All Sinners and Saints Day

All Saints 11-5-17

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and savior Jesus the Christ. Amen

Do you have a favorite show that you MUST WATCH and you just CANNOT MISS an EPISODE? Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones…? Anyone? Well, I used to be totally addicted to a show called Once Upon a Time. Every Sunday at 8 PM, the TV had better be turned to that station OR ELSE. Don’t talk to me, don’t ask me anything, don’t make any loud noises, don’t even look at me for that whole hour.

Once Upon a Time is pretty much what it sounds like …. a Disney fairytale for adults. And who didn’t like Disney movies growing up? Princesses that were beautiful and compassionate, princes that were brave and dashing, and all the woodland creatures who were available to help you with basic household chores. What’s not to love? We just had Halloween, and I’m sure you had your fair share of Cindrellas, Elsas, Moanas, knocking at your door.

This show, Once Upon a Time, keeps to the spirit of that classic fairytale structure – a baby, a princess by birth, the product of true love, is sent out into the world as the only hope to save her people, who are under wicked queen’s curse. But the twist is that THIS princess grows up in “the real world” - with cars and computers rather than magic and fairy dust. And as a result, she has a hard time coming to terms with her enchanted past.

But we all know that life is way more complicated than what happens in a fairytale. At some point, we put away the gowns and crowns and magic wands. We grow up, and realize that we were not secretly born a princess or a prince, and that we are not called to embark on a thrilling quest to save the kingdom.

Or are we?

If we truly outgrow fantasy, why is it then, that we are so drawn to “rags to riches” stories? Not just in fairytales, but also in our movies, shows, and books? Why were we so caught up in stories of people who started out with nothing and now are wildly famous and successful? Could it be that we can’t help thinking “maybe, just maybe, this could be me”? That I really might have what it takes to be a “hero” in my own story? That, as Belle from Beauty and the Beast laments, there must be more than this provincial life?”

As it turns out, we have our own kind of “heroes” in our Christian tradition, don’t we? We typically call them “saints.” That is kind of a loaded word, thought. What does the word “saint” really mean?  Who are the people we tend to call “Saints”? Someone who is kind and compassionate? Wholly devoted to God? A bit stuffy, who doesn’t like to have fun? Someone who makes you feel kind of like an inferior Christian in comparison?

In some traditions, “Saint” is like a special title with a lot of criteria to “qualify” in order to have that special title. I’m not sure what they all are, but I know that it involves miracles and many, many good deeds over the course of a lifetime. The point is, it’s very hard to get to be THIS KIND of saint.

For us, in the Lutheran church there is just one thing necessary to being a saint. Do you want to know what it is? Do you? I hope you do, because I’m going to tell you anyway. Ok, here it is… The one thing necessary to being a saint is… Jesus.

Yup. You heard me right. Jesus is the one thing that you need in order to be a saint. And because of Jesus, we have ALL been made saints. Not the “holier than thou” kind of saint that is unattainable for most people. But instead, the kind of saint to is a forgiven and redeemed child of God.

So let’s forget about those Disney movies for a minute.  Let’s forget about all the things you think that you think make up a truly “saintly” person. You have been called to be a saint. I want you all, right now, to turn to your neighbor and say to each other, “You are a saint…”

Because the most amazing story ever told is actually true: each and every one of you was chosen at birth to be something extraordinary: a beloved child of God. As we heard from the first letter of John, “see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God… beloved, we are God’s children now.”

NOW. Right now. Not when you have all your ducks in a row, when your life is order and no longer sin… but now, every day you’ve already lived and every day that you are GOING to live. How? Not by doing miracles or X number of good deeds over the course of your life…. Not by being a super human. But by being baptized.

How many of you remember when you were baptized? … anyone? If you were a baby, and DON’T remember, let me remind you what happened that day. In the service of baptism, we are publicly acknowledging the fact God loves you and has chosen you to be his beloved child. If you were a baby, your parents promised to raise you so that you could live into this reality, both with their help and with God’s help.

In the show, Once Upon a Time, the baby princess grows up, and finally comes to terms with her birthright, and she is finally able to break the curse that holds her people captive. But that is not the end of the show – it’s only the end of season one. In season two she struggles with the implications of who she is, and tries with mixed results to live into her calling, not just as “savior” to her people, but also as a daughter - and a mother. And she doesn’t always get it right.

The truth is, we’re still going to mess up. Being a saint, a beloved child of God, does not mean that we are going to be perfect and nice all the time. We’re still going to get frustrated at our kids or grandkids We’re still going to yell at people in traffic (which I admit I do far too often). We’re still going to screw up our relationships and spend our money on things we don’t need and make judgments about people who are different from us.

But this is why Jesus didn’t just skip ahead to the cross to get to the “dying and rising for us part,” though that part is SUPER important, of course. Jesus knows that we need help, he knew we can’t do it alone. That’s why he walked around for three years with a crew of young, clueless blue-collar, working-class guys, saying stuff like “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Stuff that really is pretty obvious but is actually really hard to do.

Martin Luther was on to something when he described our both-at-the-same-time realities like this – we are both 100% sinner and 100% saint at the same time. Last night, at a conference in Philly I was at, one of the presenters greeted us this way… “Good morning saints…” (meager response) “Good morning sinners.” (robust response). Yes, and it went EXACTLY like that!!

So, should we dress up half like an angel and half like a devil to remind ourselves of this? 

Sure, if you really wanted too… but you probably shouldn’t. Instead, let’s look again at Matthew 5, the Beatitudes. You may remember that we have heard this text recently, about 9 months ago to be exact… actually it was my first official sermon here at Family of God. I remember reflecting on the fact that this was my inaugural sermon here, just as this text was also Jesus’s inaugural sermon in Matthew, a section of the longer we call “The Sermon on the Mount.” And the first part of this sermon is dedicated to exactly WHO are blessed… and spoilers, it’s not who we think they are.

THESE are the blessed ones –those who don’t have it all together, those who are bullied, dispirited, or fleeing their homes as refugees, those who are grieving, those who hunger and thirst for the common good, those who are merciful and compassionate, those who work for peace and reconciliation, those who have a single-minded devotion to God’s kingdom, those who don’t back down from working for justice, even when they are misunderstood and challenged. Jesus calls THESE people blessed. And I am sure that we can all find ourselves somewhere on this list.

God loves you. And God chose you. You are a beloved child of God. A sinner yes. But also, a saint.

At the end of every funeral service, we hear these word: “Into your hands, merciful God, we commend your servant. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive them into the arms of your mercy…. And into the glorious company of the saints in light.”

We have loved ones who are already there, with the saints in light. But we aren’t there yet. We’re still mourning… we are still poor in spirit…we are still starving for justice and righteousness in our world… we are still working for peace … We still seek to treat the word with mercy and gentleness where the world seems to lack it so much. But Jesus sees us. Jesus walks with us. Jesus calls us his saints – right here, right now -  and Jesus calls us blessed. Amen.