"Who's in Charge Here?" given 11-20-2016

Ever look around and ask yourself the question, who's in charge here? The Military-Industrial complex? The Illuminati? Our Politicians? We elect them to office and we the people (in a democracy) give them power -power to do good for us. But do they? And if not, why not? Listen to these words from the Apostle Paul letter to the Colossians.

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels--everything got started in God and finds its purpose in God. The Creator was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, God in Christ Jesus organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

He was supreme in the beginning and--leading the resurrection parade--he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe--people and things, animals and atoms--get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.

A prominent clergyman tells about a time when he met the former governor of his state. In a rare moment of candor, the politician confessed to the preacher, "The first and most difficult thing I had to learn is that I wasn't in control of anybody or anything. I was essentially powerless, a victim of many forces beyond my control."

Can that possibly be true? Can you imagine Bruce Rahner, or Mike Madigan, or any current or former high elected official in our state of either party, complaining that he or she was a victim of "forces beyond control"? Can you imagine Rahm Emmanuel admitting that anything is beyond his control?

But some things are. Take, for instance, something like the economy. Has anyone here ever seen the economy? No. It’s invisible. Nevertheless, it’s quite real and palpable, and certainly a force beyond our control. Deep in the previous Depression, Will Rogers once said that he didn't understand any more about the economy than the economists did. And gosh knows they didn't know anything.

Yet this invisible economy dictates the lives of millions. The economy has thrown millions of people out of work. Its’ sovereign decrees have pushed thousands of businesses into bankruptcy, caused millions to be unemployed, and lead to uncounted foreclosures and bankruptcies.

Walk through any big city today, and in one shop doorway after another you'll see homeless people, begging. Who put them there? If you ask one of our elected officials, he or she might tell you that it was economic forces. It was some invisible, yet powerful force beyond our control. The economy, politics, the national mood, investor confidence, voter apathy-- all these are forces beyond our control.

Watch the evening news and see slaughter in some country in Africa, violence in Afghanistan and Syria, political unrest in Central America, havoc in the Middle East. Recall 9-11. What can you or I— what can anybody do about these terrors? The truth is that there really are forces beyond our control in this world.

When, in his letter to the Colossians, Paul speaks about "the powers and principalities," that's what he's talking about. Forces beyond our control. We've got problems with the “powers and principalities”-- the same problems with the same “powers” in many cases as the Apostle had in the First Century.

And yet throughout the whole letter to the Colossians Paul isn’t despairing over that feeling of helplessness, or of things being somehow or other “out of control.” No, the Epistle to the Colossians is all about saying "Thank you." Paul begins by thanking God that there is a church in Colossae at all. His prayer for them focuses on their being able to give thanks to the Creator. The central section of the letter begins with thanksgiving; and, when Paul sums up the whole long argument, this is how it concludes;

"Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Heavenly Parent through him".

Gratitude it seems, is the name of the game-- according to Paul. An appropriate sentiment on this Sunday before Thanksgiving. But why is Thanksgiving appropriate? Why should these Colossian Christians be so filled with thanks?

Because God has rescued them—and us from the rule of the “powers and principalities”, liberated them—and us from victimization by "powers beyond their control," and transferred all the people of God to a new kind of earthly rule-- the Reign of the Prince of Peace, the Sovereign of kings, God's own beloved Son—Jesus the Christ.

Those words are reminiscent of the Exodus, when Israel was liberated from bondage under Pharaoh and led to freedom in the Promised Land. Now, in Jesus Christ, something like that Exodus has happened to us. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. And this same God made the world, and is determined to redeem the world, to rescue the planet from the grip of these demonic “powers and principalities”.

Paul has some things to say about the “powers and principalities”, these forces beyond our control, in this letter. First, he reminds us that everything in this world was made by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. This world is not a chaotic battleground between absolute good and unredeemable evil. It is all God's world. It is all at bottom, good. Even "the powers and principalities”, even invisible, abstract, seemingly all powerful and mysterious things like "the economy," or "the media," or "consumer confidence," or "the political situation" are under the Divine Hand.

So why then do we have problems with these powers? Something has obviously gone wrong. Our existence is not supposed to be this way. What went wrong was that we human beings gave up our responsibility for God's world, and handed our power over to the “powers and principalities”.

Think about it. When humans refuse to use God's gift of sexuality responsibly, they are handing over their power to Aphrodite, and she will take control. When humans refuse to use God's gift of money responsibly, they are handing over their powers to Mammon, and he will take control. When we take up arms against our brothers and sisters, we have yielded our power to Mars, the war god—and he takes control. When we slight our neighbor, hold a grudge, refuse to forgive, refuse to live in peace with one another, ignore the needs of one another, crush the visions of others, we are handing our power over to Eris—the goddess of discord, and she will take control.

I use these mythic figures only as metaphors to dramatize the power of unbridled sexuality, of unchecked greed, of unhindered violence and uncontrolled discord in this world. These are powers or archetypes or sinful intentions, or demons that dwell within the darker nature of every human being. But they are so pervasive, so potent that when we do give them power, they seem to take on an objective reality in this broken world of ours.

When you and I refuse to get involved, do not vote, do not reach out to sisters and brothers in need, do not stand up and witness for the right, we hand our power over to those who will do those things—other humans—politicians—special interests—lobbyists—criminals—war-mongers. The list goes on. And when the “powers and principalities” take over, ordinary human beings get crushed.

Paul says, in Colossians, that Jesus Christ came into the world God created to do business with the “powers and principalities”, to live where we live, to confront the “powers” and to triumph. He faced the “powers and principalities” and tamed them, defeated them, so that He might rule, so that He might reclaim His whole creation and might give it back to us as He meant it to be. And friends, Jesus Christ was no metaphor.

This victory over the powers wasn’t won only in the spiritual or “churchy” realm. It was won for us in every venue in life. Jesus is Lord of our workplace as well as Lord of our living space, Lord of the Congress just as much as Lord of the Church, Lord of the boardroom just as much as Lord of the bedroom. Does Jesus care as much about how you vote as how you pray? As much about how you work as how you worship? As much about public life as private life?

A young, wealthy aristocrat in 18th-century England, was living a rather wild, immoral life. Then this young man was powerfully converted in the Wesleyan revival. He received a call to ministry. He forsook immorality, but then instead of seeking ordination, this young man entered politics, of all things! God had called this new Christian to a ministry in the political arena. He ran for Parliament and for almost 40 years was the leading crusader against slavery in the British House of Commons.

This man believed that God had brought him to political power to end the ghastly evil of the slave trade and slavery. In 1787, when hge began his crusade, slave ships from "Christian" Europe carried 100,000 captured Africans to the Americas every year. In fact, England was the leader in this savage tyranny, with British ships carrying one-half of this human cargo. The huge profits represented a significant part of the British economy.

But this good man knew deep in his soul that slavery was a terrible sin against God and neighbor - even though almost all respectable people of his time quietly accepted the prevailing view that slaves were just property to be bought and sold like coal and cattle. So he prayed and he politicked. In fact, he and his small circle of friends regularly prayed three hours a day for their many tasks, including their crusade to abolish the slave trade and slavery. Their opponents insisted that abolishing the slave trade would destroy the British economy. The response was that human beings and ethics matter more than profit.

After a 20-year struggle, the British parliament finally abolished the slave trade in 1807. Twenty-six years later, in the very year that William Wilberforce died, the British parliament abolished slavery. Over the next century, the rest of the world did the same.

William Wilberforce was the central player in this momentous change in world history. He did it all because of Christ - because he knew Jesus Christ was (and is) Lord of politics and economics—as well as Lord of souls and hearts. Wilberforce was able to accomplish so much for Christ, never doubting or losing hope-- because he knew that the victory had already been won.

Won? When? Where? On the cross, Christ Jesus defeated the “powers and principalities” once and for all time, and stripped them of their ultimate power. The moment of his abnegation was and is simultaneously the moment of His exaltation. The Crown sits atop the Cross. Now He seeks to reconcile even them, to create a new world by the power of the love of God. That is why today's Scripture is cast in such a celebrative tone. The “powers and principalities” have been put in their place. That's why Paul calls the Christians at Colossae to rejoice and be thankful—they have a new life.

He calls them—he calls you and me--to live as citizens of a new kingdom. We can live freely and exuberantly because the grip of the “powers and principalities” has been defeated. The decisive battle has been won. There is still some mopping up to be done, still struggles with evil. But we know who has won the war. We know in whose hands the final victory is already held.

Every time you and I pray, "Thy kingdom come," we are claiming more ground for Christ; we are leaning forward toward that complete victory of Christ over everything in this world that would deface his creation. Every time you or I say grace at a meal, we affirm that Jesus is Lord and Sovereign, and that the world and all it offers is His, and has no independent authority.

And every time you and I come together in worship, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, every time we baptize a baby, every time we invite a friend, or neighbor to church, every time we pledge and make an offering, you and I celebrate the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ. And our symbolic celebration resonates out into the city, into the country, into the world, into our homes, into our marriages, into our bank accounts. It resonates out with the powerful message that God is God, that Jesus is God's visible image, that God’s Holy Spirit is among us, and that this Sovereign God has already defeated the powers of evil that still enslave and crush human beings today.

In WWII, during the height of the Battle of Britain, a man emerged from a bomb shelter in London after a night of terrible bombing. Amid the rubble, there was a newspaper vendor, hawking that morning's newspapers.

The vendor asked the old man, "Don't you want to buy a paper? Don't you want to find out who won the battle last night?"

"I don't need to read the papers," replied the old man. "I don't need to read the papers and find out who won the battle because I already know who has won the war."

That's us. We know who won. In our daily skirmishes with evil, we can live with hope and confidence. We can act faithfully, act with compassion, and live with courage. We can witness boldly. Although the battles may be tough, we already know who has won the war—and where it was won.

That knowledge, the knowledge that we have been transferred to the Reign of God's beloved Son, the knowledge that Christ is Sovereign, the knowledge that the “powers and principalities” of death and evil no longer hold us in their icy grip, that knowledge enables us to live and love with courage.

Sisters and brothers, the war has been won. Now it's up to us to live like we truly believe that. We need not despair of the world’s wickedness—the victory has already been won. We are free to work for good and stand up for justice—knowing that our efforts will not be futile. We are free to give joyfully, cheerfully, without concern—knowing that we are giving to Christ’s cause.

We need not lose heart over these seemingly unsolvable, immense, invisible social problems that bedevil humankind—the victory has already been won. You and I are free to

pray and lobby for change—knowing that we can make a difference-- and that we do.

You and I need not despair over hunger, poverty, addiction, hate and the like—the victory has already been won. We have a strength beyond our own to minister to the victims and confront the “powers and principalities” that exploit and oppress humanity—knowing that our struggle is not hopeless.

We need not give up on our own selves—the victory has already been won. We are not irrevocably trapped in our own sin and addictions and failures—God works through us—our mistakes and failings and stumbles are turned into victory. And the victory—our victory has already been won. We empowered to grow and become the free people that God intended each one of us to become—knowing that the life of everyday sainthood—the life of integrity and righteousness and faithfulness is not beyond our grasp.

Praise God for Creation—which is good. Praise the Spirit for the power to grow and change. Praise Jesus—for in Him the Victory is won!

"By your Endurance" given Nov. 13, 2016

          In this morning’s Gospel Reading, Jesus and the disciples are taking some time to pray at the Temple in Jerusalem. This was actually the Third Temple to stand on Mount Zion. The Temple of Solomon was destroyed in 587 BCE by the Babylonians. Nor was it the rebuilt, Second Temple of Ezra and Nehemiah a generation later. That Temple was destroyed in the period between the Testaments by the armies of the Hellenistic Empire.

This Temple was considered one of the wonders of the ancient world. It had been built by Herod Agrippa in order to win the hearts and minds of his people after the Romans had installed him as puppet king. Herod had been raised in the Imperial Rome of Augustus and was used to thinking and building on a grandiose scale. Even so, Herod's Temple was quite an architectural achievement.

It was intended to be the largest, most impressive building in Jerusalem—

and possibly the entire Middle East. Some of the blocks from that Temple have been unearthed. A single block was a large as a modern mobile home.

So it’s not surprising that while Jesus and his companions were trying to worship, some rubbernecking pilgrim oohed and ahhed out loud about the grandeur of the structure and started singing a chorus of “How lovely are Thy dwellings.” Hearing someone wasting their worship on a pile of bricks and mortar instead of offering it to God, Jesus whirled around.

          “One day soon there won’t be a stone left standing upon a stone!” He cried out. “All this will be torn down.” And of course, Jesus was right. The Third Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. All that is left of it is the Western or “Wailing Wall” – the most holy site in modern Judaism. It’s not known if that was an outer wall, or an inner wall of the Holy of holies.
             Then following His dire prediction, Jesus offered words of encouragement

for his followers about the times of persecution and struggle ahead.

“Don’t follow any of those who are going to come after me, claiming in my name that the end is near, claiming to be me. Don’t fear violence or natural disaster. Don’t be afraid of persecution and trouble and trials for your faith. Don’t be discouraged by betrayals, or hatred, or even by the threat of death.

All of these things may happen to you. Indeed, they probably will. But endure. Persevere. Whatever may happen to your body—by your faithful endurance you will gain your souls.”

        Good Advice. Folks claiming to be the Second coming of Jesus have been with us since shortly after the end of His First Coming. A couple of years ago, I discovered a website on the Internet by someone who claims to be Christ returned. She’s a fifty-some year old formerly homeless woman and mental patient. I didn’t take time to read them in detail, but she has pages of long quotes from the Bible cited to prove her authenticity.

       Predictions and beliefs about the end of the world have also had a long history in Bible thinking. And they’ve always had a strong appeal for certain believers. The truth is though, that some main-line Protestants haven’t always been too comfortable with that aspect of our faith. We’ve tended to speak more about the coming of God’s Realm in terms of Peace and Justice for all than about the Four Horsemen and the Anti-Christ.

       But many Christians do hold fast to a belief in an eminent End-time. Some of you have read some of the “Left Behind” books. They are a series of popular novels seemingly about the Rapture and the Apocalypse.

Maybe you don’t know the difference between the two. Over the past century or so, a rather elaborate belief-system has crept into thinking about the Apocalypse. It was originally called “Milleniumism” and was conceived, systematized, and popularized by a British Evangelist named Darby in the late 1800s. It’s a relatively modern addition to traditional End-time belief. It’s based around a rather complicated series of stitched-together passages from the Book of Revelation; the second half of the Book of Daniel; Matthew 23 & 24 and various passages from Paul’s Epistles.

The basic idea of the “Rapture” is that that one day, very soon, when Jesus returns to earth, before he does anything else, he’ll take his faithful—living and dead straight up to heaven. This will allow them to avoid the Great Tribulation of wars and natural disasters that will follow. (For more details, consult your favorite televangelist.)

The Book of Revelation does not mention the Rapture. It teaches that at the end of the Tribulation, the armies of Gog and Magog—China, Russia, Iran, Nazi Germany, the United Nations, Al Quada. ISIS—pick your evil empire—will unite under the Anti-Christ, and attack the defenseless, friendless state of Israel.

(By the way, that is why so many prominent evangelicals are so pro-Israel. It's not that they're so ecumenical, or in love with the Jewish people, or with Zionism. No, they believe the state of Israel has to exist so the prophecies of Revelation come to pass and Israel is almost destroyed. With friends like that, the Jewish people don't need any enemies.)

Just when that war seems to be lost, the God of Hosts will return to lead an army of angels and saints who will defeat the forces of evil at the battle of Armageddon. (In case you’ve ever wondered, that’s a strategically placed plateau in the Judean wilderness where countless battles have been waged over the centuries.)

Then the surviving Jewish people will at last acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Messiah, and Christ will establish an earthly reign of righteousness that will last for a thousand years. At the end of that Millennium, the Lord will separate the saved from the lost. He will grant the saved ever-lasting dominion over the new heavens and new earth, Then He will cast Satan and the Lost into the Lake of Fire.
One of the good things about Apocalyptic Christianity is that it makes our faith,

the Bible, current events, international politics, history and the world in general sensible—even meaningful. Everything falls into place, as one Commentator puts it, “like the clink of a lug nut on an axle bolt”. And it automatically gives the believer a sense of identity. You’re not only a “Bible-believing Christian”, you are also a “Pre-Mill” or a “Post-Mill”.

           As Garrison Keillor illustrates in his stories and writings, it’s kind of fun to argue about and figure out the various meanings of the rather arcane and obscure images found in the Book of Revelation. Many a cold winter night in Lake Woebegone has been whiled away in not-always-so-friendly Theological dispute about the identity of the Anti-Christ, or the meaning of the Seven Seals. And there’s a sort of delicious anticipation in knowing what literal hell all those pagans and sinners and backsliders and liberals are going to catch when Jesus comes back.

           And that, I suspect, is the really great thing about belief in the Rapture. The sense of certainty, the unshakable assumption that what you believe is going to spare you even the sting of death when the Lord returns must be terrific! Have you ever seen one of those bumper stickers that reads “Beware, in case of Rapture this car will be driverless”.?

It might seem to some to be a bit presumptuous to assume you are automatically already saved—but hey, who knows?

            In the last couple of decades in the last Century I met a lot of folks thought that the long-awaited end of the world, was going to come on New Years Eve 2000. Or maybe Christmas Eve—or perhaps 2001—depending upon if God was counting from the year one or the year zero.

The calendar we use is based on Jesus being born in the year one. But there are some historians who think that the medieval monks who invented it, may have goofed up the dating of our years by as much as 3 years, plus or minus. Other Bible scholars think that Jesus may have actually been born as early as 30 BCE or as late as the year 30 CE.

             Some years ago I received a book in the mail. The book was unsolicited and absolutely free. The author apparently printed it up at his own expense and mailed it to pastors all over the country. It uses a great deal of convoluted deciphering of Biblical passages to calculate the exact time and date of the Lord’s return. That’s the title of it, in fact.; The Day and Hour Jesus Will Return.

This guy has it all figured out. According to him the Rapture will occur on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. That’s the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah—the Feast of Trumpets. That usually falls in late September or October. And since in Jewish belief a day begins at sunset—we also know that the Rapture will come around 6 PM—presumably that’s Jerusalem time.

And it so happens that I have a tract somewhere in my office that goes one step further and tells authoritatively what year! Whoever wrote this tract used the same sort of logic as the author of the book and supplemented it with information gained from what he calls “many visions and dreams” that God has been sending to various people around the world. All this allows us to state positively and authoritatively that the Rapture is going to come on....drum roll please...October 28, 1992. (Pause)

           Well whenever the Rapture comes, one thing is for sure. We’ll all be spared the sting of death. We’re all righteous here. And we all believe the correct dogma. Don’t we?

So we’ll all be among the saints, floating up in the air, looking down with pious pity and perhaps more than a little guilty pleasure in the plight of those sinners and theologically ignorant, would–be Christians who have to stay on this earth and slog it out through the Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon. Won’t we?

       Now I hope that you don’t think I’m taking Apocalyptic faith lightly. I respect the beliefs of those who believe that the End-time is near. You and I pray for the coming of Christ's Earthly Commonwealth every time we pray the Lord's Prayer. “Thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
            I just don’t happen to think that there’s any evidence that the End is necessarily any closer today than it was a thousand years ago. Things are bad now—all over. Things were bad way back then. The difference is that now days we have Newspapers and Fox News and the Internet telling us how bad things are. I also don’t happen to think that belief in the Rapture itself is Biblical—but the rest of what I’ve described certainly is.

Personally, I’d love to have the rock-solid certainty that many who believe in the immanent End-time seem to have. I’d like to not have to struggle with tough personal decisions. I’d like nothing better than to know without question that I’m always doing exactly what Jesus would want me to do all the time in my life. As a pastor, I’d like to know that I am always teaching and preaching the absolute and unalterable TRUTH.

As a human being, I’d like to know, beyond question, that my wife and family and friends and loved ones and you all as well, are indeed all going to rise up in the sky to Heaven when Jesus comes back. I’d love to be able to base my life around that sort of unshakable-to-the core conviction.

But the truth is, I don’t have that sort of certainty. Like all of you, I suspect, I must struggle from time to time, with issues like life and suffering and death and tragedy.

Like all of you, I must wrestle, from time to time, with the occasional slippery question of

faith and ethics. Like you, I must deal with occasional doubts, with unanswered questions, with temptations, with desert times in my spiritual life. Like many of you I struggle to know God’s will for my life—even as I approach my seventh decade a year from now, I'm still not quite sure I've figured out God's Will for me.

            But above all, like many of you, I have to deal with the glaring contradiction between my belief that God is good, and my awareness of all the evil and pain and suffering in this broken, blood-soaked, tear-drenched world. Like you, I sometimes wonder, “what’s the point”? F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in 1936 that,

          “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold opposing ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.”

        So though I sometimes do think that things are hopeless, I continue to try to make them otherwise. So although I have no absolute certainty, I continue to live my life grounded in fragile hope. So although I profess the Christian faith, my faith must have

room in it for a certain degree of mystery and a few unanswered questions and even the occasional doubt—just to keep it alive.

My hope of personal salvation is not based on passing a Theology 101 exam given by St. Peter in front of the “Pearly Gates.” Nor is that hope based upon my belief in correct doctrine, or any degree of righteousness, or any amount of accomplishment that I can achieve upon this earth. Like the title character in “Schindler’s List”, I doubt that I could ever do enough, save enough, help enough, even believe enough. Certainly not enough to justify the Cosmic Christ personally beaming me up on a cloud straight to Heaven at the end of the world.

            My hope, your hope, the world’s last and best hope, it seems to me, lies in this man Jesus and the sacrifice that he made for the world upon the cross.

. “For God so loved the world, that God gave the only begotten Son that whomever believes in him, should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Frankly, I don’t know from Raptures or Apocalypses, or Horsemen, or Tribulations.

I don’t know from dates. Jesus admitted that even He didn’t know the day and hour—only the Creator knows. (Pause)

So why should you and I worry? Why should we obsess over it—much less even concern ourselves about it? Do we think we can outguess God?

After all, what would you do if you really did know the hour and date of the Rapture? Most people would probably decide to party hearty until about a week before, then plan to get saved, give all their earthly possessions to charity and proceed to run around like a crazy person doing good works for a week trying to save their soul. Knowing God’s sense of irony, anyone who tried it would probably drop dead of a massive heart attack at a massage parlor in Las Vegas the day before their planned conversion.

I used to have a bumper sticker on my office door that read, “Jesus is coming—look busy”. Friends, if you and I have to look busy—it’s already too late. Instead, let us simply resolve to live our lives as best we can, basing them and our hope around the Lord’s promises in this morning’s Gospel. Let us live each and every day as if the Judgment Day was tomorrow.

“Nation will rise up against nation, there will be earthquakes, and in various places, famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven…

You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair on your head shall perish.

By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

                Let us trust the Lord of History to bring History to a close in God’s own good time.

And in the meantime, let us faithfully endure. Let us strive to give of our energies and time and prayers and of our material blessings to the cause of Christ. Let us share our faith and tell of the blessings we have received to all who will listen. And let us strive to live and love together in peace and in faithfulness, enduring and working to make this world a better and more blessed place simply because you and I have been here and believed. Amen.

Henri Nouwen

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah

"Saints--All of Us" given 11/6/16

 One of the reasons why I preach, and one of the reasons why you listen is an inescapable yearning, a search within each of us, among all of us. You might think of ity as unfinished business. Christianity, the church, you see, is in the business of producing saints.

Does that statement make you nervous? I can almost feel you squirm in your seats when I say that. But it's true. The church is the "saints," those ordinary people who have been called by Jesus Christ to live lives of service, lives of witness, sanctified lives, lives of self-giving that are so caught up in the plans of God that they are called the lives of saints. November 1st was All Saints' Day-- when the church gives thanks

for all the saints, even for us.

Retired Bishop William Willimon writes of a conversation with a friend who was a pastoral counselor. His friend counsels people at a counseling center which is affiliated with a congregation in South Carolina. The Bishop said something about how good it was for the church to be in the counseling business, offering the services of a trained person like him to help people in need. He was surprised to hear his friend reply,

"More important than counseling is the week-in, week-out worship of the church gathered. How many troubled , or at least timid, souls find life-giving sustenance and nourishment each week in the worship of the church. There are many folk out there who couldn't make it if it were not for what they receive on a Sunday morning at church."

Those words remind me, a preacher, of the importance of the work we do here. Today I'm thinking that one of the most important things we do here is to provide that ordinary equipment we each receive to be those whose lives are caught up in God' s work in the world -saints. When you hear the word saint, you're too quick to think of Mother

Teresa or Saint Francis. But I want you to think today in a more mundane, ordinary, everyday sense of saint. I'm talking about you-- I'm talking about us.

Kierkegaard said that a saint is someone whose life manages to be a "cranny through which the infinite peeps." But there's more to it.

The saint is someone who somehow manages to live in two worlds. The saint's faith has enabled him or her to release some of the tight grip by which most people hold on to this world and then is paradoxically able to receive this world as a gift.

Eyes on the infinite, the saint manages to be thoroughly involved in the finite. The saint manages to chart his or her life by the stars, but walks on thoroughly solid earth.

In my experience, and I'll bet in yours, the saints are best known through seemingly small, earthly gestures, deeds of love and mercy made all the more holy because they are so earthly.

A man named Reynolds Price wrote a moving account of his struggle with cancer of the spine and beyond. Lying on his back, in great pain and fear in Duke University Hospital, Price discovered the great difference between the efficient "medical professional" and the everyday "saint."

He contrasts the behavior of his world-renowned cancer specialist –who could barely carry on a conversation with him about his condition, who popped into his room, examined him with lightning speed, then sped on his way to another person in pain - with the actions and care of those "calm black women who'd answer my calls in the predawn hours of this painful stay."

Those nurses and nurse assistants did more to care for Price in his sickness, than the doctors who were being paid so much more. Price said he didn't ask for much, just a bit of human concern, and human kindness, thoroughly earthly, mundane transactions. Yet those women were so much more adept at such practices than the doctor. He said these nurses "blend their professional code with the oldest natural code of all - mere human connection, the simple looks and words that award a suffering creature his

or her dignity."

Such activity is the mark and the work of "practical saints." Let me not speak of the cheerful word, the kind touch, the sympathetic ear, the patient disposition as if these were easily available virtues. I can understand why that harried Oncologist had no time, no strength left to spend time with a troubled patient like Price.

The world easily wears some people down. You are exposed so frequently to pain that you just can't bear any more exposure to people in pain. I've seen this happen to clergy and I've felt it myself at times. I can readily believe that it happens to physicians.

But don't you see that makes it all the more amazing that in a place like a hospital you can still find these practical saints, folk whose faith has enabled them not to be worn down by the cares of life, not to avoid those who are in need, not to steel themselves against the feeling and responding to some of the hurt and the sorrow of others?

On this All Saints' Sunday, I give thanks to God for the saints, all of them, including you. It is no small achievement - whether one is in a hospital ward, or a hardware store, a neighborhood, or a classroom - to live like a saint. Amid the cares of everyday life, somehow to keep your eyes fixed on the things of God, to reach out in compassion to others, to testify to God's coming Realm in the middle of our petty day to day realms and their demands—just by the way we live- this is no small spiritual achievement.

I hope that here on Sunday you receive the gifts you need to keep at it. I hope that here you receive the encouragement, the equipment, the grace needed to keep on keeping on.

Years ago, a great teacher of preachers, said that, " the one great preacher is the church. And the first business of the individual preacher is to enable the church to preach."

I believe that. You are the only word from the Lord that many folk will ever hear. So go ahead and be God's word in a troubled, hurting, confused world. Speak that word. Embody that word in all that you do.

All of you-- all of us saints.

Simple Gifts - Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss

Don't forget