Let’s pray: May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. We come to you, Lord, seeking truth. Your word is truth. Lead us into the truth. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Take a minute and turn to your neighbor. Share with your neighbor about a person you consider to be a saint.
Who was it?
Why would you call that person a saint?
Why didn’t any of you nominate yourself?
I want to rewrite the common definition of “saint.” What are the two characteristics you often think of when it comes to saints? Here’s what I thought:
1) Saints perform miracles.
2) Saints are dead.
Why should that be the case? Wouldn’t you like to meet a living saint? Wouldn’t you like to BE a living saint? This is why I want to rewrite the common definition of “saint:” too many of us think we don’t qualify right off the start because we’re not doing miracles and we’re not dead. I’m going to rewrite that definition of sainthood and get the numbers of the club up to where they oughta be, and here’s how I’m going to do it.
- A saint is a person who knows that heaven is where you get fed, not fed upon.
- A saint is a person who knows that God won’t let sorrow and grief have the last word.
- A saint is a person who was once dead – but has been raised, unbound and set free by the word of Jesus Christ.
That’s my working definition of sainthood for today: how about we explore it a little deeper.
1. A saint is a person who knows that heaven is where you get fed, not fed upon. Look at what the prophet Isaiah has to say about God’s power. One day, Isaiah says, God will swallow up death forever. That’s not just a poetic way of saying God is powerful. In the mythologies of the people who lived around Israel in ancient times, death was a ravenous monster that devoured everything in its path. Death was the one thing no one could escape.
Are we so different today? We, too, can see that our greatest fear is death, which still consumes everything in its path. Yet we deny death and seek to escape it through any means necessary: cosmetic surgery, special diets, pills – you name it, we will swallow it to feed the need to escape the fact that we are dying. But a saint sees more clearly. A saint sees that what appears to be nourishment is actually a piranha in disguise: death is still sharp teeth and a ravenous appetite for consumption. But a saint also knows that there is One who promises genuine nourishment and actually delivers. A saint is one who knows that the feast provided by our God cannot be matched by anything this world may have to offer. A saint finds that feast wherever God’s word is proclaimed and the good news of Jesus Christ is joyfully evident among his followers. A saint knows that heaven is where you get fed through God’s Word and through living among other saints; and heaven can be as close as the neighbor to your right or your left. A saint is a person who knows that heaven is where you get fed, not fed upon.
2. A saint is a person who knows that God won’t let sorrow and grief have the last word. Some of you have been far too familiar with sorrow and grief this year. I know – I’ve been there with you. Some of you have let that sorrow and grief wash over you, pass through you, and now it is a distant memory. Some of you have held off your grief and sorrow for far too long, and it’s going to be even more painful when it finally does take hold of you. Some of you are going to be grief-stricken in the year to come: people you love will die, or cause you pain in ways you can’t even imagine yet. Some of you will be the ones causing the pain. Some of you will be the ones dying.
A saint knows that seasons change. A saint knows that years pass and things must come to an end. A saint knows that life is fleeting and precious. Notice that I never said a saint does not have sorrow or grief. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If anything, a saint has greater grief and sorrow, for a saint sees the loss more clearly and mourns all the more deeply. But at the same time, a saint knows a deeper joy, intensified by the knowledge that joy is a thing of a moment. A saint knows that true joy cannot be manufactured or created: it can only be experienced and savored in its time.
But a saint also trusts in a God who holds time in gentle hands. A saint knows within herself the words of the visionary: “God’s dwelling place is among humanity. God will dwell with us; we will be God’s peoples; God will wipe every tear from our eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away…Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” A saint believes that sorrow is a sign of God’s presence; for only that which is made in God’s image would be worthy of grief at its death. A saint is a person who believes in God’s power to bring order from chaos, light from darkness, life from death. A saint is a person who knows that God won’t let sorrow and grief have the last word.
3. A saint is a person who was once dead – but has been raised, unbound and set free by the word of Jesus Christ. In the movie Big Fish, the main character sees in the eyes of the local witch how he’s going to die. Once he knows the moment of his death, he’s free to live and risk and grow and be as powerful as he wants to be. When you know where and when you’ll finally meet your death, you’re free to really live.
I wonder, then, how Lazarus lived his life after Jesus raised him out of death. What did Lazarus do after he knew what death was like? Did he fear death when it came for him again? Did he live a life we might call saintly? We don’t even know if Lazarus was near the cross when Jesus died, but knowing that Lazarus, Mary and Martha were good friends with Jesus, we can probably assume that Lazarus was still involved somewhere. Did Lazarus live a life of deep joy, bold faith and confident grace? Would you have said that Lazarus was a saint?
We only know one thing for certain: Lazarus was dead. Four days dead, actually – long enough that they were reluctant to let Jesus into the tomb for fear of the stench. But Jesus wouldn’t have it: and so Lazarus was raised, unbound and set free because Jesus said so. Lazarus didn’t ask for this; Lazarus couldn’t have earned it; Lazarus couldn’t deny it: it just happened to him, and afterwards, Lazarus was free from the power and hold of death.
What would you have done? How would you have lived if you were Lazarus? It’s not just a rhetorical question: I’m asking because you have been raised from the dead, just like Lazarus, and now you’re free – because in your baptism you have been united with Jesus in death and resurrection. Death has already come for you – and though it will come again, your resurrection in Jesus Christ will be more powerful.
Today we will confirm seven young people from our church. For the past two years they’ve been bound into confirmation classes; a living death, some might say, although I hope they’ve felt differently. I told them the day they started that this was not a certification course or some kind of degree program: I would see to it that they were confirmed once they started the journey. Today we set them free. But this is not graduation day: it is, rather, the next step in a journey of faith. Today they will affirm their baptism: they will say that yes, the death of baptism is a death with which they agree, for they have found life in Jesus Christ and wish to continue in that life.
Here we are, gathered on All Saints’ Sunday, and I wonder how you’ll live now that you are unbound and free of the power of death. Will you live as though you’ve already died? Will you deeply love your neighbor? Will generously give of your time and talents? Will you graciously support the work of the church? Will you grieve deeply and rejoice abundantly? Will you faithfully cling to God’s Word for life and salvation? Will you lovingly strive for justice and peace in all the earth?
Sainthood is not something any of us earn: sainthood is a gift God gives to us all in our baptism. Sainthood is not a brass ring to acquire: sainthood is a life to be lived.
- A saint is a person who knows that heaven is where you get fed, not fed upon.
- A saint is a person who knows that God won’t let sorrow and grief have the last word.
- A saint is a person who was once dead – but has been raised, unbound and set free by the word of Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters, you are saints, right here and now. Will you take your sainthood, the gift of new life in Jesus Christ, and live it well? Take it, I urge you, and live it for all it is worth. Let your life be a living witness to the power, joy, love and mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ. Let the love of God nourish your soul. Let the tender mercy of God gently wash away your tears when you mourn. Be God’s living saints, unbound and free. Amen.
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