All Saints’ Day (Matthew 5:1-12)  11/06/2011

This morning we celebrate the feast of All Saints’ Day. The feast of All Saints’ is a day of celebration and thanksgiving for the saints who have gone before us. In the most stringent understanding of “saint,” those given the saintly title have been those who have exemplified a Christian life of sacrifice and loving care toward others; a life that has been carefully examined and granted a status that is seemingly beyond the reach of most of us. However, the more modern understanding (and by modern I mean the last 500 hundred years or so) of a saintly life is typically more broad, hoping to capture the essence of what the saints of God strive to be – the life of one who claims to be a child of God and a follower of his only Son, Jesus Christ. As we sang in our opening hymn this morning, “I sing a song of the saints of God,” and we can all hope to be one too!

Our Gospel lesson this morning captures this broader interpretation, teaching us Christ’s understanding of those who are blessed. The list of those who are blessed, commonly referred to as the Beatitudes, is Christ’s teaching of the important characteristics of Christian life. At first glance, the list appears to be a tall order to achieve, but we are not dealing with a “checklist;” a black & white “naughty and nice” list like the one that Santa might review before loading the sleigh. No, the Beatitudes are something far more thoughtful, far more profound than a simple list. Jesus outlines nine “blessings” of Christian behavior: blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for those who mourn, for the meek, for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for the merciful, for the pure in heart, for the peacemakers, for those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and for those reviled and persecuted and slandered on account of following Christ. (Matt 5:3-11) And I imagine that after all the challenges of this past week following the snow storm and the lack of power, Jesus might add “blessed are the patient who wait for CL&P to come and restore power to their homes!” The blessings of these Christian characteristics connect us to Christ’s work in the world and bring us together with the saints of the church. As Jesus said to his disciples, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matt 5:12) Here, we are reminded of those who were before us: the great cloud of witnesses to Christ, “the mystical Body of thy Son Christ our Lord,” as we pray in our Burial Service liturgy.

We are connected in all that we do, and this past week we have been connected through events that have given us a week like none other. “Good morning” has been replaced as the most popular phrase of the day by the question, “Do you have power?” The challenges of the aftermath of the storm continue even as we gather this morning. As I reflected on our Gospel lesson throughout this past week and watched the unusual events of this storm unfold before me, I could not help but think of the trying times we must all face in different ways. We are challenged in our daily routine. We are challenged in our efforts to not become overwhelmed with the details of life…proving that even “what’s for dinner” has become an unusually challenging question, especially with two teenagers at home who are quite sick and tired of peanut butter sandwiches. And perhaps we are challenged by the teachings that Jesus shared on the mountain top – words that teach us that our actions connect us in many ways.

Throughout the past few days it has become my morning practice to listen to the Governor’s storm update on the radio. Interesting and important information is shared, but yesterday morning the most interesting news was shared after the Governor’s morning address. The radio station shared a story of an 87-year old woman who was born and raised in England. She compared the positive feelings of people helping each other in the warming shelters and food centers to the feelings she remembered in London during the darkest days of World War II; people helping each other in positive and wonderful ways. I too have witnessed many positive stories from these days following the storm and have heard many acts of charity: free food for the power line crews at Whole Foods market, wonderful stories of people helping others as they clear fallen trees, and I witnessed many kind folks at the warming shelter at the Senior Center. However, in the midst of the positive there is the reality of those who take advantage of others: whether it is as simple as running through the intersection when the traffic light is out and not waiting your turn or acts that are far more sinister and horrible, we are faced with living with the challenges that Jesus describes to his followers.

In our lives we will encounter both the good and the bad and the tension that is present between the two: the prophet and the persecutor; the saint and the sinner. As children of God, although we are in this world, we are God’s people in this world. We are knit together as the Body of Christ, we are called to join the Saints in Light as we strive to serve God’s purpose in this world. Rejoice and be glad, saints of God, for your reward is great in heaven. AMEN.