The Big “Why’s”

All Saints’ Weekend 2023

• Audio Transcript

  [00:00:00]
  I pray that God's word is spoken and that God's word is heard. Amen. Please be seated.

  
  I love the Feast of All Saints, which is why even though technically All Saints falls on November 1st, we often transfer that date to the nearest Sunday. The Feast of All Saints is one of those celebrations that answers the, the big why question. Why did God create the heaven and earth? Why did God come here in Jesus?
  Why do we gather together as we do? Why? Because of all the things we celebrate on All Saints Day. We [00:01:00] celebrate Uh, that, that we are one with one another and one with those who have gone before. And, if you really want to blow your mind, grasp this. We celebrate with all those who have yet to be born. When we come to this altar, we come with the whole communion of saints.

  
  Even those This earth has not yet met, and we step into eternity. I know, wow! It's amazing! And we hear more of the Y in this beautiful letter, uh, the first letter of St. John. This is, this is like the bottom line here. See what love the Father has [00:02:00] given us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are.

  
  Does it get better than that? That is what we are. All of us. And the reading we didn't hear from Revelation makes it clear that That God's children come from every nation, and tribe, and language, and people. God's children are all of us. And I love this, I gotta say, this is one of those rare moments in scripture, so it has to be lifted up.
  Usually, the passages that make it into the canon are passages of great confidence and surety and knowledge and conviction. But this is one of the rare moments when a biblical author says, No, I really don't know. So we gotta note it. Cause that doesn't happen too often, does it? [00:03:00] I love this. Beloved, we are God's children now.

  
  What we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this. That, that, that holy agnosticism is really sacred and beautiful. This, this acknowledgement that we really don't know what it will be like or how we will be. But we know this, when God is revealed, this is referring back to God, sometimes because of the male language we might think that they're talking about Jesus.

  
  This is, this is the Creator. When the Creator is revealed, we will be like God, for we will see God as God is.
  The beautiful mystery, and embracing the mystery. All we know is we are God's children, and we will be revealed as that and more when we come face to face [00:04:00] with God. There's also an aspect of of All Saints Day, um, that names the truth of the ambiguity of our lives and our journeys. There's a already but not yet quality.

  
  Being people grounded in Kronos, grounded in time, experiencing a linear reality, but at the same time a significant and very real part of us existing in God eternally. And, and Jesus spells that out in Matthew's, uh, version of the Beatitudes this morning. And listen to the already, but not yet. Blessed already.

  
  The poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who [00:05:00] mourn for they will be comforted. There is an already blessedness to who we are and our current reality and a promise. But wait, there's more. This isn't everything. There is more to come and it is glorious. All the things we yearn for.
  And it names those. God understands the tension we live in. With this already, but not yet. And I love, I, I, I love this aspect of Matthew's Gospel. There are some ways that Jesus as he is portrayed in Matthew's Gospel comes across as a bit harsh.

  Sometimes a bit cranky. Um, and we'll get to more of that in the weeks to come as we wrap up this gospel.
  And we hear some of the parables that are the more prickly parables in Matthew's gospel. That's [00:06:00] coming. But in this beautiful, uh, retelling of the Beatitudes, which is really the part of Matthew's gospel through which we need to see everything in Matthew's gospel. If we want to understand Matthew's gospel, it has to be through this lens.

  
  It's this beautiful compassion and understanding that Jesus has for us in our incomplete, not perfect, work in progress nature. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You know, he doesn't say, Blessed are those who have all the answers. Blessed are those whose faith is unshakable every single day no matter what happens.

  
  Blessed are those who get all these [00:07:00] mysteries and they just see it all clearly and they understand with full conviction. He doesn't say any of those things. He says blessed are the poor in spirit. Same Jesus who will say, With the faith of a mustard seed, you can do great things. He understands us, he understands our limitations, and he believes in us.

  
  Because part of all saints is celebrating that God calls us to do God's work in the world. To be God's saints. The other thing to remember... And God brought this home to me quite a bit in the last week as I was praying about this. Not all the saints are saints.[00:08:00]

  
  God loves and accepts us in our imperfection.

  
  And those other folks too.

  
  None of these saints were perfect. Some of these saints, deeply flawed. Some of these saints made mistakes we wish they would have not. But that doesn't take away from the grace in their lives or the grace they offered this world. So when you're thinking about the saints in your life, and maybe even those who occasionally fell short, if you're having a hard time dealing with the part where they fell short, maybe part of all things today is Forgiving them, extending them mercy.

  
  [00:09:00] Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

  
  All saints. It is an answer to all the big whys, isn't it?

  
  So today, I encourage you, and in the week to come, I encourage you, and when we come to this altar, I encourage you to, to embrace the beauty that is all saints. To bring with you in your heart those you love and see no more. When you reach out your hands, know they are beside you, reaching out theirs. And know that when we leave here, Beloved, when we leave here, God goes with each and every [00:10:00] one of us.

  
  Children of God, for that is who we are.