All Saints Day (observed)

TEXT: Matthew 5:1-12,
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Things that are seen are not always understood. What our eyes see, our minds often cannot comprehend nor can our hearts believe.

How true this is especially for the things of God. Take the Resurrection as an example. After the women had seen the empty tomb, Peter ran to see it for himself. And looking into the tomb he “saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” (Luke 24:12) No, not believing what he saw but marveling at what he saw.
Later, on Easter Tuesday, Jesus appeared to all the disciples. He greeted them saying, “Peace be to you!” Then Jesus asked them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (24:36ff) Then Jesus showed them his hands and his feet as if to say, “Wake up you guys, can’t you see it? It’s me Jesus. I’m alive. I have arisen just I said I would.” Even so, Luke writes that even after all of this, “they still disbelieved.” (24:41) They did not, the could not believe what their eyes saw until “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Jesus preached to them… then they believed. We do not obtain faith by seeing, for “faith comes by hearing, hearing the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

Today we commemorate All Saints Day. It’s a day where you and I look with St. John, the apostle and see the victorious church, “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.” (Rev. 7:9)

It’s a day that we look at one another in this congregation as well as the true believers in every congregation across the face of the globe and see the holy Christian and apostolic church. In other words All Saints day is a day to behold the saints of all times and all places, both those living and those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. It is a day for all the blessed… For the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, and are reviled and persecuted and are ridiculed and falsely accused on account of Jesus. IN other words, All Saints Day is about the truth of the church militant and the church victorious. The church who is in the midst of tribulation and the church who has come out of the great tribulation.

But there’s a problem for us… namely, for those of us in the church militant, the saints who are still in the battle and in the midst of tribulation. And the problem is this… what we see and what we are to believe by faith DO NOT SEEM TO MATCH UP.

Look at the church and its saints today. It’s a bloody, embarrassing mess. Isn’t it? The immorality and public sin of the parishioners of even the most pious and upright Christian congregation is downright embarrassing. The typical unbeliever looks at the average Christian and sees men, women and children whose lives are little different from the world around them and often times even worse than their pagan counterparts. The rampant sin in the average Christian congregation has led to schisms, divisions, and quarreling. It is so bad that the Holy Bride of Christ is seen as the whore of Babylon and her holy body has been sacrificed on the lude and pornographic pages of public opinion. The holy white robes of the saints have been completely and thoroughly soaked in the bloodshed of false doctrine and infighting and bickering and henpecking among the saints themselves. Let’s be honest, if we are to believe what is most often seen going on the church, then let’s do away with All Saints’ Day.

It is this defiled, mangled, sinfully sick Church that Jesus calls blessed and makes blessed. "The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." It is the saints who come out the tribulation of the devil, the world, and even their own sinful flesh who stands before the throne of God, clothed in white robes and victoriously waving their palm branches and crying with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (that is, Jesus).”
Contrary to what the eye sees, sinners have been made holy ones. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God… beloved we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.” The devil, that ancient liar and deceiver, would love to have you forget that you are a child of God. He would love nothing better than for you to forget or doubt that Baptism now saves you. That in Baptism you have been clothed with the white robe of Christ’s righteousness. That in Baptism you have already died and have been buried with Jesus in His death and that you have already risen from the dead to live before God in righteousness and purity forever just as Christ rose on the 3rd day and now lives to all eternity.

You are blessed. You are a child of God and the Father loves you NOW in spite of yourself. You who are in Jesus are saints because Jesus is the Saint... the Holy One of God.

Let us on this All saints day gather together as saints on earth with the saints in heaven at this altar in communion with Christ and His holy Christian church… with angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.