All Saints, Saints Alive! (sermon 5 Nov 2023)
Saints Alive! Saints of God! Did you hear the text? 1st John 3:
WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN NOW;
what we WILL BE has not yet been revealed.
All Saints, living and dead. NOW we are Saints Alive! What we will be NEXT, we do not know.
I had a relative (now dead), who told me with absolute certainty, “I KNOW where I’m going. I don’t just think, I KNOW.” What an idiot! Faith is not knowing, faith is hoping. Hebrews 11:1, faith is confidence in what we hope for, faith is feeling assured about what we do not see. Faith is not certainty, faith is not knowledge, faith is not knowing, faith is hope, hoping.
I’m thinking of a FAITH book, and a faith SONG.
"Der gute Kamerad", “Ich hatt’ einen Kameraden” is a 200 year old folk song, a lament, a grief song of the German armed forces. Not political, not nationalistic, it’s the intensely personal experience of a soldier losing his comrade standing right next to him in battle.
He says, I had a comrade, einen besser'n findst du nit' - - a better one you’ll never find. The drum summons to fight. We went forward side by side. Ein Kugel kamm geflogen, gilt's mir oder gilt es dir? A bullet came flying, is it for me or is it for you? It tears my comrade away. As he falls dying at my feet, he reaches out his hand, but, “I cannot give you my hand. Bleib du im ew'gen Leben - - you stay in eternal life, mein guter Kamerad”
WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN NOW;
what we WILL BE has not yet been revealed,
but we live by faith; and the faith of that song is as Jesus assuring the repentant thief, “This day you will be with me in Paradise.” Faith of the saints is that we do not die into dark oblivion, but into the presence of God who loves us. Faith is hope, assurance - - in prayer, in Scripture, in song.
As you go along, be alert for expressions of faith, confidence, belief in life around you. They are everywhere. That song's faith intrigues me.
THE BOOK is a lifelong favorite, “The Great Divorce” by C S Lewis. Listen to the opening paragraph as the Narrator begins his story:
“I SEEMED to be standing in a bus queue by the side of a long, dingy street. Evening was closing in and it was raining. I had been wandering for hours in similar streets, always in the rain and always in half light. Time seemed to have paused on that dismal moment when only a few shops have lit up and it is not yet dark enough for their windows to look cheering. And just as the evening never became night, so my walking never brought me to better parts of town. However far I went I found only dingy lodging houses, small tobacco shops, bulletin boards from which posters hung in rags, windowless warehouses, and bookshops of the sort that sell The Works of Aristotle. I never met anyone. Except for the little crowd at the bus stop, the whole town seemed to be empty. I think that was why I got in line.”
The narrator finds himself wandering in the dismal half-light of eternal dusk (never dawn, because dawn has a promise), chilling rain, a place of dilapidated boardinghouses, abandoned warehouses, dim shops, dull bookstores. No one to be seen.
He is in Hell, of course. Now a ghost, he has died and gone to Hell, although he does not realize it yet.
Hell is not fire and brimstone, Hell is wandering endlessly - - aimlessly because there is no destination - - wandering alone as you nurse your resentments and hurts and certainties and grievances and offenses. Nothing ever changes except as trash and garbage is scattered by gusts of wind, and the wandering is so vast that no one ever comes across anyone else.
Eventually the narrator comes upon that queue, a line of bickering ghosts cursing, exchanging blows; nasty tempers aggravated by the rain. Now and then someone leaves the line to show how angry they are at being kept waiting with fools, but no one notices or cares: everyone moves up closer to the head of the line.
As it turns out, they’re waiting at the central bus stop. When the bus finally arrives, it’s empty - - brightly lighted, comfortable, plenty of room for everyone, but everyone crowds and fights and pushes and shoves into the bus, thinking of themselves, everybody wants their rights.
Getting your rights regardless of other people is a primary concern in Hell, you know. For those in Hell in this life and the next, rights are everything.
As the ghosts push and crowd into the bus, they resent the bus driver, who is happy, smiling, welcoming, pleasant. “What’s HE got to smile about, keeping us waiting? He’s a phony, that smile’s fake, I’d like to KNOCK him one.”
The bus gets underway and, if you’ve been with me in this pulpit for some years, then you’ve been with me on this bus ride before, and you know where we’re going!
Anyone in Hell who wants to can make their way to the central bus stop and get on the bus for the overnight bus ride up to Heaven. When you get there and a good look around, if you want to stay, you can stay, although most of the ghosts get back on the bus for the return trip to Hell. It’s their choice; but they cannot let go of themselves with their resentments, grudges, and certainties. And their rights, of course. For most people, “It’s all about me,” and most would rather nurse grievances and dreams of getting even, than let go of bitterness just to be happy. Happiness has a cost, you see!
After an overnight bus ride that the passengers make miserable for themselves and each other with bickering and constant complaining, the bus arrives at Heaven’s welcome center, an endless green meadow where it’s always a delightful Spring morning under a clear blue sky.
Saints In Heaven already know who’s arriving on the bus. Every ghost on the bus is expected, every ghost is greeted warmly by someone they knew in life on earth. It will be a saint who WANTS to come greet you, someone who has been in Heaven long enough to know what it’s like, someone who traveled a long distance from their mansion in the Father's house to the welcome center to greet their guest and show them what Heaven is like, hoping they may want to stay.
I'll not go further into C S Lewis’ book. All the action takes place in the vast beauty of the welcome center - - in the imagination of his faith journey, Lewis never takes us to the far distant mountains and valleys, beyond which is God himself. The Bible says mortals cannot look on God and live; but faith promises that in due course everyone there will meet God face to face. What will it be like?
we are God's children NOW;
what we WiLL BE has not yet been revealed.
Lewis’ book is a story, of course. We do not know what God has in mind for us, maybe something personal for each one of us, maybe we’ll be aware and active, maybe we'll see those we love who love us; maybe ultimate peace, maybe absorb us back into God’s Being.
In “Der gute Kamerad“ a soldier is shot in battle. As he falls at his friend’s feet, the dying man reaches out; but his comrade cannot help him, he says “You stay in eternal life,” - - by faith, an instantaneous victory from Hell on earth into the loving presence of God.
But it’s whatever God says, we do not really know!
First John Three again,
See what love the Father has given us,
that we should be called children of God;
and that is what we are.
WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN NOW;
what we WILL BE has not yet been revealed.
We are saints on earth, hoping to be saints in glory. So, now, listen to our faith prayers as we commit ourselves and loved ones, alive and dead, to God who loves us:
The Lord be with you.
As you remain seated, or stand, or kneel, in peace let us pray to the Lord.
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As we begin, we pray for the earth in this dark hour of war, for all people, for those who have died, for those who suffer and those who will suffer, for those who WILL die. As we live in greater safety here, we pray for innocents who are in danger, especially children who have harmed no one and have no idea why violence ravishes their world. We pray for those who are hungry, thirsty, for those who have lost hope, for those who need medical care. Help them find hope in the midst of despair. We pray for defense forces as they deal with evil, as we pray for those who are oppressed and marginalized by others. We pray for rulers and authorities, that your wisdom and lovingkindness may guide them.
Almighty God, you have knit together your people in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Grant, we pray, to your whole Church in paradise and on earth, your light and your peace.
Grant that all who have been baptized into Jesus' death and resurrection may die to sin and rise to newness of life, and that through the grave and gate of death we may pass with Jesus to our joyful resurrection.
Grant to us who are still in our pilgrimage, and who walk as yet by faith, that your Holy Spirit may lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days.
Grant pardon to your faithful people, that we may be cleansed from all our sins, and serve you in peace.
Grant to all who mourn a sure confidence in your fatherly care, that, casting all our grief on you, we may know the consolation of your love.
Give courage and faith to those who are bereaved, that we may have strength to meet the days ahead in the comfort of a reasonable and holy hope, in the joyful expectation of eternal life with those we love.
Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of our sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting.
Grant us grace to entrust to your never-failing love, our loved ones who have died - - remembering especially Jewell Harding, Nell Barnett, Susan Nelson, Richard Bruhn, Mary Troxell, Tony Cox (are there others?); receive your saints into the arms of your mercy, and remember us according to your love for us.
Grant that, increasing in knowledge and love of you, we may go from strength to strength in the life of perfect service in your heavenly kingdom.
Grant us, with all who have died in the hope of the resurrection, to have our joy in your eternal and everlasting glory, and, with all your saints, to receive the crown of life that you promise to all who share in the victory of your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles, "Peace I give to you; my own peace I leave with you:" Regard not our sins, but the faith of your Church, and give to us the peace and unity of that heavenly City, where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, now and for ever. Amen.
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God who loves you just as you are, the way you are, forgives your sins before you ask. Your sins are forgiven. I proclaim this to you in the Name of the Father, and of + the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.