Sunday After All Saints Sermon
Blessed are the CEO’s making millions of dollars, for they will accomplish the American Dream, receiving every material thing they have ever wanted.
Blessed are the large companies of our time, Nike, Microsoft, Enron, Halliburton for they will perpetuate consumer culture, helping people mindlessly conform to their mores, values and norms.
Blessed are our politicians, for they will show our strength by building empires throughout the world.
Blessed are Professional Athletes, for theirs will be the ring, the trophy and championship and a giant paycheck.
Blessed are the extremists, Christian, Muslim and all others, for they will cause fear in all they hate and bring judgment upon all they fear.
Blessed are all our actors and actresses for they will pretend to see God.
Blessed are the automobile, gun and airplane manufacturers, for they will destroy the earth.
And blessed are those of us who are silent about the injustices of the poor, ignoring the signs on every corner of our city; those of us who do not lament the scourge of consumer culture, television blasting our children more often than we are able to show them our love; those of us who do not hold our politicians accountable for their actions, participating in debate rather than dialogue; those of us who worship professional athletes, celebrating them as gods; those of us who perpetuate an attitude of hate and fear, for we will receive far more than we foster; those of us who gobble up the gossip about Hollywood, idolizing body images that destroy our own self image; those of us who do not see the impact we have upon the earth because of our own behaviors and desires, blessed are we when we do not celebrate the creation God has given us.
How do we live with these beatitudes as the core of our lives together? What was Jesus’ point by blessing all those people who would have otherwise never expected a blessing?
Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. It is when all has been taken away from us that we realize the dependence we have upon God. A few weeks ago several young girls were gunned down at a school in an Amish Community. What was so astounding, as the days unfolded, was the move towards forgiveness of the gunman and his family so soon after the shooting. What was so powerful was that a community that lost all they had, families who lost their children, so full of life, did not hold on to hate, bitterness, rather they embraced their faith, living true to who they were as children of God, and saw through their pain, the Kigndom of God in the world.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who are in pain, loss or suffering? No, blessed are those who lament, those who see the open wounds of a culture desperately seeking God, those who see that God will, God’s presence, God’s love has been twisted and manipulated. Remember the little girl and the green pearls, it is the cheap stuff that is most seductive, it is the cheap stuff that draws us away from God and away from community. How have the cataracts of culture clouded our vision, and why do we remain silent in the face of such corruption, why do we allow our voices, our knowledge of what is best for our kids to be subverted by people trying to sell us stuff.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. What does it mean to have mercy? What does it mean to be merciful? Following the fall of apartheid Desmond Tutu with Nelson Mandela and others led the effort behind the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Their goal was not be like those who had shown little mercy to the suffering, the outcast, the weak, their goal was to remain true to the beatitude and show mercy, reveal truth and move toward reconciliation. Their goal was both to hold accountable those who had done egregious wrongs but also to help recognize what had happened to South Africans across the country so that they could move towards reconciliation instead of revenge. In their showing mercy, they have received mercy and lifted up the people of South Africa.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for the will be called children of God. The Romans, during Jesus’ time called themselves peacemakers, through war and conquer, they brought tenuous peace to the lands, they also called themselves sons of gods. Jesus is turning these common phrases on their heads, he is turning the world’s expectation upside down, by taking the Roman’s conquering philosophy and placing it in the midst of identifying what it means to be part of a community of faith, to live together, in sure and certain hope, peacemakers are those who seek not to do violence, not to accomplish war, but to bring peace to all human beings in the world, to heal the world of destruction and annihilation, to bring peace to all the nations.
How shall we live then, how shall we be as Christians, as people of God, seeking grow community here at the Garden? I recently heard a story that answers this question quite well. This guy’s walking down the street when he falls in the hole. The walls are so steep he can’t get out. A Doctor passes by and the guy shouts out, “Hey you, can you help me out?” The doctor writes out a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts out, “Father I’m down in this hole can you help me out?” The priest writes a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a fried walks by, “Hey Joe, it’s me, can you help me out?” and the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, “Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here!” The friend says, “Yeah, but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.” As individuals, it would be impossible to live into our call as blessed human beings, as a community, gathered together, in faith, friends who have both been there before and never been there, we can do anything. We are each others heroes. We are the ones who are changing the world together, we are the ones who lift up the lowly, free the captives and feed the poor. You are all saints, you all have done amazing things in this world for people in need, you all have done amazing things for people sitting in these pews, you are saints, and as saints we live into the joy that acting out these words, the beatitudes, bring to us, this community of faith gathered.
As we think about names, those people who have been saints to each of us, to this community, to this place over the past 150 years, all the people who have gone before us here at Gethsemane, see them, feel them, hear them dancing in our midst. There have been great men and women, many of whom are on plaques all over the Church; there have been phenomenally talented individuals who have changed the course of Minneapolis and this state. There have also been many people who have not made a name for themselves, many people who have impacted the work and mission of Gethsemane but have not been remembered in the annals of history.
As I read through the history of Gethsemane, all I read about are the stories of the rectors of this place, such as this hymn that was written for The Rev. Don Frank Fenn, 7th Rector of Gethsemane from 1922-1931.
Now Father Fenn is going away
And we must say farewell
But we mustn’t be sad,
We must all be glad
That still in our hearts he’ll dwell.
The strength of his mind,
And the power of his will
Are things that will bring him fame;
And the spiritual grace
That shines in his face
Make dear to us his name.
Today, let us begin to recognize that it is not the rectors, or even the vicars of this place that make us grow, it is the faithful gathered, the cloud of witnesses gathered to worship, sing and praise God’s Holy Name. It is you, you are the ones that bring joy to this place, you are the ones that cause mission to happen, you are the ones that will make this place grow. I will not, I cannot. Today is the day when we celebrate All Saints, the day we recognize and call upon all those who have died and gone before us to join us in the celebration of community, to make our house of prayer a thin place, a place where the transcendent and the earthly come together. A place where barriers that normally feel as wide as the ocean is deep become paper thin. Today we dance with the ancestors, celebrating all of creation and all those who have walked with God along the way.
May we continue to grow, may our ancestors inspire us to fill this place not just with those who have gone before, but the saints of light that do God’s work today. We are a glorious multitude, and the light shines from this place brighter every day.
Blessed are the large companies of our time, Nike, Microsoft, Enron, Halliburton for they will perpetuate consumer culture, helping people mindlessly conform to their mores, values and norms.
Blessed are our politicians, for they will show our strength by building empires throughout the world.
Blessed are Professional Athletes, for theirs will be the ring, the trophy and championship and a giant paycheck.
Blessed are the extremists, Christian, Muslim and all others, for they will cause fear in all they hate and bring judgment upon all they fear.
Blessed are all our actors and actresses for they will pretend to see God.
Blessed are the automobile, gun and airplane manufacturers, for they will destroy the earth.
And blessed are those of us who are silent about the injustices of the poor, ignoring the signs on every corner of our city; those of us who do not lament the scourge of consumer culture, television blasting our children more often than we are able to show them our love; those of us who do not hold our politicians accountable for their actions, participating in debate rather than dialogue; those of us who worship professional athletes, celebrating them as gods; those of us who perpetuate an attitude of hate and fear, for we will receive far more than we foster; those of us who gobble up the gossip about Hollywood, idolizing body images that destroy our own self image; those of us who do not see the impact we have upon the earth because of our own behaviors and desires, blessed are we when we do not celebrate the creation God has given us.
How do we live with these beatitudes as the core of our lives together? What was Jesus’ point by blessing all those people who would have otherwise never expected a blessing?
Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. It is when all has been taken away from us that we realize the dependence we have upon God. A few weeks ago several young girls were gunned down at a school in an Amish Community. What was so astounding, as the days unfolded, was the move towards forgiveness of the gunman and his family so soon after the shooting. What was so powerful was that a community that lost all they had, families who lost their children, so full of life, did not hold on to hate, bitterness, rather they embraced their faith, living true to who they were as children of God, and saw through their pain, the Kigndom of God in the world.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who are in pain, loss or suffering? No, blessed are those who lament, those who see the open wounds of a culture desperately seeking God, those who see that God will, God’s presence, God’s love has been twisted and manipulated. Remember the little girl and the green pearls, it is the cheap stuff that is most seductive, it is the cheap stuff that draws us away from God and away from community. How have the cataracts of culture clouded our vision, and why do we remain silent in the face of such corruption, why do we allow our voices, our knowledge of what is best for our kids to be subverted by people trying to sell us stuff.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. What does it mean to have mercy? What does it mean to be merciful? Following the fall of apartheid Desmond Tutu with Nelson Mandela and others led the effort behind the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Their goal was not be like those who had shown little mercy to the suffering, the outcast, the weak, their goal was to remain true to the beatitude and show mercy, reveal truth and move toward reconciliation. Their goal was both to hold accountable those who had done egregious wrongs but also to help recognize what had happened to South Africans across the country so that they could move towards reconciliation instead of revenge. In their showing mercy, they have received mercy and lifted up the people of South Africa.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for the will be called children of God. The Romans, during Jesus’ time called themselves peacemakers, through war and conquer, they brought tenuous peace to the lands, they also called themselves sons of gods. Jesus is turning these common phrases on their heads, he is turning the world’s expectation upside down, by taking the Roman’s conquering philosophy and placing it in the midst of identifying what it means to be part of a community of faith, to live together, in sure and certain hope, peacemakers are those who seek not to do violence, not to accomplish war, but to bring peace to all human beings in the world, to heal the world of destruction and annihilation, to bring peace to all the nations.
How shall we live then, how shall we be as Christians, as people of God, seeking grow community here at the Garden? I recently heard a story that answers this question quite well. This guy’s walking down the street when he falls in the hole. The walls are so steep he can’t get out. A Doctor passes by and the guy shouts out, “Hey you, can you help me out?” The doctor writes out a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts out, “Father I’m down in this hole can you help me out?” The priest writes a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a fried walks by, “Hey Joe, it’s me, can you help me out?” and the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, “Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here!” The friend says, “Yeah, but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.” As individuals, it would be impossible to live into our call as blessed human beings, as a community, gathered together, in faith, friends who have both been there before and never been there, we can do anything. We are each others heroes. We are the ones who are changing the world together, we are the ones who lift up the lowly, free the captives and feed the poor. You are all saints, you all have done amazing things in this world for people in need, you all have done amazing things for people sitting in these pews, you are saints, and as saints we live into the joy that acting out these words, the beatitudes, bring to us, this community of faith gathered.
As we think about names, those people who have been saints to each of us, to this community, to this place over the past 150 years, all the people who have gone before us here at Gethsemane, see them, feel them, hear them dancing in our midst. There have been great men and women, many of whom are on plaques all over the Church; there have been phenomenally talented individuals who have changed the course of Minneapolis and this state. There have also been many people who have not made a name for themselves, many people who have impacted the work and mission of Gethsemane but have not been remembered in the annals of history.
As I read through the history of Gethsemane, all I read about are the stories of the rectors of this place, such as this hymn that was written for The Rev. Don Frank Fenn, 7th Rector of Gethsemane from 1922-1931.
Now Father Fenn is going away
And we must say farewell
But we mustn’t be sad,
We must all be glad
That still in our hearts he’ll dwell.
The strength of his mind,
And the power of his will
Are things that will bring him fame;
And the spiritual grace
That shines in his face
Make dear to us his name.
Today, let us begin to recognize that it is not the rectors, or even the vicars of this place that make us grow, it is the faithful gathered, the cloud of witnesses gathered to worship, sing and praise God’s Holy Name. It is you, you are the ones that bring joy to this place, you are the ones that cause mission to happen, you are the ones that will make this place grow. I will not, I cannot. Today is the day when we celebrate All Saints, the day we recognize and call upon all those who have died and gone before us to join us in the celebration of community, to make our house of prayer a thin place, a place where the transcendent and the earthly come together. A place where barriers that normally feel as wide as the ocean is deep become paper thin. Today we dance with the ancestors, celebrating all of creation and all those who have walked with God along the way.
May we continue to grow, may our ancestors inspire us to fill this place not just with those who have gone before, but the saints of light that do God’s work today. We are a glorious multitude, and the light shines from this place brighter every day.
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