First United Methodist Church
November 3rd, 2024
Rev. Lauren Hall
Saints are People Through Whom God Shines
Everywhere we look, we see signs that the year is coming to an end: crops are harvested, leaves are changing color, it’s getting colder, or perhaps you noticed that the ghost and pumpkin shaped candies in the grocery stores have already been replaced by Christmas trees. When I walked into Kroger the day after Halloween, the shelves were already being cleared as the workers made room for Christmas candy and decorations.
The Christian year is coming to an end too, and our church has already started showing signs of increased activity as we prepare for the Christmas season. Even though Christmas isn’t until the end of December, in the church, we begin a new year on December 1.
And so, as the Christian year draws to a close, we set aside this day, All Saints Sunday, to remember our members – those faithful followers of Jesus who came before us and made it possible for us to know him—and here we’re not just talking about St. Stephen, or St. Francis, or St. Theresa, or St. Paul, or any of the early disciples who risked their lives to spread the Gospel, but our own grandmothers and grandfathers who snuggled us in their laps and told us Bible stories, our parents who made us come to church and Sunday School and youth group, and our spouses who taught us what living in relationship truly means, and in some cases, our children who tragically passed before we did. All Saints Sunday can sometimes be sad when someone we love has died in the past year, but our hope is contained in today’s Scripture: that God makes all things new. Even in death there is new life, and that is the victory we share through Jesus Christ!
1 In Genesis 3:17, during the account of the fall of Adam and Eve, God says that the ground is cursed because of their sinful actions. Imagine a beautiful mountain in the fall or a stunning, brilliant sunset. The amazing beauty we enjoy is actually a hobbled version of God’s original creation. Sinfulness also introduced pain and hatred into our existence (vv. 15, 16). In addition, humanity lost access to the tree of life (vv22, 23), causing death to become part of our reality. God intends to fully restore the original creation. It won’t be just a small change here and there. It will be like a full renovation of a house – not just a remodel of one or two rooms. God will make all things new. That’s the promise that is written in Revelation 21.
What we have to remember is that the Bible does not begin in Genesis 3 with the fall. It begins in Genesis 1, where God created the heavens and earth and called it “good.” And then God continued to create by forming humanity, companions, created in God’s own image, and called us “very good.”
Our gospel reading reminds us of the great commandment to love God: isn't this what sainthood is finally about? Not perfection or superhuman holinesss but simply love for God and neighbor? Jesus didn't merely command love. He loved. He demonstrated. He put it on display so we'd know the way, but his display isn't just for watching; we receive his love, his embreace. That's what makes us saints.
The scribe did not ask Jesus for the second commandment, even though it, too, is found in the Torah (Lev. 19:18 b). This command is echoed in Romans 13:9 and 1 John 4:7, 8. John Wesley believed that it is impossible to keep the first commandment unless one lives according to the second. Jesus, as the fulfillment of the Law, obeyed the two great commandments perfectly, and gave his life for us out of love for the world and love for the Father.
Thankfully, God’s story and activity in the world does not end with Jesus’ resurrection and the empty tomb. At Pentecost, we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the church was born with the mission to continue Jesus’ message and ministry continually illustrating the Kingdom of God. And even though Jesus ascended after fifty days, God’s presence and redeeming grace is still at work.
As we recognize our Saints on All Saints Sunday, it's important for us to remember on All Saints Sunday that the faithfulness and legacy of those who have gone before us has not been in vain. Saints are the people who God shines through. Each saint shows us a different part of God. The more people we know and pay attention to, the more we witness the grace of God through those people. Their lives, just as our lives, are part of God’s plan and work in the redemption of creation. Today we take the time to reflect and celebrate those who introduced us to Jesus, helped us to form our faith, and faithfully served our church and communities. Let’s take a moment to celebrate our saints for this year:
Larry Pinkerton
Benjamin Boys
Kim Butler
Phyllis Schoonover
Dorothy Morgan
Barb Van Vactor Miller
Phyllis Jo Westfall
Daren Morgan
Helen Deziel
Delbert Rans
David Weedling
All Saints Sunday involves remembrance, yes, but it also can be a time when death gives way to life. The people named today are not superhuman, for Saints do not possess an extra layer of muscle. They are not taller, or smarter, or richer. Their parents are not more clever than yours or mine. They don’t have bat-like perception that enables them to fly in the dark. They are flesh and blood, just like you and me. And that is the point. They simply offer themselves to God, knowing that they are not the elite, fully cognizant that they are inadequate to the task and that their abilities are limited.
God is the beginning and the end, and death gives way to victory through Christ, the living and ultimate paradox.
Our Scriptures and this special Sunday also serve to remind us that the baton has been passed to those of us who remain. Following Christ means, among other things, becoming like Christ in self-giving love. Like the scribe in our gospel, we “are not far from the kingdom of God” if we know this—but we have not yet arrived unless we do it, too. Love is perhaps the most difficult commandment: impossible to do without God’s enabling grace. Let’s pray…
We give you thanks, O God, for all the saints who ever worshiped you
whether in brush arbors or cathedrals, weathered wooden churches or crumbling cement meeting houses, where your name was lifted and adored.
We give you thanks, O God, for hands lifted in praise: Manicured hands and hands stained with grease or soil, strong hands and those gnarled with age,
Holy hands used as wave offerings across the land.
We thank you, God, for hardworking saints; whether hard-hatted or steel-booted, head ragged or aproned, blue-collared or three-piece-suited.
They left their mark on the earth for you, for us, for our children to come.
Thank you, God, for the tremendous sacrifices made by those who have gone before us. Bless the memories of your saints, God.
May we learn how to walk wisely from their examples of faith, dedication, worship, and love. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
