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All Saints
Sunday provides an opportunity to remember and give
thanks for all the believers who have lived before us.
Some of the saints are persons we might have known quite
well, while we recognize the names of others, and still
there are many more numbering in the millions whose
names and lives are known only to God.
There are
people we knew personally who impact our faith in
profound ways; our parents, grandparents, or other
relatives, or good friends, or fellow church members, or
neighbors who now reside in heaven. We thank God for
the privilege of knowing them, of walking beside them,
and for the influence of their lives on our own.
NBC
Washington Bureau-Chief Tim Russert died unexpectedly
earlier this year. His twenty two year old son Luke
remembers the special times he shared with his father.
Luke told an interviewer the week after his father’s
passing, that his dad was very demonstrative. “There
was always a lot of love from him. We would always
hug.” Then he added, “There’s not a day that went by
that I did not know my father loves me. For that, I’m
eternally grateful.”
Retired
newsman Dan Rather said, “Tim, first and foremost, was devout in his faith and deeply devoted to
his family.” Tim Russert will be remembered for his
work on television but also as a positive example of a
man of faith who deeply loved his entire family and
served his community.
Today we give
thanks to God for those special people in our lives and
the lessons they have taught us.
We know from
our own experience that it is not always easy to live
out our faith as modern day disciples of Jesus Christ.
We try our best to obey Jesus’ commands of loving God
and neighbor while paying attention to “the least of
these who are members of my family.” There is a cost to
our discipleship.
If
we have not ruffled some feathers now and then, perhaps
we were not living out our faith in the way Jesus
instructed us. As we discovered in Jesus’ ministry
there were times when those in positions of power took
exception to his teachings. The religious leaders who
should have been supportive of Jesus and his ministry
were the very ones who plotted against him. The
apostles experienced personal hardship as they told
others about Jesus as did many early Christians. It is
not easy following Jesus whose teachings and way of life
seem to run counter to what our culture defines as
important.
A
frequent question we ask after we have gone through a
rather difficult time is “was it worth it?” How does
what we experienced benefit other believers? The
apostle John may very well have asked himself that same
question while living in exile on the island of Patmos.
John had accompanied Jesus all through his earthy
ministry. Following Easter John obeyed Jesus’ command;
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything that I have commanded you.” Doing those
very things was what got John into trouble. As a result
those in power shipped him off thinking that would be
the last they would hear from John. There on that tiny
Greek island John had a powerful vision, of the end
time. While some may shy away from the book of
Revelation it actually is a word of hope proclaiming
that no matter what happens to us we will be with God
and Jesus. Therefore in the end all of our struggles
and suffering will be worth it.
In
that powerful vision there was a large crowd gathered,
“a great multitude that no one could count,” John wrote,
“from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and
languages, standing before the throne and before the
Lamb.” There were so many people, not only from all
over the earth but from every time as well. Picture a
large football stadium that holds one hundred thousand
fans and then multiply the crowd several times. There
would be nothing but people as far as the eye could see
in all directions. It must have been an awesome sight.
All
of these people had one thing in common. They had all
suffered in some way for their faith. Some were
persecuted and harassed while others might have been
tortured or even killed for the faith they professed.
Others resisted the pressures of the day, the allure of
Babylon. They experienced so much hardship. They were
gathered near the very throne of God and Jesus, “with
palm branches in their hands.” In spite of what they
endured the mood was one of celebration since they were
now in the very presence of both God and Jesus.
“With palm branches in their hands” was reminiscent of
another celebration--Palm Sunday as Jesus made his
triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On that occasion people
were shouting and singing, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of the Lord.” The religious
leaders were uncomfortable with all the attention Jesus
received. On that day they said to one another in
frustration, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the
world has gone after him!” It was an ironic
foreshadowing of John’s vision because the whole world
has gone after Jesus.
According to John in that victory celebration the people
were shouting “in a loud voice…Salvation belongs to our
God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” The
reference to the Lamb, of course was to Jesus who gave
his life that all who believe in him may receive eternal
life. We were reminded that salvation rests with God
alone. We did not earn it or even deserve it; rather
salvation came as a gift from God, as part of God’s
amazing grace. While others might boast and made
promises they could not possibly fulfill only God was
the ultimate source of total well-being, and peace.
Salvation came from God.
John was caught up in this incredible scene watching
angels surrounding the throne of God. Then one of the
elders asked John about the people wearing white
robes. Unsure what to say John replied that the elder
should know the answer. “These are they who have come
out of the great ordeal,” the elder told John “they have
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb.” The people wearing the white robes were
those who suffered and who were now with God. They were
the saints whose devotion and loyalty to God and Jesus
were both deliberate and costly. They had made it and
now were present with God and the Lamb. They stand
before God’s throne where they serve God day and night.
Their time of suffering is over, “They will hunger no
more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of
the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide
them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes.” Those wearing the
white robes are no longer victims but rather victors.
Thanks to Jesus the battle has already been fought and
won. In the end the people will answer the question
yes—everything they endured was worth it.
John’s vision has brought hope to millions of
believers. When we feel like giving up, falling prey to
the allure of Babylon, when the cost of discipleship
seems too great we need to remember that the victory is
already ours—thanks be to Jesus. One day we shall join
those who have gone before us, we will join in the grand
celebration before the throne of God and Jesus.
God’s on going work of salvation continues in our day
and time. The saving work of God continues through us
as we seek to live out our faith as modern day disciples
of Jesus Christ. We share our faith with others hoping
and praying that the seeds of faith that we plant will
take hold.
Today we
remember and give thanks to God for all the saints who
have lived before us, especially celebrating the lives
of those who impacted our own lives. As the hymn
states, “They are saints of God…and I mean to be one
too.” (1) May we live in such a way that our words and
actions will point others toward Jesus Christ.
Amen
1. “I Sing a Song of the
Saints of God” Lesbia Scott, United Methodist Hymnal
#712
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