Year A All Saints' (Observed) 2023 The Blessed Way

Year A All Saints’ (Observed), 5 November 2023 St. James the Less Episcopal, Ashland, VA “The Blessed Way” Collect Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. 1 John 3:1-3 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Matthew 5:1-12 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."

Blessing and peace, dear siblings in Christ. Over the last three days some of us, and hundreds from across the diocese, gathered to look at bridging the gap between religion and life. The Book of James says, “Faith without works is dead.” But if we compartmentalize our religion, our reconnecting with God, to our Sunday mornings from the rest of life, then it is worse than dead. Our faith is invisible. It is so irrelevant as to be non-existent. The message we proclaim to the world can be confusing and inconsistent. When I used to help with training for overseas missionaries I heard the story from some folks who had served in the Philippines. One of the great inconsistencies was our culture. They, the Philippinos, did not understand how a Christian singer could be so sex oriented and sinful. The missionaries asked what Christian singer they were confused by, and they said, “Madonna. She wears a cross and her name is Madonna. She is obviously a Christian.” Painful lesson there. Wearing a cross does not make us a Christian, picking up our cross and following Jesus does. Our diocesan convention the last few days was different, thank goodness. I was so inspired this weekend seeing people openly talking and wrestling with what it means to be intentionally faithful in their context. I wish each of you could have been there. And it fits so hand in glove with today. Today we observe All Saints’ Day, when we remember those beloved ones of God who lived their life God’s way. And we set them aside to give us guides, not to be like them, but to love God like them. The calling of the saints to us is for each and every one of us to live OUR lives, for us to be who we are, and to put God first in our lives and expand God’s Kingdom in our neck of the woods. The quote that was the theme for the weekend comes from the Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool who helped, along with the Anglican bishop, keep the peace in this huge city filled with Irish immigrants across the very small Sea of Ireland. Together they held this city about to boil over from having any major clashes when explosions were happening everywhere during “The Troubles.” I was standing next to our bishop when he read this quote for the first time when we were in Liverpool for Bishop John Perambulath’s installation. We were at the statue on Hope Street which connects the two cathedrals. Immediately Bishop Stephenson said, “This is what I have been looking for. This is what I want Convention to be about.” This is what he read…

“Close the gap between religion and life, between what goes on in Church and what goes on at work and at home; to make our faith a living reality that can be a sign of hope to people in rather troubled times; and at the same time to secure justice and human dignity in the ordinary affairs of life.” --Archbishop Derek Worlock

Beautiful ideas. Wonderful imagery. But where do we start? Fear not friends. I am not going to give you any scheme or plan, but I am going to simply remind you of what you already know. From today’s New Testament reading, I John… See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. Friends, the complete work has been done. God did it all. Anything that was in the way has been removed. The love of God was given to us. It was love that enabled our epistemological shift. We are now Children of God. When God pulls out God’s wallet, your picture is there. When God goes to Little League, it is your game. When you scroll through God’s phone, there you are. We are “called Children of God, because that is what we are.” It is not a euphemism. It is not a metaphor. Our existence is shifted and this is our reality. We are the Children of God. We walk around like everyone else. And they assume that they are like they are. They think we play by the same rules, or lack thereof. They do not recognize who we are, we will see. Going on in I John… The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. When my oldest did their senior project presentation, I was amazed. The way I phrase things, the self-deprecating humor, all of it, was coming out of my child’s mouth. No one else would recognize it that day. I knew where my kid got it from because they had heard me preaching their entire life. I knew where it came from because I know me. Or, another way to put it, the apple does not fall far from the tree. One of the hard parts of being a Christian, in a nation that is nominally Christian and tells itself that it is Christian, is that we too often expect those in our lives who are outside the faith to play by the rules we play by. And they assume the same of us. As it says in another place in I John, “They will know that we are Christians by our love.” And when we are confronted by other systems, other rules, even outright opposition, then we love them. That’s it. We model another way. Then, we love each other. And we love the God that loved us first. And I believe that people, when we are sincere and loving, will want what we have in their lives, too. When people see God in our lives, they will want God’s love, too. God will be revealed to us, and hopefully to all. As I John continues… Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. As we grow more and more into Christlikeness, like the Saints of God we remember today, people will see God in us, or maybe see God through us, through the lives we live, through the people we touch, through the love we share. We are only part way there. God’s not through with us yet. And when we see God as God is, all will be complete. When he is revealed, we will be like Moses mentioned last week, face to face, as he is. Like Julian of Norwich who saw him in her anchored cell at Norwich Cathedral. Like St. Francis when he saw the Christ on the cross so clearly the wounds appeared on him, too. Maybe you will see God, too, when you are living your best, your most Christ-like, lives. And finally from I John… And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. There will be a stripping away. The word holy means “set apart.” The parts of our lives that need to be set apart from us so that we can be like him. Pure, just as he is pure. Purity, a dream for most of us. But we are not trying to do it all by ourselves. God is at work in us, and will be faithful to complete what has been begun. God is drawing all things to Godself. The Saints have made a path for us. God has cleared the obstacles, and sent the invite himself. Friends, let us climb the ladder of Paradise, let us run the celestial race. We are Children of God, and nothing less is expected of us. Let us get on the blessed way. Amen