For All the Saints

Take a moment today to remember those who have fallen asleep in Jesus--and to be reminded of your own identity as a saint of Christ.

Just a few minutes ago we sang one of the best-known hymns in the world, “Onward Christian Soldiers.” The next time you really want to impress someone with Hymn trivia—I know that happens to you a lot—you can astound them with this fact: the tune or melody of “Onward Christian Soldiers” was written by Arthur Sullivan. That may not mean much to you until you hear the name of Sullivan’s writing partner: W.S. Gilbert. Yes, that Gilbert and Sullivan, creators of the Pirates of Penzance and the HMS Pinafore. If you’ve never heard of them before, put Gilbert and Sullivan in a search engine and take a look. This is what people did for fun before HDTV was invented.
Now, Sullivan wrote the music, but what we’re interested in are the words, specifically the ones we sang in the second verse: “Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.” What an interesting way to describe the Christian life. Though our walk on earth continues, let’s not forget the saints who have walked the same path and have influenced our lives so greatly by pointing us to our crucified and risen Lord Jesus.
By the way, the words of “Onward Christian Soldiers” were written by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865. Can you guess the occasion for which it was written? A Christian school chapel service. It was meant to be a processional hymn, where one young person would carry a cross and the rest would follow into worship, literally “with the cross of Jesus going on before.”
You know, when people ask me what made me decide to become a pastor, there’s no quick and easy answer, but I always have to start by remembering my time in Lutheran Schools. As I look back, I can see that I was treading where the saints have trod! I was exposed to God’s Word every day of my school career. I sat in who knows how many Lutheran school chapels, and believe me, I’m not claiming to have listened to every single word—but the Word was there, and we know it always accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent. In addition, my Christian teachers had an impact on my life I can hardly begin to articulate…but I learned from them and worshipped with them and I can name them all, 3rd through eighth grade, plus Lutheran High School teachers, college and seminary professors who guided, modeled, and otherwise taught me what being a Christian means. I have walked where the saints have walked, that’s for sure.
I can tell that saints have walked here in Painesville too. I hear the stories, and you know them better than I do, of people who sacrificed greatly in order to make this church a reality. People who gave of their time to evangelize this community. And let’s be honest, the saints are still among us, people who don’t draw attention to themselves but who support the gospel ministry in countless time-consuming and often thankless ways. People in whom the light of Jesus shines brightly. Some of those people have departed to be with the Lord, and today we stop to remember; to be thankful; to pledge be more like them insofar as they wanted the attention placed on Jesus Christ, the Son and God and Savior of sinners. Let’s face it: You and I are heirs of the saints who have gone before us.
Now, we Lutherans always have a tendency to shy away from such saintly language. It sounds so…oh, I’ll just go ahead and say it. It sounds so Roman Catholic. And we all know that in the Roman church you get to be a saint by being holier than the rest, even to the point of doing the miraculous, and then a church council steps in and declares you a “saint” after your death, and deep down inside we know we don’t fit the bill. And we hear the word “saints” and along with that comes images of medallions and burying statues upside down so that your house will sell. Sainthood doesn’t seem to belong to us anymore.
It’s time we took it back. It’s time we took back our identity as saints. Why? Because that’s what God calls us. That’s what he calls those whom he has chosen and adopted in Baptism and washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. The apostle Paul does it on numerous occasions. He calls the members of the congregations he wrote to “saints.” Which was kind of strange, considering he was usually writing to them to tell them to get their act together. But you see, that’s the tension in which we live. We know we don’t deserve to be called saints. We don’t deserve to be called children of God. We know that when it comes to being holier than the rest, well, that’s just laughable. Except for the times when we do start to believe the hype a little bit and start comparing ourselves to others. We know that if any church council were ever to sift through the evidence of our lives, they would be able to come up with some, and maybe a lot, of stuff that would disqualify us from saintly status. Think of how fast we are to say, “I’m no saint.” We’re almost too fast, as though accepting the title of saint would force us to be more conscious of our Christianity. And what fun would that be?
Despite our warped ideas about sainthood, God considers Jesus’ cross and empty tomb and then calls us his saints. So that’s what we must be. Just as he calls ordinary bread and wine his own body and blood; Just as he calls a bit of water with his name “a washing of rebirth and renewal,” if God calls us saints, we’re saints, through Jesus Christ our Lord. If God can call the day day and night, night, then He can call us saints through the shed blood and risen life of Jesus. Are you going to tell God he’s wrong? That he’s made a mistake? “Not me, Lord, no, I’m not a saint, I’m not perfect.” God hears that kind of false modesty and says, “Hey, listen, I didn’t ask if you’ve earned it. I didn’t even ask if you wanted it. But because of my Son, I can and will say to you that in my eyes, you are a saint. You are someone for whom my Son was beaten and killed. That’s what enables me to call you a saint, if you believe He did it for you. It’s not about your perspiration. It’s about my declaration.”
The great theologians of the church have a Latin phrase just for this occasion: “Simil Justus et Peccator.” That means “Simultaneously or at the same time, Sinner and Saint.” That really nails it, don’t you think? As you are sitting there and I am standing here, we are sinners and saints at the same time. And that really captures us, because we know what we’re like when no one’s around. We know what we’re like behind closed doors, we know what we’re like when we’re not at church, and don’t assume it’s all bad! But we are not perfect, we do screw up in old comfortable ways and sometimes in creatively new ways. And through it all, God our Father stubbornly persists in calling us his saints and in the end, it is the fact that God calls us ‘saints’ thanks to Jesus’ dying and rising that will make an eternal difference for us.
Today we get a glimpse of that eternal difference—a sneak preview of heaven’s wonder—in this passage from Revelation. And there’s so much going on here but let’s just pay attention to two things today. Number one, the best thing about heaven that John notices is God himself is present. No temple is necessary. No sanctuary required. God and the Lamb, his Son, will be available, he will be there, and we with him. That’s a dream come true, don’t you think?
And number two, take a look at the people, they only appear for a brief moment in this passage, but they’re there, walking by the light of the Lamb. In fact, this holy, heavenly city was constructed for them! Without them, what purpose would it serve?
And here’s the thing that hits home with me on this All Saints Day. I know some of those people, and so do you. And with every passing year, heaven gets quite a few more citizens that you and I both know well! What we hear and read in this part of Revelation is their reality now, all because their name has been lovingly written in the Lamb’s book of Life. You might imagine those names written in blood, because it was the blood of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, who made them eligible for heaven. He paid for their ticket and their passport. By God’s gracious choice, they are walking in His light. Thanks be to God for this picture of the saints in triumph. As you imagine the scene in your mind, see if you can pick out those special saints whose lives pointed you to Jesus, and give thanks for them, too.
My friends, we are treading where the saints have trod. In Jesus Christ our Lord, keep walking that path and pointing the way for new generations until the Church triumphant is full and the song begins and the feast is served. I can’t wait to see you there. Amen.