Today is “All Saint’s Day.” In the Lutheran church, we believe this is such an important day, that if November 1st doesn’t fall on a Sunday, we usually move it’s celebration to the first Sunday in November. It’s a day where we take the time to remember those who have gone before us in the Christian faith; those who have suffered persecution and even died for professing their faith in Jesus Christ. We remember the saints who have, by the grace of God, served the church and the world with lasting contributions.
Later in the prayers you will hear of those who died this past year in the Christian faith.
And since today is All Saints’ Day, its quite appropriate to ask the question: what does it take to be a saint? By definition, a saint is one who is sanctified, that is, made holy, one who has no sin. So if you are without sin, congratulations, you are a saint, too!
In answering the question “what does it take to be a saint?” Jesus in our Gospel reading for this morning recites the Beatitudes, qualities of those who are blessed to be saints. The Beatitudes are often twisted and misunderstood to lead folks into despair. So, what does it take to be a saint? Let’s go to the Beatitudes to find out.
Most people generally view themselves to be better than others in some way, shape, or form. And they believe that if they are better than others, they must be doing a pretty good job at whatever it is they are doing.
This mindset transfers over into the world of religion a lot more than we are aware of, and it really shows up when we start talking about the Beatitudes. A lot of times, we hear “The message of the Beatitudes is this, if you do these things well enough, then you will be happy, and God will bless you beyond your wildest dreams.” It’s really a human standard of measure though the attitude of “If I’m better than average at these things, I’m doing pretty good, so God has to bless me more than other people, God has to favor me over others.” But, this attitude does it work for sainthood? Let’s find out.
Jesus says “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” The Bible tells us that the saints of God enjoy eternal life with a new heaven and a new earth, and Jesus tells us here that saints are meek. Meekness is defined as power under control. One who is meek would use his or her power, authority, and skills in service to others, not themselves. So, let me ask you. Are you meek enough?
Do you use your talents in life in service to others?
Do you live your life as a servant to them, considering the needs and matters of others to be more important than your own?
Or what about with the time, talents, and treasures God gives you in this life, do you use what God has given you in service to others? Are you using it in service to those who are less fortunate or to help a family member, or to help spread the Gospel, without asking the question “what’s in it for me”?
Do you help as much as you can in your church?
Or, let’s look at look at the next one: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” That means that you have a desire for the things of God-things like holiness, faith, purity. Those who hunger and thirst for it will take advantage of every opportunity to be fed by these things.
What would happen if I was to go around this room today and as each of you how YOU hunger and thirst for righteousness? How would you answer that question? Could you answer that question?
Let’s look at one more. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” To see God is a privilege of the saints, who will see Him face to face in glory for all of eternity. To be pure in heart, means you are perfectly satisfied with the things that you have, perfectly trusting that God will provide for your needs when trials arise. You are not affected by prejudice or gossip, or grudge-bearing. Wow. That’s quite a list.
Now let me ask you, how many of you here this morning have done all of these things perfectly? Or, at some point, have you started with the statement “I’m doing fine with these things according to my own measure. I’m comfortable with my level of meekness, being pure in heart, and my hunger and thirst for righteousness. I’m sure doing a lot better than most people around here, so certainly that has to count for something!” You see, there’s the problem. When Jesus gives us these Beatitudes, He doesn’t do so with a human standard. He gives us God’s expectations. You see, your human standard of measure against other people doesn’t matter here. Remember in our Epistle reading from last week in Romans 3, we heard “For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Right here, we have examples of that. No one has ever been meek enough to earn God’s favor. None of us have ever had a heart that is pure. Jesus Himself has said “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” (Matt. 15:19-20a) That is the farthest thing from a pure heart.
So here we stand, convicted by God’s Word of Law. We can never be pure enough in heart; we can never hunger and thirst for righteousness enough; we can never be meek enough. We will never have the assurance that we have done these things well enough to earn the blessing that they promise. We can never have the assurance that God will look at us as “saints”. Instead, we’re “poor sinners” who face the complete opposite of God’s blessing, we deserve God’s eternal wrath and punishment.
And that’s the point Jesus is trying to make here. If it’s up to you to become a saint, you can’t earn the blessings. You cannot earn your salvation. You cannot earn the title of “Saint.” St. Paul writes “But God shows us His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” (Rom. 5:8-9)
Today, we give thanks that Jesus has done all of this for our loved ones who have gone before us and died in the faith. We realize that the blessings Jesus describes here are now theirs. They are a part of that great multitude we heard about in the reading in Revelation this morning who are “standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ That Lamb is Jesus Christ. Because of what Christ has done for them, they now are a part of that great company of heaven, who worship God day and night, who no longer know sickness, pain, sorrow, injury, sadness, or grief.
But for you and me, we still experience these things. That’s part of life in this sinful, fallen world. And as we remember the saints in our lives who have gone before us, the separation caused by death brings sadness and grief. Sometimes, we wonder whether we will ever be relieved of it. And this morning, you came to God’s house, where you are in the presence of your Savior, the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who has come to you through simple means.
He is coming to you this morning first of all through His Word, where you heard through the scripture readings, the word of absolution, and now in the sermon, that Christ has died for your sins, and He promises you all of the blessings in the Beatitudes on account of what He has done for you.
In a few moments, when you come to this altar rail, Jesus will cloak His presence in simple forms of bread and wine, connected to His Word, and you will hear Him say to you, in a real, personal way, “Take and eat, take and drink, this is my body and blood, which is given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of all of your sins.” In our communion liturgy, when we use the Sanctus canticle, the “Holy, Holy, Holy” canticle, we hear that we sing it “with angels, archangels, and the entire company of heaven.” When we are gathered in Christ’s presence through Word and Sacrament as we are this morning, we are united together with fellow believers throughout the world, and with those who have gone before us in the faith
On this All Saints’ Day, who are the saints? They are believers like you and me, from all times and places and tribes of people, who recognize the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are sinners made saints, waiting for the day when we will be delivered out of this world, and into the blessings and joys of eternal life. May God strengthen each one of us with these promises for Jesus’ sake. Amen.