Sunday
11/04/18 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Well done good and faithful servant”
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 24
New Testament
Scripture: Revelations 21:1-6a
Gospel Lesson: John
11:32-44
Welcome again on this All Saints Sunday, and on this our
Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.
Are actual All Saints Day was on this past Thursday
November 1st, but since we generally don’t have a church service on
a Thursday, today is the day that we celebrate the saints of the church, both
past and present. In fact, I am even using the Thursday November 1st
scriptures today, instead of today’s scriptures, as to keep true to the spirit
of All Saints Day.
So specifically then, what is All Saints Day? Why do we
celebrate it? What does it mean? Well one of the sources that I researched for
today says:
“All Saints Day,
also known as All Hallows' Day, Hallowmas, the Feast
of All Saints, or Solemnity of All Saints, is a Christian festival celebrated
in honour of all the saints, known and unknown. In Western Christianity, it is celebrated on
November 1 by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Methodist
Church, the Lutheran
Church, the Reformed
Church, and other Protestant churches. The Eastern Orthodox Church and
associated Eastern Catholic Churches and Byzantine Lutheran Churches celebrate
it on the first Sunday after Pentecost.
Oriental Orthodox churches of Chaldea and
associated Eastern Catholic churches celebrate All Saints' Day on the first
Friday after Easter.
In the
Western Christian practice, the liturgical celebration
begins at Vespers on the evening of 31 October, All Hallows'
Eve (All Saints' Eve), and ends at the close of 1 November. It
is thus the day before All Souls'
Day, which commemorates the faithful departed. In many traditions,
All Saints' Day is part of the season of Allhallowtide,
which includes the three days from 31 October to 2 November inclusive and in
some denominations, such as Anglicanism,
extends to Remembrance Sunday. On All Saints Day, it is
common for families to attend church, as well as visit cemeteries in order to
lay flowers and candles on the graves of their deceased loved ones. It is
a national holiday in many
historically Christian countries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day)”.
So
All Saints Day, or in our case All Saints Sunday is a big deal for millions and
millions of Christians around the world. Since as Christians we believe in life
after death, since we believe that all who believe in Jesus when we die we go
to be with God, then those that have went before us are in eternity with God.
The saints of the church are no longer alive here on earth, but they are alive
and well in eternity with God.
This
morning we had a list of but some of the people that have went on before us,
whether this year or a little longer ago. The names that were read are but a
drop in the bucket of the saints of this church, and the saints of God in
general. Today we honor and remember all of those men and women, named our unnamed
that have gone before us in the service of God, in the service of Jesus Christ.
One
of the hardest and the most challenging things for me as a pastor is to come
into a new church appointment like this and hear about the great men and women
who have gone on before me. Often times I don’t know who these people are, as I
have never met them before. Yet, I know that I will meet them in heaven with
the other saints, with that great cloud of witnesses. I hear these great
stories of these great men and women that I have never met, but whom I will
meet one day.
It
is very humbling for me as your pastor then that I have been given the honor of
reading the names this morning of great men and women, who loved Jesus Christ,
who did so much for this church, and while they are no longer alive here in
earth, they now live for eternity with God in heaven. This church and countless
other churches around the world are honoring those men and women who have went
before us, because they have made our churches what they ate.
Sometimes
when we drive by or visit a cemetery we will notice that some of the older tomb
stones are so weathered that the lettering on them is almost rubbed off. We can’t
quite make out fully what it says, and even if we could, we would likely have
no idea who the person is on that tomb stone. We merely have dates of life, and
a name. You see my friends, my brothers and sisters, so many of us will be
forgotten. So many of us will never be in the history books. Even if we gave
large sums of money to have buildings or institutions named after us, most
people would know name, but likely know nothing about us. For most of us, we
will be nameless to history, but faithful to God for eternity. Three hundred
years ago this town was not here, and who knows what will be here three hundred
years from now. For the only thing that is constant, eternal, and unchanging,
is God and His kingdom.
The
vast majority of us will be forgotten to history, but we will never be
forgotten to God. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, when we die on
this earth, I believe that our souls will go from this life to the next. In
this next life we will live with God for eternity. So many of us will be
nameless to history, but faithful for eternity. So the saints of this church
are alive and well, they are just no longer alive and here with us on this
earth. Yet they are with God, and we will see them one day again in glory.
Once
again how humbling it is for me to be able to speak for and honor the saints of
this church and all churches. The reality is, is that we all stand in a line of
heroes, and we all stand on the shoulders of giants. We are here, this church
exists today because of the saints that went on before us and because of the
saints in training here this morning.
I
really love our scripture reading for this morning from the Book of Revelation.
This scripture talked about the new heaven and the new earth. It discusses that
day when all of us will be reunited with God, with His son Jesus Christ, and
all the saints will go marching in together. This is triumphant return of Jesus
Christ. Once again this scripture says:
“Then I saw a
new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed
away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples, and God
himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from
their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated
on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write
this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is
done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end”
(Rev. 21:1-6a,
NRSV).
When the people of God die here on earth they go to be with
God. We honor them, we love them, and we will see them again in glory.
In our gospel of John reading for this morning we have part
of the story of Lazarus dying and Jesus raising him from the dead (Jn. 11:32-44,
NRSV). There was emotion expressed at Lazarus death, tears shed, yet then Jesus
brought him back to life.
For the vast majority of us, our new lives, our
resurrections, is knowing Christ here on earth, and then living with him for
eternity. One day our names will be read, and a bell will be rung, and while we
will have died here on earth, we will be reunited with those who went on before
us. We will be with God and all the saints. It is my prayer and my hope that
when we cross over, that we will hear God say to us all:
‘Well done, good
and faithful servant; (Mt.
25:23a, NRSV).
Today we
remember the saints of our church and all churches, knowing that one day we
will be reunited with them in glory. Happy All Saints Sunday and Amen.
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