1.
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. Today we observe All
Saints’ Day. This day is a little bit different from other saints’ days we
might celebrate in the Church. On other days we identify and commemorate one
particular saint, such as St. Matthew or St. John. But, just who are we remembering
and thanking God for on All Saints’ Day? Well, all the saints. But, who are
they? Today, we’re going to answer that
question and we’re going to see that the all of us who are baptized into the
Holy Trinity and who hear the Holy Word of God that points us to Jesus our
Savior are God’s Saints. We are Saints of God, blessed to be a
blessing. The message is taken from
Matthew 5:1-12, dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
In
Charles Dickens’s novel A Tale of Two Cities, the climax of the story
comes when a family is in deep trouble. The husband, hero of the story, is
about to be executed during the Reign of Terror in Paris. The man who loves the
hero’s wife, however, is virtually identical in appearance to the condemned
man. Had the hero been executed, perhaps the look-alike could have taken the
dead man’s wife for himself. Instead, through trickery, he substitutes himself
for the hero. The look-alike becomes the hero. He goes to the guillotine and
dies in place of another. As he prepares to die, he utters this famous line: “It is a far, far better thing that I do,
than I have ever done.”
3.
There’s
a story greater than any in Western literature—that of Jesus of Nazareth, God
among us, who by his life, death, and resurrection has made us saints of God by
cleansing us of all of our sins through His death on the cross and giving us
the gift of eternal life. Jesus has made
us saints of God, blessed to be a blessing. He has achieved for us the great
reversal. He has taken us from being
sinners to saints of God.
4.
The
Beatitudes characterize the ministry of Jesus, what he came into our world to
accomplish. Jesus came to bless us with
His life, death and resurrection from the dead, so that we can be a blessing to
those around us. Jesus’ ministry is what produces the great reversal that one
can experience for all time through Word and Sacrament. The Bible tells us that in Adam we die, but
in Christ we live. In Adam we are made sinners. In Christ we are made saints.
God takes the initiative and reverses his word of wrath in the ministry of Christ
Jesus. Jesus’ work on the cross frees us from sin. He is both God’s yes and no.
He is the Father’s “no” to condemnation and “yes” to life.
5.
The
Beatitudes not only characterize the life and ministry of Jesus, but they also
characterize our lives as Christians. Having experienced God’s wrath reversed
by the cross of Jesus, we seek to live under the cross. We seek to lives that
are characterized by repentance. In
fact, imagine a world where there are no Christians, no saints of God blessed
to be a blessing to others. Imagine a
world where there are only those who are proud of heart, who seek only after
wealth, power, and influence at the expense of others.
6.
When
Jesus teaches us the Beatitudes we notice that they are full of the spirit of
repentance. Jesus calls us to think in a
different way than the world. He shows
us how He makes us saints of God, blessed to be a blessing. In these opening
sentences of the Sermon on the Mount, we have Christ’s roster of the saints of
God. Qualifications for admission into
this registry are quaint and unique, judged by the standards of this
world. Money doesn’t count; neither does
power or success. “How difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:24). “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life will keep it” (Luke 17:33).
7.
The
Beatitudes will remain a mystery unless we realize that Jesus is speaking of
the basic attitudes and values that produce spiritual fruit. It is not the
person who claims to “have it made”
spiritually who finds the kingdom, but the individual who recognizes how poor
he is (v. 3). It is not the person who is satisfied with what the world offers,
but the person who mourns and looks beyond its glitter, who finds comfort (v.
4). It is not the person who is arrogant, but the meek, who responds to God’s
voice, who inherits the earth (v. 5). It is not those who are satisfied with
their own righteousness, but those who hunger and thirst for a righteousness
they do not have who will be satisfied (v. 6).
8.
To
experience life in Jesus’ kingdom, we need to reject the values and attitudes
of this world and adopt the values portrayed here by our Lord. Jesus’ values are blessed are the poor in
spirit, this is against the values of the world which says you should be self-confident,
competent, and self-reliant. The poor in
spirit, are those who feel their own spiritual helplessness and need. These people realize that they do not merit
salvation because they are sinful and unclean.
They know that salvation can be theirs only by grace. To such is promised the kingdom of heaven.
9.
Jesus
says blessed are those who mourn, this is against the values of the world which
seek pleasure, and only think of those who are beautiful and strong. Those who mourn are the people who are sorry
for their sins and are comforted with the Gospel that the blood of Jesus Christ
completely cleanses them from that sin.
10.
Jesus
says blessed are the meek, this is against the values of the world, which look
to the proud, the powerful and the important.
The meek, according to Jesus, are the humble, those who know that none
of us, not even the most noble of society, can boast of their own salvation. God’s grace has called us into the kingdom,
and His Gospel preserves us in the faith.
These believers shall be rich, for all that is God’s is theirs to enjoy.
11.
Jesus
says blessed are those who hunger for righteousness, this flies against those
who seek self-satisfaction, who are well adjusted and practical. Those who hunger for righteousness long for and
strive to do what is pleasing to God in appreciation of His love in Christ. Jesus promises that they will be satisfied;
they will find their greatest joy in the service they render to God.
12.
Jesus
says blessed are the merciful, this goes against the world, which values self-righteousness,
those who “are able to take care of
themselves, who can pick themselves up by their own bootstraps.” But, according to Jesus, the merciful are
those who are kind, patient, thoughtful.
They sympathize with those who suffer and go about doing good out of the
goodness of their renewed heart. They
are repaid in kind; they are shown mercy.
13.
Jesus
says blessed are the pure in heart, this goes against the world which values
the sophisticated and the broad minded.
According to Jesus those who are pure in heart are honest, there’s no
deceit found in them. These people shall
see God.
14.
Jesus
says blessed are the peacemakers. This
goes against the values of the world that look to those who are competitive and
aggressive. We need peacemakers. They lubricate life and keep down
friction. God calls them His special
children. They are His favorites because
they keep things running smoothly in the home, in the church, and in the
nation.
15.
Finally,
Jesus says blessed are the persecuted for righteousness’ sake, this goes
against the values of the world, which look to those who are adaptable, who are
popular and don’t rock the boat. Because
they are God’s people, confessing Christ as their Savior and Lord, the world
reviles and hates them. All manner of
lies and accusations are thrown at them.
Life is hard, bitter, and dangerous, but they can rejoice despite all
because their names are written in the Book of Life.
16.
Dear
friends let us rejoice on this All Saints’ Day, for God has taken us from being
the aints, being poor, miserable sinners, to being His saints through the
merits and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us pray:
Merciful Lord, keep me in Your
grace day after day, forgiving sin and guiding me into the paths of
uprightness. Comfort me with the
assurance that my name is written in Your Book of Life because I am chosen of
You through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.
Amen.
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