October 27, 2017
Stetson Memorial UMC
Mountain Heights
Hebrews 10:32-29
NIV
Luke 6:17-34 NIV
“Saintly”
Saint:
: a person who is
officially recognized by the Christian church as being very holy because of the
way he or she lived
: a person who is very good,
kind, or patient
With it getting so close
to Halloween, I can’t help but think about the fun. Dressing up and getting
lots of candy is not just for the young. I also think about those who have gone
before me…those saints within my life. We s Christians Celebrate all Saints day
on the 1st of November.
The concept of All Saints
Day is connected to the doctrine of The Communion of Saints. This is the
concept that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of
purification (called Purgatory in the West), are spiritually connected and
united. In other words, Catholic and Orthodox Christians (and some Protestants)
believe that the saints of God are just as alive as you and I, and are
constantly interceding on our behalf. Remember, our connection with the saints
in heaven is one grounded in a tight-knit communion. The saints are not divine,
nor omnipresent or omniscient. However, because of our common communion with
and through Jesus Christ, our prayers are joined with the heavenly community of
Christians.
I
like the thought of our prayers are joined with the “Heavenly Community of
Christians”. WE are all connected in life and in death. We are all one family
that will meet on day in the sky. But what makes a Saint? What criteria do we
use in deciding that someone is a saint or not? I think that some of the answer
is found in the Luke scripture I just read.
Ø I
think that the people who are considered saints seem to embody the
“blessedness” in this scripture. No matter what they go through, they seem to
trust God always and accept what they are going through. I think the main thing
here is that they trust God. They may question what is going on but in the end,
they say “thy will be done.”
Ø It
seems as if when things come up against them…when people are trying to bring
them down…when people try to assonate their character or what they are called
to do, they have that uncanny knack to be able to say “Well obviously I am
doing something right.” They view this from heavens eyes…not worldly eyes. No
one wants to look bad, no one wants to have someone tell them they are doing
something wrong or have someone else show them up. Just as the Sadducees and
Pharisees of Jesus’ day, when someone makes certain people look bad…they do all
they can do to stop them. They may not
crucify them as they did Jesus but they try to kill them in many other ways…
Ø They
are some of the humblest people you would want to meet. They are down to earth
and don’t get themselves all puffed up about themselves. As a matter of fact,
usually when you complement them, they blush and hang their head. They will
tell you it is not them but God…they will not take any credit for themselves
but gives credit elsewhere…
Ø They
act completely the opposite from what the world acts. Instead of getting back at
people they do the opposite. They are kind and loving to their accusers. They
are not in some popularity contest with people and they don’t try to please
everyone around them. They don’t compromise their ethics for anyone.
Ø They
love because they can. They don’t play favorites and love even the
“un-lovable’s” around them. They not only hang out with other saints but also
with those who are “unsaintly” perhaps their saintliness will spur others to
want to live the same life…not that they would hold that over others…
So,
these are just a few things that make a saint. I know plenty of people who have gone ahead as well as are still here
that embody that whole sainthood thing.
Why
would anyone even try to be a saint. In the world we live in…being a saint gets
you nowhere. Trying to do the right thing gets you kicked right in the pats a
lot of times. Why would we even want to look out for others…treat them as if
they are special? Well the answer is…they are special. They are special and
sacred to God so it should be with those who carry Christ’s name…who embody
sainthood and so much more for He was God incarnate…Christians…Christ
followers.
Remembering and honoring the saints are beneficial
practices, because to remember the heroes of the faith and follow their
examples are good things. Many Christians seem to strongly oppose remembering
and celebrating the lives of great Christian men and women, yet have no problem
celebrating the lives of secular heroes like George Washington. All Saints Day
is kind of like a Christian Memorial Day or Presidents Day, a day to celebrate
the lives of all the great heroes of the Christian faith, and to celebrate the
deep communion we have with them. While celebrating secular heroes is
admirable, how much more admirable is celebrating those who fully dedicated
their lives to Christ!”
Remembering
is good. These are the ones who forged the road before us. Without them where
would the church be? These are the ones who are “upstream” for us. As we learn
from them we become the faithful saints of God. At this time, we are now the
ones who are upstream for those who are downstream looking for help along the
way. We have become the Saints for those who are not even born yet as were some
of those who believed before us. Hebrews 10:32-39, tells us that we must
remember and hold onto that passion and zeal we have for the Gospel of Grace.
It is all in the remembering that we can gather strength to move forward for
the kingdom of God. We become the light upstream for those who are in the dark
downstream…
As I think
about the saints that have gone ahead of me there is one thing…one theme so to
speak that keeps popping up…God reuses the things that are broken to achieve
His plan. God is the ultimate recycler. There is nothing that He can’t use.
It is
within our brokenness that He is able to reform us into a thing of beauty. He
reclaims us for a far better purpose than what we can imagine on our own. We
all have brokenness within us, it all began in a garden before we were ever
born. But God…in His infinite wisdom…when the time was right He made a way for
us to have that relationship with Him that brings us from brokenness to
wholeness.
Now things
that are broken need to be fixed right? This
includes you and me. But how do we go from brokenness to wholeness? OK…this
is how I see it…
Each of us
is created a precious vessel of God’s love. But somewhere along the way each of
us has experienced hurt in some way, bringing a sense of brokenness. Now in
order to begin that “recovery” process we need to realize that moving toward
healing is to offer the gift of life and wholeness, not only for ourselves but
also for others as we come to see each person as a Holy Vessel and as we come
to desire that wholeness for all of creation.
2
Corinthians 4:7 states:
Ø “7 But we
have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is
from God and not from us.”
We have
that treasure within us…we are the jars of clay that God, even though we are
broken, still uses to show His glory through. Remember, even the saints before us were broken. God still used them to
bring us to where we are today…
Even though
broken, God still uses us to continue to be His light in the world. It is
within our brokenness that God repurposes us to be whom He would have us be.
Maybe as we realize this we can begin the road to healing and wholeness.
Perhaps if we just remember what we have forgotten we would again be
strengthened for the journey. We all have cracks and chips, but I would rather
be a cracked pot for God than anything else in the world…
Amen
=============
October 27, 2017
Stetson Memorial UMC
Mountain Heights
Hebrews 10:32-29 NIV
Luke 6:17-34 NIV
and sermon, “Saintly”
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
sermon blog
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
October 27, 2017
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