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November 2, 2008

Doug Clay

Feast of All Saints, Year A - RCL

To read the lessons for the day click here:

http://www.io.com/~kellywp/YearA_RCL/HolyDays/AAllSaints_RCL.html

Stewardship of All Saints

Revelation 7:9-17, Psalm 34:1-10, 22, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12

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.

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.

Pray with me that the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart may truly reflect God’s spirit and enlighten our paths. Amen

One doesn’t have to look very hard to see that we live in a time of uncertainty and violence. Every day in our newspapers and on television there are stories about the instability of our economy, about greed and selfishness, war and conflict, and currently the shrill accusations of the political season. On the local level, there are always stories of people doing violence to others either as careless drivers on our streets or deliberately as they try to gain some advantage by stealing or maliciously injuring someone else. Since we are experiencing these events now (and we are bombarded with messages of the urgency of every situation) there is a tendency for us to believe that everything is always getting worse.

I believe, though, that in every era people have felt uncomfortable and uncertain about the future; and the people of God have always faced violence and upheaval. Many of the world’s conflicts of today have roots that are centuries old. The early days of Sacramento and the stories of the gold rush of one hundred sixty years ago show us days of greed and violence. The times in which Jesus lived also were times of conquest and many of our Bible stories tell of violence and unrest. While there have been times of peace and prosperity, history nearly always records their end with upheaval.

But there have always been those who faced the difficulties and overcome them through their own desire for change and peace and their own love for God’s creation. These are the people we celebrate today with this Feast of All Saints. These are women and men of mercy. These are the ones who are often the poor in spirit, who hunger for righteousness, who amidst the storm keep an inner peace as they go about their tasks. We each know people who care for the world and one another, we each know people who live their lives with a sense of calmness and hope, even when surrounded by danger, deprived of their livelihood, threatened by pain and injury or beset by enemies. As we think of our own examples, and give thanks for their presence in our lives, it enriches our souls and strengthens us as we try to understand evil and death among us.

The list of Saints is a long and diverse roster of people who come from every possible economic status, class and ethnicity. Their disposition may be cranky or uplifting, and they may have been celibate or people with large families. But they have nurtured us, have taken care of us and have watched over us. Saints are people who know something profound about love. First, that love is not disconnected from suffering and that love only grows by being shared actively. The saints demanded change because they wanted people to know more about God, they challenged societies, governments and leaders who were exploiting others. They worked to bring justice to those who were ground down by unjust systems. All this they did because they felt a responsibility to respond through their understanding of spiritual stewardship.

Stewardship as it applies to acting as “an agent for God” or “caring for the church” is a spiritual act and has roots as far back as Genesis. In Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, we find the first mention of our responsibility toward God’s creation. God had just finished creating heaven and earth, and all the plants and animals. Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” This statement “to rule over” was not meant as a license to abuse creation but more accurately “to care for”. Responsibilities come with the covenants made with God. Many of the lessons set forth in subsequent books of the Bible are about clarifying our response to God and our responsibility to be good stewards of what we as human beings were given.

This brings us to the Gospel readings for today. They are often called the Beatitudes and even though it is not linguistically sound I like to think of them as “Be Attitudes”. These passages proclaim a great reversal for those who are not recognized or valued by society. Jesus speaks of those who hunger or mourn while others rejoice. Jesus tells us about righteousness, mercy and peacemaking. Exercising these virtues requires courage, because showing mercy, or doing what is right, is not always popular. The history of the Christian faith is a history of people who love mercy, justice and peace so much that they have been willing to die for those things. It has been the history of people who have given shelter to the poor, worked to free slaves, treated women as equal to men – in short people who have believed that God created everyone and everything and are willing to treat all as members of God’s family.

These passages about the “blessed ones” are troubling reminders that we still live in an unjust world where those who cry out for justice (the saints) are often dismissed as unrealistic or as trouble makers. Sainthood in not just for nice people, it is for those who labor for justice and peace for all people, often with no recognition but large amounts of ridicule.

The history of the church is a history of great saints but it is also the history of nameless saints. It is a history of current day saints who routinely give of their time to feed the hungry or visit the sick, of those who write their newspapers or elected representatives when they see injustice in our social and political systems. The nameless saints are people who work to produce goods and services to sustain our lives and who try to do it in a way that respects the earth as God’s precious creation. They are the people who simply take time to teach a child or to comfort someone in need. These modern saints are the nameless people who work for what is right and good and fair for all people, rather than just for themselves or the people most like them. The saints of God are among us every day.

Every now and then someone whom we think is special comes into our lives. It may be a new friend who is with us for a time, then moves on, it may be a special teacher who challenges us to broader view, a doctor who guides us through a difficult time, a beloved family member just standing with us, or a priest or deacon providing spiritual guidance. These are people stand out in our memories as ones who were there when we need them.

All of this challenges our ideas about what it means to be a saint. We often have the vision of saints as people who lead some extraordinary life doing good things for others. We believe that saints live their lives in near perfection and godliness. We see saints as people who have a lot of faith and can talk easily about God. We often grab hold of this concept and apply to ourselves – “I must be a saint because I live a good life – at least a life better than those others.” Or we grab onto the opposite notion – there is no way that I can ever be a saint because I am not good enough.

In our baptismal vows we are called to be and become saints. If we concentrate on the idea that saints are very, very good people, nearly perfect, then we miss the point. We ask the wrong question and get the wrong answer. We ask whether we are good enough to be saints when we should be asking whether we are dedicated enough to be saints. Dedication means single-mindedness and that is what we do in baptism – dedicate ourselves (with God’s help – we don’t have to do anything unassisted) to bringing the reign of heaven on earth.

Lets back one more time to the basic premise that the earth (actually all creation) is the property of God and we are called upon not only to rule over it or exploit it for our own purposes but to care for it.

I believe there are three reasons for us as caretakers to give generously of our possessions (that means not only of our money but also of our time and our talent).

The first reason we should give is “God.” If we are to become closer to God we truly must realize that all things come from God. In giving a portion of our possessions, we are simply acknowledging this fact. We are giving back to God a part of what is already God’s. By systematically and regularly giving a portion of our money, we will grow to be more spiritual, we will look at life with a new perspective and we will become closer to God in our lives.

A couple years ago there was an article in the Sacramento Bee about a pastor who decided to test, for his congregation, the power of giving. He gave $1000 to parishioners who promised to “do good with the money”. He expected to see that the money was spent on helping people, but after several months it was discovered that the good done with the money had not just increased but multiplied. The money was used to set up ongoing food banks, counseling, and other services for the needy. And those who had been challenged to use their generosity reported being energized and inspired to do more.

The second reason we should give is for the church parish itself. It requires a commitment, and an investment of each of us to have our parish continue to perform God’s work.

St. Paul’s is important to me. I firmly believe that St. Paul’s is firmly grounded in the present and must plan for the future. This means that money is required not just to make sure that the lights are on but more importantly that our parish remains here in downtown Sacramento, to be able to influence people’s lives and encourage them in their quest to find spiritual truth.

My mate, Mark and I started coming to St. Paul’s in early 1999. We had recently moved to Sacramento, and were looking for a church home. We came to St. Paul’s once, and we came back again, and became members of St. Paul’s because we were greeted at the door and welcomed. We were invited to come back. We felt that the service was conducive to worship. It may have just been an accident that we felt comfortable here but I would like to feel that it was not just an accident. I feel that we must continue to be deliberate in our efforts to keep St. Paul’s an open and accepting church. I feel that we must be deliberate in our efforts to keep St. Paul’s as a place to come and explore faith and to build on our relationship with God.

This church has a unique place in God’s plan and a unique place in Sacramento. The attributes of this parish are not found in every church. In the stewardship package most of you received is an opportunity to volunteer your talents and give of your time to help realize our unique place in the world. The talents of education, greeting, reading, singing, playing instruments, providing transportation are important. They should be used to make others more welcomed, to make others more comfortable in their relationship with God because that is St. Paul’s unique place in God’s plan.

In giving of ourselves and of our money for the betterment of others we are practicing love. We are putting love in action. All of God’s work to which we are giving our time, to which we are giving our talent, and to which we are giving our money, all of St Paul’s parish work to which we are giving our time, to which we are giving our talent, and to which we are giving our money is to help others.

By contributing actively from our own abundance- this applies to each of us not just those who may be wealthier. By giving generously, we are stretching ourselves – we are expanding our own love and our capacity for love. This is the wondrous miracle of giving, that in giving—of letting loose of our own self-interest and focusing on the needs of others, we become more able to receive and accept love.

It is exactly like the Charles Dickens book, and movie, and play, and reworked movie, and TV movie “A Christmas Carol”. After Ebenezer Scrooge turned outward and focused on the needs of others, only after he turned outward did he become full of life himself. That book has remained popular for all these years because it contains a basic truth about human nature and the nature of the human soul. It is a practical lesson and a basic lesson about our purpose in God’s plan.

I have discovered many other things about this parish in the 9 years that I have been attending this church. We are not always inviting, we are not always accepting, and we are not always comforting. But we are always reaching for those goals. We have become more outgoing and more future oriented, and St. Paul’s has become a very important part of my life and I hope an important part of your lives also.

We need to be a place where others can come and learn and can grow as we teach as it was taught in our gospel reading where Jesus taught “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.

So I urge you to fill out your giving cards and turn them next Sunday. I urge you to actively give of your time, to actively give of your talents, and to actively give of your treasures. I urge you to give for yourself. I urge you to give for St. Paul’s parish. I urge you to give for God.

There is a postscript to the Gospel lesson today if we read past the portion assigned for today. It is the call to action that I feel completes the beatitudes. Matthew continues, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by others. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Amen.