Sunday's Message - The Community of Saints

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in Presbyterian Church of Hopedale, Ohio, on Sunday, November 1, 2020.

Matthew 5:1-12 [NRSV]

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“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.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Community of Saints

Now, I’m guessing that some, if not most of y’all don’t know what November 1 is on the church calendar. You see, in America, this is traditionally the day we swear off candy, at least for a little while, because we spent a fair amount of time last night gorging ourselves on the sweets that either the kids brought home or we didn’t give out. Either way, coming down from that sugar rush is no “piece of cake.” But even though that might be a big deal for us, that’s not why today is important around the church.

You see, November 1st is All Saints’ Day, the one day each year when Christians remember and celebrate all the saints who don’t play in New Orleans. And I’ll tell you, it’s been that way for almost 1,300 years. Of course, in churches that recognize certain really holy people who’ve died and been canonized, well, today is dedicated to all of them. But in churches like us who recognize what’s called “the sainthood of all believers,” we can remember all Christians, both living and dead. And even though it wasn’t planned, personally, I think it’s really cool that we baptized Tucker this morning, because through his baptism, he entered the church, a new family, the community of saints. 

And so, since this is both the focus of the day and what we’ve been doing here this morning, we’re going to spend some time dealing with what this community is really all about. And to do that, we’re going to use the scripture I just read, a passage called The Beatitudes to sort of be a guide. And I think that really works, and I’ll tell you why. In these twelve verses, I believe we can get a pretty good understanding of these three things about the community of saints: first, what we are; second, what we can be; and third, what we can expect. And that’s going to be our approach this morning.

And like I said, I think we can get all that from The Beatitudes, especially when you divide them into three sections, with the first one defining what we are. But before I say anything else, let me be clear; this is not what we want to be nor is it what God wants us to become. No, I think this is all about what we actually are. And I’ll tell you, I think that makes sense when we consider each one of the four verses. 

For example, when Jesus said “blessed are the poor in spirit...,” I think he was talking about folks who have lost their hope. In other words, for whatever, I believe these are people on both sides of the stained glass who know that they really aren’t in control of their lives, much less their world. Of course, they may also be poor economically or emotionally or physically, but their fundamental issue is that they just can’t see any reason to be hopeful as they look at what’s happen around them. Those are the poor in spirit, and I’ll tell you, doesn’t that describe us now-a-days, and I’m talking about both inside and outside the church? My gosh, not only are we in the middle of a pandemic, but it’s getting worse. The economy’s a mess. And we’re coming to the end of the nastiest, most deceit-filled election I’ve seen in my 63 years. Outside of God, do we really have any good reason to hope? Right now, I think most of us are poor in spirit. 

And when Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn....,” man, I can identify with that too. You see, these are folks who have lost their joy. Man, they’re starved for some good news, you know, some ray of sunshine, some reason to be happy. But finding that kind of thing, man, it’s tough. And so they mourn. They mourn the loss of people they loved, the loss of health and stability they once enjoyed, maybe even, that old-timy value system and social structure they once valued. For them, greatness was in the past, and even though they may pretend we can get it back, deep down they recognize that no one can turn back the clock. And so they mourn, because that’s really all they can do, and tell me that doesn’t apply to a lot of folks we see every day. 

And as to “blessed are the meek...,” man, I think that fits us too. And even though we might define meekness as being humble and gentle, given the first two Beatitudes, I don’t think Jesus had anything positive in mind when he used that word. You see, in the real world, how are the humble and the gentle often treated? Man, they become the doormats, the guys who are called demeaning names, the one’s whom bullies pick on, right? Frankly, I don’t think most people choose to be meek. Instead they have meekness thrust upon them. And why is that? Because they lack power: power to stand up for what they believe is right and power to confront what they know is wrong and power to shift things from the wrong to the right. Man, I’m just a little guy. And in the face of money and arrogance and just, plain meanness, what can one meek guy do? 

And you know, when Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...,” well, I that we can recognize this in ourselves as well. You see, if they hunger and thirst for righteousness, they must be seeking something that they don’t have. Like I said earlier, few of us are hungry for candy on November 1st. No, I think most of us want to do what’s righteous and right, but that’s not always easy to see. For example, like I said a minute ago, we’ve got an election in three days. Which is the right guy, not the one who’s best for me and mine and not the one who comes closest to my opinions and assumptions and my gosh, certainly not the one who’s the lesser of two evils? But which one most clearly reflects the values of Jesus Christ and which one would most likely follow his example? Which one is the righteous choice? Man, discovering the right path is tough. No wonder we want to find it like a hungry man wants a sandwich or a thirsty woman a bottle of water. 

You see, taken together, I believe these first four Beatitudes describe the kind of people who make up the community of saints, because they’re also the kind of folks who make up the world. Like it or not, we’re men and women, we’re brothers and sisters who feel from time-to-time like we’ve lost our hope and our joy, our power and our direction. That’s what we are. And that’s the first thing we can see in this passage. But that’s not all, and I’ll tell you why.

Second, I believe The Beatitudes also point to what we can be and become, and for me, that’s what we can find in the next four verses. For example, when Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful...,” I don’t think it takes a brain surgeon to figure out that Jesus wants his people, the saints, us, to show some compassion in our daily living, you know, to love one another as we’ve been loved and to make the decision to love our neighbors just like we love ourselves. Jesus wants us to be merciful; I mean, dah. 

And as to what he was thinking when he said “blessed are the pure in heart...” now, for me that has everything to do with being devoted to God. I’m telling you, I think Christ wants his followers to have a clear and concentrated focus, in others words, to be willing to deny self and to take up the cross and to follow him and to do that even though the world tells us that you have to look after number one and that carrying a cross is for suckers and losers and that really following the teachings and claiming the values of Christ is probably going to leave you at the end of the line, which, by-the-way, even Jesus knew would happen and that’s why he said, “the first will be last and the last will be first.” And yet, pure of hear is what we’ve been called to be. 

Just like we’re expected to be work for peace. I mean, when he said, “blessed are the peacemakers...,” man, that was meant for us. You see, along with showing compassion to others and devotion for God, we’re also called to work for unity and reconciliation and healing within our broken planet. And if you think this kind of thing isn’t necessary within our world and country, within our communities and churches, even within our families and friendships, you must have been living under a rock for the last few years. Man, we’re suppose to be peacemakers. 

And I’ll tell you, Jesus’s last statement in this group of four, “blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake...,” I’m telling you, that’s crucial. I mean, we can decide to be merciful and pure in heart, and we can try to be peacemakers until the cows come home; this is the kind of righteous action that folks may hunger to know. But if we have some kind Polly Anna assumption that doing it is going to be easy, that people are going to praise and appreciate our dedication and devotion, well, I think it may be time to take off the rose colored glasses so that we can be ready to face the adversity and opposition that we’re going to face. I mean, the folks hated Jesus so much they nailed him to a cross. Why should we assume that they’re going to treat us any better? You see, I think Jesus has called us to become people who show compassion to others and devotion for God, and who are peacemakers and prepared to face adversity. And that’s exactly what we can be, the second thing I think The Beatitudes show us about the community of saints.

And third, right along with showing us what we are and what we can be, this passage seems crystal clear about what we can expect. I mean, that’s certainly true about what we can expect from the world around us. And I think to make sure we understood that, Jesus changed from third to second person in the last two verses. Do you want to know how the world is going to receive us? Just listen:

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [Matthew 5:11-12, NRSV]

I’ll tell you, if we expect anything else, we’re probably deceiving ourselves. And I’ll tell you something else, if we receive anything other than what Jesus talked about right here, in other words, if the world just loves what we’re  sharing and if it agrees with our message and if it praises us for what we’re doing, we’ve probably watered down the gospel so much that it’s no longer what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews described when he wrote, “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” [Hebrews 4:12, NRSV] Let’s just say the world will probably hate us just as much as it hated the one we follow. That we can expect. 

But that’s really less than half the story, because the last time I looked God is still in charge and his will is going to be done on earth as it is in heaven. And what is the basis for his will? Man, that’s simple; it’s love, and that love should also shape our expectations. For example, in spite of what we are, God still loves us. And for that reason, 

“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.” [Matthew 5:3-6, NRSV]

And when we become what we can be, then...

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 5:3-6, NRSV]

In other words, even though the world may revile us and persecute us and utter all kinds of evil against us falsely on account of Jesus Christ, we can expect to be blessed by God. And that’s the third thing we can learn from this passage.

And so, on this Sunday when we focus on both the saints and the baptism, I think we can leave this service with a pretty good idea about this body called the church. You see, I think The Beatitudes remind tell us of what we are; that we’re a group of people who can understand what it’s like to lose hope and joy, power and direction. But it also points to what we can be, a body that exists to show compassion and to demonstrate devotion and to seek unity and to face opposition. And finally, in these words of Jesus, we can know what we can expect: persecution from the world but blessings from God. You see, this is exactly what the community of saints is all about.