediate,
                        maybe All Saints is a good time to catch a glimpse of the eternal.
                       
If you feel alone,
            in pain,
                        anxious,
                                    afraid,
            maybe it’s a good time to remember
                        that you are God’s child,
                                    surrounded by the Body of Christ,
                                                a great cloud of witnesses,                             
                                                            living and dead.
            God’s love is there for all of us
                        to receive
                                    and share.
 
 
And when your life on this earth is done,
            God’s love doesn’t change.
 We’re not exactly sure what heaven will be like,
                        but it will be good,
                        and we will still be with God—forever.
 
 
 
May God break into our lives everyday,
                        and keep our eyes turned to Jesus—
                                    --and God’s amazing love.
 
 
 
(Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
            look full in his wonderful face,
                        and the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
                                    in the light of his glory and grace.)
 
 
In Jesus’ name,
            Amen