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Sermon for Sunday, November 2, 2008
Pastor Sara Kay Olson-Smith
All Saints Sunday
Texts: Revelation 7: 9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12
Grace to you and peace, from God our Creator and from Christ Jesus, whose resurrection life is the hope to which we cling.
A preacher, Rev. Mithelman, once told the story of Esther, one of her parishioners. Two days before she died Esther asked one of the nursing assistants, “Who is singing?” The young woman smiled and shook her head. The room was quiet, peaceful. “No one is singing, Esther,” she said. But Esther insisted, “Can’t you hear the singing?” This conversation was repeated several times in those last days. Esther continued to ask those caring for her, “Who is singing? Can’t you hear the singing?”
“In that thin place between life and death,” Pastor Mithelman writes, “I believe that Esther heard the song of resurrection hope, the echo of the saints ’standing before the throne and before the Lamb...singing,’ as John of Patmos described in his Revelation.”
Can’t you hear that singing? Can’t you hear that song of resurrection hope? As we gather, today, in this place, if we listen carefully, we can hear the singing of the saints. It is this singing which gives us hope in the midst of all that we face. It is this singing which proclaims the resurrection promise to which we cling.
In our readings today we get a glimpse of the promise of those days to come. John of Patmos describes the scene of the great day, when God’s people from every nation and language and place shall stand before the throne, with palms waving, in robes white. We hear them singing, “Salvation belongs to our God!” They are the people who have come through great suffering. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. With the tears wiped from their faces they sing. Their songs rings in our ears of the hope and promise of that day to come, when all shall join together, to rejoice and be glad. Grief and fear and struggle and sorrow and injustice will be no more. They sing of the promise. They sing of the victory. “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
It is these voices that we hear singing, this hope which gives us life It is this promise that we cling to in the midst of our days and nights. It is this song that rings in our ears, this song which gives us courage.
The saints continue to sing, to sing songs which encourage us. We hear this song in the beatitudes which Jesus spoke in his sermon on the mount. We hear this song of promise to those who suffer, to those who struggle. Even as we weep and rage, even in our dirge and in our lament, we can hear the quiet whispers of our song of hope. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Can’t you hear that singing? This song sings words of comfort, of hope, of justice, like a lullaby, like a protest march. These words dare to proclaim that another way will come, that resurrection life will change sorrow to joy, oppression to justice, gentleness to strength, life to death.
For you who are poor, for you whose spirit has just plain run out and are weary and empty and longing, and for you who need food, and shelter and can’t figure out how to make ends meet, this song sings for you, for God’s kingdom will one day be yours, for one day you will be satisfied, and you will know wealth and abundance. While the world pushes you to the side, God blesses you. It is this song we hear...
For you who mourn, whose emptiness cannot be filled, who have lost the beloved ones, and because of this loss there are holes which remain in your lives big enough to park a truck in, for you, beloved ones of God, the song sings like quiet blues, with the hope that you will be comforted, your grief will be healed. This song of promise is for you. While the power of grief binds you up, God blesses you. It is this song we hear...
For you who are meek, who are quiet and gentle and never quite get space to speak your mind, for you the song comes in strength and boldness with the hope that you will inherit the earth. While the arrogant fight for everything and the powerful take claim and the dominant run all over everything, God blesses you. It is this song we hear....
For you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who cannot be satisfied because the quest for justice in this world is always out of grasp, who long to live rightly and for the good of all people, for you the song sings like a protest song, with the hope that you will be filled, and justice will flow like waters. This song of promise is for you. While the despair and cynicism and worry of injustice empties your heart, God blesses you. It is this song we hear...
Can’t you hear the singing? While the song of the saints hums around us, in comfort and hope, in the promise that the injustice and hunger, the sorrow and grief we know today are not the end, we hear the song of the saints encouraging us along the way, cheering us on, motivating us, daring us to risk greater discipleship, challenging us to live more lovingly, to follow more faithfully. We are moved by their witness and supported by their fellowship as we run with perseverance the race that is set before us. In our exhaustion and weariness and confusion, as we make our way through this journey, God gives us the song of the saints to help keep us going. The saints – in their lives and their witness – sing the songs that cheer us on....
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.... “Show mercy,” the beloved saints encourage us. “Live the mercy that God has shown us, forgive and love and show compassion.” Can't you hear that singing? “Blessed are you.”
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God... As ones whose robes have been washed clean by the blood of the lamb, these saints call us to purity, to live authentically, in ways that don’t mask our real selves as children of God. Can’t you hear that singing? “Blessed are you.”
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God... The saints sing to us to work to make peace, with our families and our friends, to move beyond old feuds and arguments and disagreements and claim a common future and purpose, to look beyond violence and hurt and work toward justice and peace, that all people might flourish. The saints sing to encourage, to challenge, to remind us of who we are as God’s children. Can’t you hear that singing? “Blessed are you.”
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.... This way is not an easy way, the saints remind us. The way of the cross is not one that is always comfortable, not always honored, and it might be hard, but it is the way of life. Can’t you hear that singing? “Blessed are you.”
We hear the saints singing, reminding us of who we are and whose we are, children of God, blessed and called to lives of blessing. We hear the saints singing, offering us the sound and promise of life and hope even in the midst of all we face. Even in the darkest night, in the depth of despair, in the longest sorrow, those voices still sing, quietly sometimes but always there, reminding us of our God, who through Jesus has conquered death, who has demolished evil, who has turned the world upside down, and who will wipe away the tears from our faces. This is the promise we cling to. This is the hope that will save us. This is the power that gives us courage. There is singing, always, can’t you hear it?
And if the noise the world seem to drown out that singing, at this table we come together. Surrounded by the saints and we all sing together a song of resurrection life. All of us, joined by our beloved ones and those we never knew, saints of every time and place, together, all of us gather around this table to sing. “And so with the church on earth and all the hosts of heaven, we praise their name and join their unending hymn... holy, holy, holy.”
Gathered into one, blessed by God, with the saints’ song of encouragement and of hope, we live in the promise of life and of hope. The singing of Jesus is the hope that we can cling to. The song of resurrection life is echoing all around us. “Can’t you hear that singing?”
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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