Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21: 1-6a
John 11:32-44
Today we are celebrating the feast of All Saints, which actually occurs on November 1. This sermon will be brief because we will be hearing reports on Diocesan Convention. We will focus on the gospel in a moment, but, first, just a few thoughts about All Saints.
There are capital S saints, like St. Mary Magdalene and St. Francis, and there are what my dear mentor Al Smith used to call small s saints, like us. In the letters to congregations in the early Church, St. Paul would address the saints at Corinth or the saints at Colossae. If he were writing to us, he would probably address the letter to the saints in Sheldon.
We are members of the Body of Christ, which means that we are part of that great cloud of witnesses–those who have followed Christ through the ages—those who have gone before us, those who are here now, and those yet to come. We have many companions on the journey. The hymn, “I sing a song of the saints of God, makes it clear that saints are people from all walks of life, people you can see anywhere you go. They are just folks like us. We are all running the same race, the race of faith, which demands that we stay strong in our spiritual practice of praying the prayer of Christ; learning the mind of Christ and doing the deeds of Christ.
Just a brief word on the gospel. When Jesus arrives, his friend Lazarus has been dead for four days. Martha, the sister of Lazarus, scolds Jesus for not arriving earlier. If you had gotten here earlier, she says, my brother would not have died. Jesus is with us on every step of the journey, but he cannot protect us from every adversity. He cannot protect us from all bad things, but he helps us through every challenge. In this case, he raises Lazarus from the dead, just as he will raise us on the last day. When Lazarus comes out of the tomb, “his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth, “ Jesus says, “Unbind him and let him go.” Jesus frees us from everything that binds us or enslaves us.
Because our Lord walks with us on the journey, we can be free. We do not have to be held in the grip of fear or in the grip of any kind of death. We can live life in a new and deeper way.
Our Diocesan Convention theme was, “What About Jesus?” Our speaker was Michael Curry, the Bishop of North Carolina. Our delegates, Beth, Lori, and Jan, are going to share some thoughts on convention.
Like true spiritual athletes, may we run the race, or, as Bishop Curry might say, may we dance with God and each other until we become the new family of God which Jesus came to create.
Filed under: Reverend Janet Brown, Sermons | Tagged: All Saints, Isaiah 25, Jon 11, Lazarus, Psalm 24, Revelation 21 |
Grace Episcopal Church (Sheldon, VT) 