A Blessed All Saints Day to you. As one of my pastor friends put it, this is
the Day of Pentecost in the Fall. And I
think what he means by that is here, today, we have an emphasis on the church,
the people of God. All who belong to Christ are, properly speaking,
saints. They are the holy ones of
God. Holy, not because of anything we
bring to the table, and merits or worthiness.
But holy, only because the Holy One of God, Jesus Christ, makes us holy
by his blood. So even though it is a day
highlighting the people of God, the saints, it is always first and foremost
about Jesus.
Over the years I have preached on the reading from
Revelation 7 more than a few times – focusing us on that picture of the church
in glory – a multitude robed in white, washed in the blood of the Lamb. It’s a beautiful picture of the saints in
their heavenly splendor.
And then there’s also our Gospel reading, in which Jesus
sets forth some beautiful and profound poetry in the Beatitudes. Blessed are the saints, in so many ways, in
Jesus Christ our Lord.
But today let us look at the Epistle. I don’t believe I’ve preached this text
before, and if so, not in a while. From
John’s first letter, it’s a short reading, and it certainly appropriate for All
Saints’ Day. But instead of describing
the people of God as saints, or as holy and blessed ones, or picturing them as a
multitude robed in white: John takes another approach. Those who are loved by God in Jesus Christ
are called “children of God”. Let this
be our theme today. Children of God.
Here's one of these Christian expressions that the secular
world seems to have picked up on. It’s
not uncommon to hear someone with little to no connection to the church, and
certainly with very little grounding in the theology of Holy Scripture make a
statement like this: “We’re all God’s
children!” But consider the source of
such a statement and consider the context.
What does a worldly person mean when they say such a thing?
It's often not because they’re trying to confess the truth
of Scripture, but sometimes quite the opposite.
“We’re all God’s Children” is true in one sense – that all humans are
created by God. We all bear the image of
God, though marred by sin. We all have a
certain dignity and value as humans, by virtue of this fact, that God made us,
and even that Jesus died for us. And if
that’s what that person means, then, so far, so good.
But just as often, “We’re all God’s children” is a slogan
used to wash away distinctions that really do matter. It is used to silence those who would call
for moral standards or doctrinal truth.
Far be it from you, Christian, to say that anything or anyone is ever
wrong – dontchaknow we’re all God’s children!
It becomes a little saying to propound a sort of universalism and to
wash away biblical standards and distinctions.
And nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact John makes it crystal clear that there really are
two kinds of people there are children
of God, and those that are not – he calls them “the world”. And he does not have nice things to say about
the world. Sinners, unrighteous. Haters of God and of his church. Anti-Christ.
He minces no words in his letters, and in his Gospel. St. John is no peddler of feel-good bumper
sticker theology. He is a preacher of
the truth.
But he also brings great comfort in that truth. From his Gospel, chapter 1:
He came to his own, and his own peopl] did not receive
him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of
the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Here’s the good news, friends. We are children of God! Not born of the flesh, but of the will of God. Born of God in holy baptism. Born of God in the faith that comes by
hearing the good news of Jesus. Born
anew – and set apart from the wicked world that is doomed for destruction. We are born of faith, and we live by faith in
Jesus Christ alone. That’s what it means
to be a child of God, and a saint!
But the picture of children is a strong one. Children are dependent on their parents – a
human baby cannot survive long without that care and nurture. Wild animals are born, and often can walk
right away and survive fairly well. But
humans are particularly dependent. For
all our powers in this world – we are vulnerable. And perhaps this is a lesson for us. That as children of God, we depend entirely
on him. Our life, our righteousness, our
daily bread, and our hope for the future – all depend on his love for us, his
dear children.
And what kind of love is a match for the love of a parent
for his or her child! So primal and
instinctual. Parents will go to the
greatest lengths for their own children.
Of course, this, too, is by design.
That even unbelievers love their children. Even you who are wicked, Jesus said, know how
to give good gifts to your children. How
much more the love of the Father for us, his children in Christ. See what kind of love!
And one more thing about the picture of children…. It
implies also that we are a family, not only with God, our Father, and our brother
Jesus Christ, but with all the saints who also share in the Father’s love. We are the family of God. This is why we
Christians not only call each other “brothers and sisters” in Christ, but we love
each other like a family, for that is what we are.
And all the more true in this local expression of the
church, this congregation called Messiah.
Every family has its quirks, its personalities, its crazy uncle and
such. So too, we at Messiah have our own
ways, our own struggles, our own unique flavor.
But we are a church family. And
God has called us together in this place as His children. We ought to consider well the
implications. This isn’t just another
customer in the same business, a diner at the next table in the same
restaurant. Look around you and see the
people who are united with you by blood – not human bloodlines – but the blood
of Christ. A strong family tie indeed.
We are children of God, right here and now, John says. But that’s not the end of the story. Children of God have a future. We have a hope. We are children now, but we will be something
quite more in the kingdom that is to come:
“and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he
appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
Jesus has died and is risen and is glorified. Death has no more sway over him, but is an
enemy long defeated. And because Christ
lives and is glorified, we too have a resurrection to look forward to. We too will rise from the grave into a
glorified body that will be, somehow, like his.
Death will have no more sway over us, either. For we will be ever with Christ, sharing his
victory, enjoying eternal communion with him and with all of God’s
children. An everlasting family reunion
full of peace and joy and love.
And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Everyone who has hope in Christ, that is sure and certain hope. And everyone who has this hope in Christ stands purified in him.
As great as it is to be a child of God, John teaches us that
even better things are yet to come. For
we are children now, but what we will be is yet to be revealed. One day, when Christ appears again, at the
Second Coming, it will be made clear. We
will be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
In other words, we children of God look forward to the glory
that we will share at Christ’s glorious return.
Whether we are raised from the dead in glorified bodies on that day – or
if we are still alive at his coming – Paul tells us we will be changed in a
moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. Either way we will receive a body and soul
free from sin and never subject to death again.
We will be like him, Jesus, who ha conquered death. We will be like him, for we will see him as
he is.
What a blessed reunion that will be – a family reunion of
all the children of God. A gathering of
all the saints from all times and places, from every tribe, nation and
language. We will be together with our Lord Jesus Christ, and with each other,
forever.
In a few moments, we will get a foretaste of all that in the
Holy Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here we gather, not just with our church family, not just will all
Christians everywhere, but with angels and archangels and all the company of
heaven, in a foretaste of the feast to come.
A little slice of heaven, here and now.
And one day, we will see it in all its fullness.
See what kind of love the Father has given to us? You children of God, you saints of God, in
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment