All Saints' Sermon

All Saints’ Day (observed)
Nov. 7, 2010
Rev. 7:9-17
Who are these? From where have they come?

In the name of Jesus, amen. Today is our day! All Saints’ Day is our time to shine. Christmas is the festival of the Father. He gave His dearest treasure Jesus to us. Easter is the festival of the Son, as we watch Christ willingly become our sin and go to the cross. And we watch Jesus step out of the tomb triumphant over our enemy death. Pentecost is the festival of the ever-present Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been dumped lavishly upon God’s people and the Spirit does what the Spirit is supposed to do- be our advocate, our guide, our comforter, the One who reminds us of our place within the family of God. All Saints’ Day is our day. It is the festival of the Church. It is the time for the people of God to celebrate who they are- God’s people, holy and dearly loved, God’s sons and daughters, God’s lambs and sheep. All Saints’ is the festival for the Church.

The lessons appointed for All Saints’ ring in our ears the truth of who we are. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.”

We are children of God, even though we can clearly see in the mirror that we bear very little resemblance to children of God. We act with malice and harmful intent. We blissfully close our eyes to the needs around us. We happily close our eyes to cries of suffering. We go through our day living and thinking that we are #1 and that everyone should do things to make our lives easier. We are incessant navel gazers. We do not live in a heliocentric universe, but an egocentric one.

Who are we? Well, based on where our vehicles are, where we are sitting, what this building is called, we could surmise that we are the Church. And yes, that is what we are. By God’s declaration, we are the church. We have been fashioned and formed into the body of Christ with Christ Himself as our head. We are the Church. In times of sorrow, in times of our rejection of God, in times of our sinful selfishness, greed, and arrogance…we are the Church.

We are the Church because we have come to hear the Word. We have come to praise the Lord of the Church. We have come to hear about the Father’s remedy for our sin and guilt, that the Father sent the Son to go to the cross. The Son bore our sins, became our sins, took our guilt and gave to us His righteousness. And the Spirit has been planted in each of us so that we can grow, bloom and blossom with the beauty of God that is witnessed in our mercy and love for the people around us. We are the Church because we have come so that the eternal medicine of forgiveness and love would be put into our mouths and poured down our throats. We are the Church because God declares us to be.

And by God’s grace, by His sustaining power, by the Father’s loving care for His people, we are the Church and we are given the opportunity to reflect the Father’s love, the Savior’s mercy, the Spirit’s presence in a host of ways. Every day we have the opportunity to put our faith in Christ into action. We are God’s Church, and in spite of our weaknesses, our timidity, our fears, God puts us to use. His power is made perfect in our weakness. His wisdom is perfected in our foolishness.

So the glory of All Saints’ Day is the ability we have to ask, “Who are these?” John the Evangelist was asked that question in heaven by an elder. And John played coy and told the elder that it’s obvious. “Sir, you know.” And the elder did know. The great multitude from every tribe, nation, people, and tongue was the Church!

Clothed in white robes, robes that had been made white by the blood of the Lamb, they stood before the Father and the Lamb singing lustily, with full voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! Glory! Blessing! Honor! Wisdom! Power! Might! Thanksgiving! It all belongs to You, most holy Father, most Holy Son, most holy Spirit, it all belongs to You!

That great multitude was the Church. This great multitude seated in this sanctuary is the Church. The great multitudes that have concluded their worship in the East are praising God that in the West, the sun is awakening more great multitudes who will gather for prayer, for song, for fellowship, for the feast on earth that foreshadows the feast in the heavenly realm.

That great multitude was coming out of the great tribulation. This great multitude is still living, might be in the midst of a tribulation, might have a tribulation or two in the rearview mirror, or might have some tribulations on the horizon. In our personal lives, the doctor may have just given us a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, of telling us that the spot on our lungs is not a good one, that the pain in our back is not ever going to go away. Our employer may have told us that the grant money has run out and that our job is not going to be renewed. The demand for the product you make is no longer there, thus you are no longer needed at the job site.

We have tribulations in our life, we have had them, and we will have them. Our great tribulation will be the time of our death. And because of the declaration of God, that we are His sons and daughters, and because of the gift of Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls, the great tribulation is something we will come out of.

Who are these? These ones are the members of God’s Church, from every nation, all tribes, and peoples and languages. From where have they come? These ones, the ones Kevin read for us that are listed in our bulletin, these ones have come out of their great tribulation. Elsie Besel was 103. My friend Bruce Thomas had the tribulation of teaching me how to paint my house. He was at the Y in Hilliard OH, swimming his laps. He got out of the pool, had an aneurysm, and was dead shortly after he got to the hospital. All of these saints have come out of their great tribulation, protected by the Lord, guided by the Holy Spirit…and they are ever before the Lord. God is on His throne and He Himself is wiping away every tear from their eye. God is sheltering them from the scorching heat of the sun. And the Lamb, the Lamb that was slain for their sins, is now living forevermore and the Lamb is in their midst as their Great Shepherd.

That’s who these ones are. That is what awaits us. God’s promises are certain. God’s Word is sure. God’s Word is solid ground. If we unhook, uncouple, ourselves from the certain Word of God, then we are on shaky ground. We have no foundation.

We are God’s Church, joined by faith in Christ with Christians around the world. God has brought us into the body of believers. God has brought us into the safety of the ark of the Church. You sit in the nave. Look up and see that you are sitting in an upside down ship.

We are in the safety of the ship of the Church…to be the Church. We are given great opportunities to give away what has come to us. We have opportunities to serve our neighbors, our family, strangers. Our families are the closest neighbors God has given us, and when we serve our spouse, our children, we are loving our neighbors.

We are what God has made us to be. We are the Church, celebrating the Church of God, celebrating the Lord of the Church, Jesus Christ, who offered Himself up for us all, forgiving our sin, rising from the grave for our triumph. Who are these? Who are we? We are the Church, loved and redeemed by the Father, the Son, the Spirit. SDG