Can We Live as Saints in 2024?
Isaiah 25: 6-10(a)
JOHN 11: 32-44
November 3, 2024 – ALL SAINTS DAY
I seriously debated having all of you marching … getting out of your seats … and marching in today’s All Saints Worship Service. A collective marching and celebration of those who we remember as the saints of the church. Marching with a joy-filled energy as we celebrated God’s love, which God demonstrated to us through Jesus Christ.
Marching with renewed and restored spirits thankful to God … our hands in the air with praise …. Celebrating that we don’t allow the world to dictate the words we use or the thoughts we have but instead celebrating that all of us are aligned with God’s Holy Spirit, which directs us to love God, love all of our neighbors, and actually being the people who pay attention to God’s Spirit which reminds us that we are to do all we can to care for the poor, to be peacemakers, to reject evil, to do justice, to never cast judgments on others, to always be forgiving actually forgiving others seven times seventy, making sacrifices of our own personal things and cash so that others can live in better conditions, and to actively be engaged in bringing others to know God and Jesus Christ. Reasons for us to celebrate and to march and to praise God for. Yep.
You know Holy Spirit-led kind of things … living as people who are recognized by others for our love of God … people who actually understand that God out of love sent Jesus to be our Savior, our Teacher, and our Lord. The faithful ones who are engaged in actually following the teachings of Jesus Christ whose existence and reality is why there is a Christ-ian church and who God sent to remind us of God’s expectations before Jesus Christ died as a sacrifice for the sins of all of humanity only to beat death back. To be the people who celebrate that Jesus, He is Risen <<He is Risen Indeed>> and that Jesus is still there at God’s Right Hand. Our life actions demonstrating our true faith.
Yes, I did give some thought to bringing out my KAZOO and start playing OH WHEN THE SAINTS … GO MARCHING IN … OH WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN. OH LORD I WANT TO BE IN THAT NUMBER WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN.
But then I thought NAH … this is the year 2024 and it is really hard to be a saint of the church of Jesus Christ because the world has too much power over us. It’s easier to stay quiet and conform to them rather than to love all of our neighbors and to love God.
When I see that in this land that I have grown up in and love that we have people publicly suggesting that others should be shot to death by a line-up of soldiers because of their views on governance. When those eating in restaurants are more focused on complaining rather than enjoying. When thousands cheer at the suggestion that people should be rounded up because of who they are reminiscent of the 1930’s … I begin to believe that we may have reached a time in history when I start to sense Bruce Springsteen may have been right when he sang, “It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City.” Perhaps he was a prophet in his words … “[1]And, the sages of the subway sit just like the living dead as the tracks clack out the rhythm their eyes fixed straight ahead. They ride the line of balance and hold on by just a thread. But it’s too hot in these tunnels …”
And the psalmist declares, “LOOK, this is our God, for whom we have waited; and he has SAVED US!”
Ah the sages … those with an understanding of God … where are the voices out there in 2024 friends? Where are the voices? Where are the saints? Where is the concern? Why is the church shrinking and the lessons of Jesus being buried? What are we afraid of? Are we ready to align with the psalmist who suggested “Let’s be glad and rejoice in the Lord’s salvation for us?”
I had an argument the other night with a friend who said, “Dave, yes there are saints in the world today … just look around and pay attention.” Now, my friend may have been correct because this morning here at this church I knew I was going to read the names of those who have left us.
No, I did not know Don Black and I hardly knew Dorothy Stockman but my friend’s comments struck home as I sorted through the names of the saints of the church this year. Hope Titus who was a fighter wanting to LIVE not give up … sharing her love with those who were amazed by her perseverance. I frankly can still see Dick Wagner’s smile and hear his laugh. I consider all those touched by his faith and joy in life both in his business world and in his daily walk of life. I am thankful for those two friends.
And, then friends … when you start to think about the missing saints. When you start to think about the possibilities that we have to live life with a legacy directly related to the relationship we have with God and with Jesus Christ and the actions that we can take in this life even as our bodies give out let me read three names to you again … and I want you to remember these women not in their youthful years but in the closing chapters of their lives because each one never wanted to stop giving back to God … to be aligned with Jesus Christ and yes to be the saints of this church not in getting credit because not a single one wanted credit or their names in bright lights … what they wanted was to live lives where their actions reflected their faith …
The dictionary defines a saint as “a person acknowledged as holy or virtuous and as being in heaven after death.’ In the book of Revelations, the saints are shown worshiping God, singing hymns, playing instruments and offering prayers.
Hebrews 12 offers this challenge to people of faith, “‘Let’s run the race that is laid out in front of us, since we have such a large cloud of saints as witnesses surrounding us.” Let’s throw off any extra baggage, get rid of the sin that is tripping us up, and fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, faith’s perfecter and pioneer.”
And, so we remember … and today we, the people of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church are surrounded by:
RUTH SCHULTZ … just think about that little white-haired fireball of action. Sang in the choir as long as she could. Did the outreach mission work of this church as long as she could. Did all she could to serve the poorest of the poor through the Camden Neighborhood Center as long as she could. Age and health realities did not get Ruth to say “I won’t” … she would have continued right to her last breath wanting to do more even when she couldn’t. Smiling that Ruth smile even from the bed set up in her living room.
LIL QUILLEN … oh my goodness SWEET, INCREDIBLE LIL. An incredible PRAYER WARRIOR! I miss a lot of our departed from this church that I have pastored since 2016 but my phone calls with LIL … I so miss them. “Pastor Dave …” she’d begin. “Be sure to bring me the Upper Room. Let me tell you about the Scripture I read.” Her smile when I stopped by her home. The twinkle in her eye but always JESUS … JESUS … JESUS. Over 100 years of life and right to the last moment she was loving others, caring for those who needed prayer and living her faith.
And, then Barb Hoffman. Thin as a rail … strong as an ox. Last Sunday we celebrated her life here in this Sanctuary. I recommend going to FACEBOOK and watching the service so that you can be reminded that our Barb was an awesome woman of faith. Even as she lay in her bed at the nursing home … as she listened to God’s Word … even when she couldn’t say the words out loud she’d hold my hand and mouth the words “I love you” and she did. Barb desperately wanted to be helping at this year’s Vacation Bible School weeks before she went to the Lord … how many of us could say we desperately want to be helping at church … even in our weakest moments or when something good is on TV … Barb did. She read and knew God’s Word … she understand that faith was not something to be embarrassed about but rather embraced. When I first met Barbara Hoffman, I thought a little breeze could blow her over and then I learned instead that she was a whirlwind of faith … a representative of what it meant to be a saint … and someone I will continue to aspire to be more like in the days to come.
In those we have lost we understand more clearly as people of faith that our journey does not end with our time here on earth. There is the forever and ever time; eternal life but if we pay attention to God … if we read what Jesus said, which in truth are messages from God, then we know there are expectations of the faithful. I suggest you read Matthew 25 because there we see the answers for two groups all of whom claimed to be aligned with God but the end results for one group is not something any of us would want.
I was reminded this week of your hearts in faith. Last Sunday I mentioned that I had heard from a couple living in the woods with their dog. I have met with Todd now and know that only by the grace of God some of us aren’t where they are. We are doing our best to make their life better. This church has now provided sleeping bags that keep you warm to temperatures in the low teens so last night they were warm. St. Paul’s United Methodist Church provided them with food including food for their dog and the Guiding Lights are ready to provide them a new tent. No judgment … no politicizing their realities … just caring for the poor and loving our neighbors, which is what we do when we go to Red Bird each summer. Have you by the way thought about Red Bird? Barb went, I think Ruth went and maybe Lil went too.
The Lord God will one day swallow up death forever … will wipe the tears from the faces of the faithful … I pray that all of you and me will hold to our faith and be ready to declare over and over again, “This is our God who has saved us! This is the Lord whom we have waited for. Let’s be glad and rejoice in the Lord’s Salvation!”
And, Jesus shouted to Lazarus whom they thought had died. “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out and Jesus said, “Let Him Go!”
Don’t let your faith die … don’t live hiding your faith while you just stare ahead.
“When the Saints come marching in… oh when the saints come marching in. Oh Lord, I want to be in that number when the saints come marching in!”
The saints are like the stars. Always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive in their hearts the invitation of Christ. St. Anthony of Padua