Rev. Charles Lehmann + All Saints Day + Matthew 5:1-12
In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.
Today is All Saints Day. All Saints. Today we celebrate that the church
is far larger than we can see. You know that very well. On May 10th our dear
sister Pauline Harman left this vale of tears and went to be with the Lord.
This was just a few days before I got here. I was saddened by her death. It
wasn't that I won't get to meet Pauline. I know that I'll have an eternity to
enjoy with her when I join her in heaven. It wasn't even that I wouldn't get
to be with her when I got here. Our communion liturgy makes sure we know
better than that. The very first Sunday I was here I was with Pauline. On
that day we celebrated our Savior's great gifts “with angels and archangels and
all the company of heaven!”
The church is much, much larger than we can see with our eyes. It is so
vast that it is something that we can only see with our ears. We only know
that Pauline, Margaret, Esther, Cleda, and all the saints buried here are
worshiping with us because the Lord says so. We only can say it because we
believe what the Word of God says about it. Psalm 149 tells us, “Sing to the
Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the saints! For the Lord takes
pleasure in His people; he adorns the humble with salvation.”
The Scriptures love to speak of the holy church as a totality. It's not a
collection of small groups of Christians who gather at various places all over
the earth. It is one assembly, one congregation of the saints. The Lord has
given us His promise. He says, “Wherever two or three are gathered in My Name,
I am there in the midst of them.” Where Christ is, there is the Church, the
one Church, the whole Church. There is one congregation of the saints of which
Christ is the chief cornerstone. When we gather together to receive the gifts
that Jesus promises in His Name, He is here. And the church is the body of
Christ. Christ does not have millions of little bodies scattered throughout
Garrett County, Maryland, the United States, and the rest of the world. Christ
has one body, and where Christians are gathered in His Name, the whole body of
Christ is present even though we cannot see it.
Though the whole church is here, this truth is hidden from us. We can't
see the millions of saints who are present wherever their Savior is present.
When we look around this room it looks like there are only forty or fifty of
us. We can't see Pauline, Margaret, Esther, Cleda, or the members of Zion or
even the folks who are worshiping in D.C., Canada, Haiti, and in every other
nation. But they're here. They with us are the mystical body of Christ, and
Christ is here. He is here in His Word. He is here delivering to you the
gifts of life and salvation that He won for you on the cross. And where Christ
is, there the whole Christian Church is also.
The first president of the Missouri Synod, C.F.W. Walther put it this way,
“What kind of congregations do we have? Many of them consist of seven to ten
families. Do they have great power like the congregation in Jerusalem, which
had many thousands of members? Or the one at Rome, which also counted its
members in the thousands? Yes! It makes no difference. For [according to our
Lord's Words we know that] if [even] only two or three Christians were present,
the Lord would be present too. And when He is present, it is not a half- or a
quarter-Christ, but the entire Savior. Yes, even a small rural congregation of
seven families has as much power as all the congregations in America combined,
because it also has Jesus in its midst, with all His grace and all the rights
and merits He won for us on the tree of the cross.”
When we think about the Lord's blessings to us, we usually focus on what
we've already received. We think of family and friends. Sometimes the
blessings we thank God for are much more simple. We might thank God that that
annoying co-worker didn't bother us today. We might thank God that the car
that we know doesn't have many miles left in it did manage to get us to and
from work today. We think of the here and now. We thank God for what He's
given to us already. We thank Him for what we see.
We cannot and should not deny that all these things are blessings from God.
We confess with Luther that God has made us and all creatures and that He
gives us clothing, shoes, house, home, fields, cattle and all that we have. He
richly provides for all that we need to support this body and life. He
protects us from all danger. He delivers us from every evil. He does all this
now. He does it because He loves us and is merciful to us. It is a good thing
to be loved and cared for by the Lord now. But today, the Lord tells us
something that's even better. When Jesus delivers His blessings in the Sermon
on the Mount, He says that we are blessed because of what is coming.
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 sons of God.
That is the Lord's promise to you, people loved by God, but just as you
cannot see that Pauline Harman, Moses, the Apostle Paul, and all the company of
heaven worship with us, you cannot see the fulfillment of these promises in
this life. Those who mourn are filled with rivers of tears in this life. In
this life the meek are trampled upon by the powerful. In this life those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness are often hungry and homeless. In this
life the merciful are taken advantage of, the pure in heart are mocked, and
peacemakers can be shot in the street.
But the Lord says that all of these, the mourners, the meek, the hungry,
the merciful, the pure, and the peacemakers... All of them are blessed right
now. They are blessed because Jesus says they are. And, more than that, they
are blessed because of who Jesus is, not because of who they are. In
themselves they are nothing. They mourn selfishly, they live in pride, and
their hearts are filled in inquity, but if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation. In Christ, those who mourn do so with their eyes turned toward
Easter. In Christ, the meek seek after only the needs of their neighbor. In
Christ our iniquity is forgiven, and our sin is put away.
We are blessed now because since we are forgiven by Christ's work for us on
the cross, we are already the ones whom He describes in these beatitudes. His
holy works are reckoned to us. Jesus is not like you or I. In Him our sin is
replaced with perfect holiness.
When Jesus wept at Lazarus' grave, He blotted out the tears by emptying the
tomb. When Satan tempted Jesus with pride, He humbly received the work given
to Him by His Father instead. Though his body was nearly starved to death
during the days of His temptation, Jesus only hunger and thirst was to be
obedient to His Father. His heart was pure, and His desire was only for your
salvation. Though we brought violence and death into the world, Jesus restored
perfect peace by destroying death by His own death and winning life and
salvation for you and all people.
And so, you, dear Christians, are also these blessed ones. The Holy and
Blessed Lord God, the King of the Universe has taken on your flesh. He has
promised every good gift to the forgiven ones He describes in these beatitudes.
You are blessed now because of what you will receive later. But today is
All Saints Day. Today we rejoice not only that you are blessed by your Lord
and Savior, but that all the saints in heaven are also. We are blessed because
we hope for the Lord's promise. They are blessed because they have begun to
receive what the Lord has promised. They mourn no more, for their tears are
wiped away. They are filled with the Lord's righteousness. They have received
mercy. Their warfare is ended and they live as God's own children. But they
also await a yet more glorious day. The saints triumphant will rise in bright
array. The saints who have fallen asleep in Christ have received heavenly
bliss. They live forever in joy with their Savior. But some of these
beatitudes are still in their future, also. When Christ returns in judgment,
He will raise all the dead. And to these meek saints, He will give a new
heavens and a new earth. These blessed ones
who dwell with the Lord will see Him face to face with their own immortal
bodies. The one holy catholic and apostolic church will be gathered together
and you will be with your Savior, along with all the other saints, forever.
Rejoice, people loved by God, for you are members of His Holy Church.
Rejoice, people loved by God, for you are blessed by your Father in heaven.
What your loved ones in heaven already enjoy waits for you. And today, in this
building, in the cove, the Lord has been faithful to you His saints. In a few
moments we will eat His body and drink His blood. We will receive a foretaste
of the feast we will enjoy in the resurrection. Your loved ones in heaven look
forward to it too. Though they have been planted in the earth, the Lord will
come and take His harvest home. On that glorious day you will receive with
them every joy of the resurrection.
And so with angels and archangels, with Pauline, Margaret, Esther, Cleda,
and ALL the company of heaven we laud and magnify Christ's glorious name. He
is risen. He is the firstborn from the dead, precious in His sight is the
death of all His saints.
In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and
minds in faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Charles R. Lehmann
Pastor, Saint John's Lutheran Church, Accident, MD
http://chaz-lehmann.livejournal.com
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
