A Day of Remembrance

9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdomand thanksgiving and honorand power and mightbe to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?”
14 I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat;
17 for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
- Revelation 7:9-17

May God bless the reading of our scripture.

Today is All Saints Day, All Saints Day is typically celebrated the first Sunday in November, it is a day of recognizing, celebrating and remembering those who have gone before us. What is a Saint? As a child I pictured a saint as someone who was perfect; a person of exceptional, almost unattainable holiness. As I got older and grew in faith, I realized that my perceptions were inaccurate. A saint is simply someone who loves and serves God. So, anyone who loves and serves God can be a saint. Take a look around. But today we want to honor those Saints, that loved and served God and are no longer here with us.

I hope as you walked into worship this morning, you noticed the worship space. That it made you feel like something special was happening today. As you can see, we have Fabric and rocks that were used to create the image of a river flowing from the Baptismal font. I want you to imagine if you will for a moment a real river, a very wide river that you have to cross. Think about some of the ways you might be able to get across the river. Of course, if there is a bridge that would be the easiest way. But there is no bridge for this river. But we do have stones in our river. Maybe we can jump across the stones to cross the river. Have you ever tried to cross a river just by walking on the stones. That is a great way to cross the river, sometimes the stones may be slippery but if the stones you step on are secure and don’t feel wobbly you feel that they will support you enough to cross the river. If you think about it, life can be like a river that we have to cross. There are people in our lives who are like stepping stones that help us go through life. They help us get from one place to another. They help us move forward in our faith journey. And just like good stepping stones, we counted on these people to help us and support us. This is what All Saints Day is about. It is about remembering those people who have lived before us, those who made the journey across the river of life and now pave the way for us to follow. It is about remembering those who have become for us like stepping stones in the water that help us get from one place in our lives to another. All Saints Day is a day to honor those who served God before us. We are all called to serve God. And even though we might all serve God in different ways; we are called to serve with enthusiasm. Serving God with enthusiasm means our serving is a reflection of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Serving with enthusiasm means to do so happily, energetically, and with dedication and commitment.

The first Christians wrote letters to encourage one another in their service to God. In Romans 12: 11 Listen to what Paul said in a letter he wrote to the church, it reads “Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord”. In other words, be enthusiastic in serving the Lord. Paul wanted the early Christians to be enthusiastic as they shared the Good News about Jesus. God wants us to be enthusiastic too! We learn to serve God with enthusiasm from those people in our lives who have been like stepping stones that help us grow in our faith and cross the river of Life. Saints are people who work hard for the church and love God so much that they allow God’s light and his love to shine through them. They make life more beautiful and help us to grow closer to God. All Saint’s Day is a day to remember those people that have gone before us and the enthusiasm they had in their lives for the church, for God and how they helped to give us that enthusiasm.

I’m sure as you hear the names read this morning you will hear the names of people who were stepping stones in your life.

People who helped you move forward in your faith journey.

People who encouraged you and supported you.

People who inspired you.

People that served God with enthusiasm; on fire in the spirit as they served the Lord.

You need to take time and remember not only today but every day the people that God placed in your life to be stepping stones for you in your life and on your faith journey. Talk about those people to your friends and family, share their story with someone. Tell others how they inspired you and made a difference for Jesus in this world.

Let us Pray,

Dear God,

Today we give thanks for the saints of our church. Thank you for the people you placed in our lives that are like stepping stones helping us to grow on our faith journey. We are thankful that we have learned about your love and grace from them. Lord we want to show our love for them now as we bring each of them to you by name. In Jesus’ name we pray Amen.

As we read the names today, we will also have a candle lit for each one of our saints.

I want you to See by the light up here what kind of love the Father has given to us. Each one of these lights represents a child of God. A child of God that he gave to us, to help us on our journeys here on earth.

God the Father wanted you and me in His family so much, that He sent His only Son to make it happen. Jesus took on our human flesh, dying in our place on the cross, and rising again. Jesus paid the price for us to become children of God. God knew that we would need help on our journey, guidance, stepping stones to keep us on track. So, he gave us people in our life that would shine their light out for us to see and keep us on the path that God has laid out for us.

Now, God the Holy Spirit works to keep us in his family. The Spirit works to keep us in his family through the Word proclaimed to us, stirring up our hearts to believe in Jesus in even the most difficult circumstances. The Spirit works to keep us in the family through the means of grace, bringing us forgiveness and equipping us for sanctified living. But on All Saints Day we celebrate the Spirit’s work as we rejoice in the memory of those who rejoiced before us and as we mourn for those who have gone before us.

And every year, as we come to All Saints Day, we commemorate the faithfully departed. We hear the names of our loved ones. And for a moment, we mourn once more—because we’re human, and we can’t help it. For a moment, we wish they were here with us, again—because we can’t quite comprehend eternity with Christ. Memories of them flood our minds. And for a moment, we wish things would go back to the way they used to be. But to go back wouldn’t help. To go back wouldn’t help them. To go back wouldn’t take away other pains. We long for the good old’ days, but God has something else planned for us! So, while we look back, we also look ahead.

We are children of God, remembering the good old’ days, but planning for the final family reunion of saints. Because Christ, our Brother, is coming again. And His return will mark a never-ending family reunion. John Says “Beloved, we are God's children, and what we will be has not yet appeared,” But John also got a glimpse of our final family reunion of saints in Revelation. As John describes it, all saints—all of God’s countless children—you, me, our loved ones in Christ from our past, present and future will gather for a feast, a smorgasbord of victory. We will wear matching white robes, washed in the blood of the Lamb. And we will sing old, yet new family songs. The reunion will go on for an infinite number of days. And we will tell the same old family story, about a God who cared so much for His creation; about a Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep; about a Father who loved us enough to call us all—children.

The final family reunion will happen. But until then, He calls us to prepare. He calls us to eat at the family dinner table, and to come sit here in this family room. He calls us to be disciples and make disciples—because there are still chores to do in this family. He calls us to love even our enemies. He calls us to live like we’ve been baptized; to live like we’re saints; to live like we’re part of His family. By the Holy Spirit’s enabling, we bear the family resemblance in our words and actions. He calls us to remember each stepping stone that set us on our path. To honor them by remembering them by name, by walking on the path they put us on, to keep them in our hearts every day, To follow the light that they gave to us and to remember that their light is always with us.

Amen

‒ Pastor Pam

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