Church of Our Saviour

There’s an old story about two brothers who were involved in corruption, deceit and every manner of vice. it was rumored they were affiliated with some very famous organized crime families as well. Whatever the case, both brothers had accumulated much of their wealth by dishonest means.

There was very little grief when the older brother died. But his younger brother, wanting to honor his elder sibling, went all out in planning the funeral. The problem was finding a minister willing to do the service, given that neither of them had ever graced the steps of a church. Knowing that one of the local churches was in the midst of a capital campaign for some much-needed repairs, a call was made to the pastor.

“Reverend,” he said, “I know my brother and I never attended your church, as a matter of fact we never attended any church. I also know that you’ve probably heard a lot of things about my brother and me. This being a small town and all, but I’d like you to do my brother’s funeral. And if you say he was a saint, I’ll write you a check for $50,000. That’ll go a long way to fixing your church.”

After some thought, the pastor agreed to have the service. The pastor, however, also had a condition. The money had to be paid in advance. And so it was.

On the day of the funeral, the church was packed. Curiosity brought dozens of people in, who were certainly not there to honor the rich man, but to see what the minister would actually say. The remainder of the crowd was made up of mobsters and women the brothers associated with

The service began with the usual scriptures, hymns and prayers and then the homily began. The pastor started slowly, but then step by step launched into a litany of the horrible things the rich man had done, how he had been selfish, greedy, corrupt, caring about no one but himself, carousing with women, drinking excessively, and on and on.

The younger brother, sitting up in the front pew, was getting hot under the collar about how the minister was not fulfilling his promise. He could only wait and hope that the minister would keep his end of the bargain. Finally, after about ten minutes of outlining the rich man’s flaws, the minister concluded his sermon.

“Yes my friends, this man was a no-good, dirty, rotten scoundrel! But, he was a saint compared to his brother!”

Today we celebrate the Saints. All the Saints; those who lived before us and those who still live with us. It’s believed this tradition of setting a service aside for the holy ones of our community began in Ireland sometime around the 4th century. We know there were prayers for the heroic martyrs before then but this special service didn’t develop as a Church wide service until almost the 9th century. It’s been the custom of the Church for several centuries now to set aside a day when it remembers its own

Many of us have been to Roman Catholic services and in the Anglican Church there are regular days set aside throughout the year for these very special – but also very dead people. What many of us do not know is the origin for celebrating and remembering these individuals comes out of today’s traditions of celebrating all the Saints. To borrow a phrase, this is the mother of saints’ days and out of its roots sprang the idea to remember people who touched the lives of the Church and individuals. Even though in our day an age we have forgotten it, the service we celebrate today has in the Church always been on the same level as Christmas, Easter, and the Sunday of Pentecost.

Today, however, is not only for the well-known saint. It’s also a celebration of the unknown. “Blessed are the poor in spirit… those who mourn… the meek”. Those whom history has forgotten, marginalized or cast aside to the fringes of society. Today is a celebration of the saint who is hungry because of under funding, frivolous spending, and the desire to have thirds and fourths on ones plate even though half of it will be thrown in the garbage. Today is about the saint who is beginning to freeze at night because there’re not enough blankets, coats, or room on an uncomfortable heating grate. We’ll never fully understand the impact saints such as these have had – are having – and will continue to have on our lives and our own personal journeys of faith. Of course there are the Kings’ and Theresa’s as well as the good intentioned philanthropic millionaires in our lives but there are also countless un-named persons who have contributed to the life of the Church and they remain unknown and faceless – “for theirs is the kingdom of God.”

Today is also our day. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”. Over the centuries, with prayer, careful examination and debate after debate the Church has recognized a few select individuals for their actions and life of faith, but this really means is that it is the Church that makes saints. But the criteria for sainthood – to be a saint is not simply being holy, being faithful or trying to lead a righteous life. We often forget these persons became saints because of the obstacles they over came in the midst of an ordinary - everyday life. These extraordinary people lived ordinary lives yet in their life they bore witness to the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus and directed others towards the longing relationship of a righteous God. Sainthood is not found in the extraordinary life of an individual but is lived out in the common everyday life of the community. Gathered as a faithful community, you – I – share in the common life of Church of Our Saviour. Our common bond is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. Not as a faithful people but as people of a faithful loving God. I reminded of what the Bishop told the convention about the Christian life. Christianity is not a cause. If that was the case then we would simply be a club. We are not a club. We are a people rooted in Christ. Along with the famous, infamous, and un-named, we too are members in the sainthood of all believers.

“Blessed are the pure of heart”. In just a few moments we will renew our Baptismal Vow which recalls our saintly participation as the Body of Christ. We will promise to continue our education in the tradition of our faith and pray that we may continually grow to have a loving relationship with our Savior. This is neither a trivial act nor cute custom. It is a solemn act of a faithful people. It is a vow and vows in the Anglican tradition are so sacred that we only permit their use in the community at three different points in our life. There is the vow we make at Baptism either for ourselves or as a promise for another person; there is the marriage vow which calls to mind the sacred relationship between God and his people between two persons; and let me make something very clear here. There has been a lot of confusion over the past year or so about marriage. To date the Episcopal Church has never changed what it says about marriage. In our Constitution and Canons that govern the Church, marriage is between a man and a woman. That has not changed and is still the case in this Church. There is also the vow made when one is ordained to the priesthood. Each one of these vows comes at a particular stage in the communities’ life and they remind us that we are to live an intentional Christian life. So, we will renew our Baptismal Vow and remember today that we are all called “children of God”.

“Then [Jesus] began to speak, and taught them saying:” Some scholars believe Jesus is not addressing the crowd, but speaking first to his disciples about those who have gathered around them. They are the ones the disciples are to minister too. It’s as if Jesus is saying, “Do you see all these people? Do you understand there are some in this crowd who are meek, poor in spirit? You’d never know it to look at them but there are even some who earnestly work towards peace, and are pure of heart. It’s up to you disciples to minister to them – with them. It’s up to you disciples of Church of Our Saviour, it’s up to you Church, to join with me in blessing them, loving them and in doing so you will be made saints – by them.”

Jesus’ sermon continues after the beatitudes saying, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored. It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot” (Matt 5:13 – NRSV). Addressing the disciples, speaking to us, Jesus admonishes us to be participants in his blessing of others. Do this and we are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Do this and instead of producing heroes that often fail – you will provide the world with saints who will direct others to the unfailing love and faithfulness of God. Fail to do this and we fail to be the Church. Like salt that cannot restore its flavor we would no longer be good for anything.

So today we celebrate and bless those among us, those on the edge of our society and even those who have gone on to join the company of heaven. Very soon we will celebrate the Eucharistic feast and remember that we are not alone. We will participate in the loving act of God’s sacrifice “with Angels and Archangels and all the company of heaven…” (BCP p. 362) Today, All Saints’ Sunday, with the psalmist we say Hallelujah and sing to the Lord a new song. We sing songs of praise for famous men and women and of others for whom there is no memory. “For the Lord takes pleasure in his people and adorns the poor” the meek, the sorrowful, and the Church “with victory”. (Ps 149:3 – NRSV)