Christ, No King

November 24^th, 2013       “Christ, No King”           Rev. Heather Jepsen

Luke 1:67-80 with Luke 23:33-43

          Today is the final Sunday of the liturgical year, we switch the colors to white, and we celebrate the reign of Christ, or Christ the King Sunday.  Personally, I have always struggled with this feast day.  Every year it comes around and every year I struggle with what to write in my sermon. There is something about comparing Christ to our modern notions of power and authority that just doesn’t gel with me.  Sure, we can talk about what a different kind of King Christ is.  A shepherd King, a servant King, but I think we really struggle with that because it just doesn’t fit.  Finally this week it came to me.  I don’t feel called to celebrate Christ the King, I feel called to celebrate Christ No King. 

             While I had always assumed this was an ancient festival day, I was surprised to find out that the holiday of Christ the King was not instituted until 1925 by Pope Pius the 11^th.  That makes it a relatively young holiday in the history of the church.  Instituted in the time between the World Wars, this holiday was created in response to a rise in Nationalism and Secularism around the world.  Perhaps an even more relevant context; is that this holiday was instituted right in the middle of a disagreement between the papacy and the Italian government.  Christ the King has overt political overtones if we are considering it in light of an argument between the Vatican and Italy.  Christ the King in essence equals Church as King and separate from Italian rule.

          Of course, now it has been almost 100 years and this story is long forgotten.  Yet still I struggle with this idea of Christ the King.  When there is a king, then there is hierarchy, and people are always struggling to fill in the gaps in between.  First there is Christ the King, then the church, then the clergy, then the lay people, etc.  In searching the Scriptures I find little evidence that Jesus himself would support such a title or such a hierarchy.  In fact, I find just the opposite.  Jesus seems to shun all markers and notions of authority and power.  Hence my idea of Christ No King.

          Both of this morning’s readings are from Luke and throughout this gospel, Jesus rejects our human hierarchies.   We spoke a few Sundays ago about the Sermon on the Plain and the way Jesus envisions a world where the high are brought low and the low are lifted up.  Jesus envisions a world without hierarchy, without a king and all the structures that follow.

          Yes, Jesus speaks of a kingdom, but it is a backward upside down place.  The kingdom that Jesus speaks of defies common sense and practice.  It is a place where a shepherd abandons 99 sheep to look for one, a place where a father greets a disobedient child with a party, a place where the rich invite the poor to banquets, a place where the last become first and the first become last.  The kingdom of heaven is a backward place, a place where a King would have to be a Non-King.

          I see Christ No King very clearly in our first reading today from the end of Luke’s gospel.  While it seems out of place as we stand on the edge of Advent, it is good for us to be reminded of the crucifixion of our God.  After all, this is the final Sunday of the church year and we need to review the whole story. 

          Here on the cross I find Christ No King.  The sign above his head calls him King, but he has rejected that title and status.  The soldiers around him mock him as King, but he will not respond to such taunts.  Jesus is not helpless, he is not without power, but he is not the King here, clearly he is not in the role of Caesar.  No, Christ here is the Non-King, the backwards King, the power in yielding King, Christ No King.

          Like the circle of the liturgical year, our second reading takes us back to the beginning of the story.  Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks words of song and prophesy.  He speaks of the power and promise of God, of deliverance for the people of Israel, and of the forgiveness of sins.  He speaks of Christ No King.

          For centuries the people of Israel had longed to be free from their enemies.  From years of exile in Babylon to years of oppressive Roman rule, the people longed for justice and freedom.  Zechariah speaks of a people who would be rescued from the power of their enemies. 

Does this rescue come in might and violence, does in come in the power of a kingdom?  No – this rescue comes in peace.  In one of the most beautiful lines of Scripture Zechariah declares that “Because of our God’s deep compassion, the dawn from heaven will break upon us, to give light to those who are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide us on the path of peace.”  How will the Israelites beat their enemies?  By laying down their weapons and embracing peace.  The gift of victory comes in peace, led by the prince of peace, a King who is No King.

          Advent is right around the corner and we are about to celebrate the baby in the manger.  From familiar story to favorite song, this is one of the high points of our church year.  And of all places, in the little baby of Bethlehem, I see Christ No King.  A baby so precious and cute is also extremely vulnerable.  A baby has no power, a baby has no authority, a baby is nothing.  A baby will die if no one helps it and often no one does.  From stories of babies encased in cement in Pleasant Hill, to stories of babies flushed down the toilet in China, the world reminds us that a baby is the weakest thing there is.  A baby cannot be a king.  Christ No King. 

          As we come to the end of the liturgical year, this is the Christ I celebrate.  Let me be clear, of course I believe that Jesus is the greatest of all, most supreme, and yes the king.  I stand here every Sunday and preach his praise.  But I reject the idea of putting human images of glory and power on his name.  I reject the idea of Christ as a King, as much as I reject the idea of Christ the President.  Jesus has no interest in our human trappings and imagery.   Jesus rejects those power structures and titles.  I worship a Christ, not a King.  In the backward upside down kingdom of God, Christ is the No King.

          This week we will gather around our tables at home with family and friends and we will give thanks.  While from the outside it appears as a party, from the inside this can be a stressful time for many people.  Families don’t always get along, and family gatherings are often full of stress and tension.  I would encourage you this week, to remember the path laid out by our Christ, the path of peace.  True power is found in yielding, true strength in letting go, the path of victory is the path of peace.

          I would also encourage you this week to give thanks.  Give thanks to God for all the blessings of your life.  From health and joy, to family and friends, to food on the table and a warm bed to sleep in at night.  And as you give thanks, I encourage you to share.  May our eyes be opened to the world around us and may we see Christ No King in the people who don’t have enough to eat or a warm house to stay in.  May we give as we are able, humbling ourselves in search of the backwards kingdom of God, where the way up is the way down.

          Today, as we end the liturgical year, I marvel at this image of God that we find in the gospel of Luke.  Christ comes to us as nothing, the baby of unwed parents, born outside and alone.  Adored by shepherds, dirty outcasts, he grows up in the humble home of a carpenter.  The devil tempts him with power and authority, and he rejects those things.  Instead he wanders with outcasts and sinners, preaching of the upside down kingdom, where we get ahead by falling behind.  Finally he dies as a criminal, hung in shame for all to see.  This is the Christ we worship and praise.  This is Christ No King.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

  

Church Moocher

November 17^th, 2013      “Church Moocher”       Rev. Heather Jepsen

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

          This morning we are looking at the second letter to the Thessalonians.  In the life of the early church, Paul visited the community of Thessalonica once with Silvanus and Timothy to preach, but then he was unable to return.  In the Bible we find two letters written to this community that have been attributed to Paul.  This morning’s letter is written in Paul’s name, but there is some debate as to whether or not Paul actually wrote the letter.  It was a common practice in the ancient world to write letters in the name of others, following that person’s school of thought.   There are items in this letter that do not display the same writing style or theology of Paul’s other letters so it is commonly thought to have only been written in the style of Paul.  Now, nameless letters make for difficult preaching, so for our purposes this morning, I will refer to the letter writer as Paul, since that is what he calls himself.

          As with most of Paul’s letters, this letter is about unrest in the community.  Churches in the time of Paul were not really that different than churches now and so they struggled to get along.  Everyone has a different idea of what the heart of the gospel is and how we are supposed to act as Christians.  In Thessalonica, people were eagerly awaiting the second coming of Christ.  Some felt that since Jesus was coming back right away, they didn’t need to work hard for the church.  That is the issue that this morning’s reading addresses.

          Paul talks about idleness and an unwillingness to work.  Paul says that those who are not willing to work should not eat.  In the early church community resources were shared amongst each other.  It seems from Paul’s language that some people were sitting back and letting others do all the work.  We need to be clear that Paul is not talking about people who are physically unable to work.  Rather Paul is talking about those people who can work, but simply choose not to.  Paul is talking about moochers.

          You might not be familiar with the term but a moocher is one who mooches off of others.  This is the kind of person who always seems to forget their wallet when they go out with friends.  A moocher is the kind of person who shows up at your house uninvited at dinner time but never brings anything to share and never invites you over for dinner at their house.  A moocher is someone who is always asking you to help them move something heavy or do yard work but is surprisingly never available when you need help.  You know the kind of person I’m talking about.  You might call them a sponge, a freeloader, or a lazy bum.  A moocher is someone who is able to do the work but simply chooses to rely on the work of others instead.

          Paul is talking about moochers in the community of Thessalonica; those folks who were so sure that Christ was coming tomorrow that they don’t need to lift a finger today.  Those people who are happy to sit back and let others carry the load of the church community.  Paul warns that those people, those moochers, should not be allowed to continue such behavior.  Those that won’t work shouldn’t eat.

          Paul leads by example.  He argues that when he was with the community in Thessalonica, he never failed to do his fair share of the work.  Even though spiritual leaders were to be cared for by the community at large, and Paul had a right not to work, he worked anyway because it was the right thing to do.  No free handouts for Paul and thus should be the case for everyone else.

          In the modern church community I see two different kinds of moochers.  First, there is the classic moocher that you find everywhere.  The one who never skips the monthly lunch yet also never brings anything to share.  Or the one who is always talking about what our church should be doing but never gets involved with a committee or program.  You can find a moocher like that in any organization.

          The second kind of church moocher is the really scary one, and that is the spiritual moocher.  This is one who decides that they don’t need to do any spiritual work of their own; the church will simply do it for them.  They don’t need to read the Bible, the pastor will tell them what it says.  And they don’t need to pray, the church says prayers on their behalf and that’s good enough.  Paul warns that those who won’t work shouldn’t eat, and the same is true of spiritual moochers.  The truth is, if you aren’t willing to work on your own for your faith, than you will not receive spiritual nourishment.  And if you are not receiving spiritual nourishment, you will be unable to grow in your faith.  The church can’t do it for you.  

          Paul argues that in the church, everyone needs to do their part.  All who are able need to contribute to the good of the community as a whole.  This work is good and healthy for everyone in the community, from those who receive the benefit of the work to those who do the work themselves. 

Monastic communities in particular are really good at this.  In fact, pilgrims to the modern monastic communities of Iona in Scotland and Taize in France are given the opportunity to work during their stay.  Guests are encouraged to take part in the work of the community, from cooking meals to doing simple chores as part of their pilgrimage.  The opportunity to work benefits everybody.

          Of course there are plenty of opportunities to contribute in our own church community.  Today we are celebrating our stewardship commitments to the church.  Stewardship is about proper management of your time and resources and there are lots of ways that you can give.  Of course, you can and need to give your money to the church.  This stewardship season we are asking you to prayerfully consider the needs of this church community alongside your own financial needs.

          But, more important than that, today I am asking you to consider the stewardship of your time and energy.  I am hoping that all of you here will take the time to fill out one of these pink cards and present it during the offering of our gifts today.  Is there something on this list that you can do?  Check the box!  Is there some other way that you are interested in serving?  Fill in the blank!  Believe it or not, a church needs volunteers even more than it needs money.    

No one gives us a better example of service than our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus himself teaches us that “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.”  And again, “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”  No moochers here, the path of righteousness is for those who will work for the community.

Today I am asking you to prayerfully consider how you can help out the church.  In his letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul asked everyone in the community to do their part and I am asking the same of you.  It takes everyone working together, for the church to run smoothly. 

Like the first gatherings of the early church, we will gather in a fellowship meal after worship today.  When we gather at the table we gather together as a community.  There are those who have given of their time and efforts to prepare this feast for us.  Someone has set the tables, someone has prepared the drinks, many of us have contributed from our own kitchens, and some of us will stay late and help clean up.  The meal we will share today is a work of the community.  A community modeled after the work of Christ, who gave of his life that we might gather in freedom and celebrate in his name.

          Paul teaches that even if Christ returns tomorrow, we need to keep busy doing the work of the church.  Those who are able to contribute with money and time should.  Those who give will receive, and those who serve will share in the life and growth of the community.  Those who mooch will remain malnourished, for we are each responsible for our own life of faith.  You cannot grow if you are not fed.  And you cannot receive the spiritual nourishment of Christ if you don’t participate in the community.  My prayer this morning is that God would move us to ever greater giving and even deeper participation as we seek to model his son, who came as the servant of all.  Amen. 

         

Giving Thanks for the Future

November 10^th, 2013       “Giving Thanks for the Future”       Rev. Heather Jepsen

Haggai 2:1-9

          Our reading this morning comes from Haggai who is probably not very familiar to you.  Haggai is among what scholar’s refer to as the minor-prophets of the Old Testament and his two chapter book is a mere blip on the screen of Hebrew literature.  Unlike the major-prophets that we have become familiar with, Haggai is not writing during the time of exile in Babylon.  Rather, he is a post–exilic prophet, writing and preaching after the time of exile, when the Israelites have finally returned to their homeland.

          It has been a long, hard road for the people of Israel.  After 70 years in exile in Babylon, they finally return home to find a wasteland.  Their houses are destroyed, their fields overgrown, and their temple is still nothing but ruins.  Upon their return to Jerusalem, the people naturally get busy rebuilding their homes and communities.  One thing that they have neglected to address is rebuilding the temple.  Haggai has been called by God to challenge them on this point.

          We read in chapter one of this book that “the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?  Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared.  You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes.”

          The prophet calls peoples’ attention to the way that they have been living.  While it seems like they are doing OK; eating drinking and working like normal, there remains a giant void in their lives.  Their neglect of the temple and their neglect of their faith, is taking a toll on everything else they experience. 

          In the section that we read for today, Haggai is challenging the people to envision a new future for the temple and for themselves.  He asks if there is anyone among the people who remembers the glory days of the temple before the exile.  The obvious answer is “no”.  In the time that Haggai is preaching a person would have to have been 75 years old to remember the temple.  When the average life span is 40 years or less, 75 is as outlandish as 150 would be today.

          So no one there remembers the temple in person, they have only heard the stories.  And of course, the temple that the people have now, a mound of stones and ruins, is certainly not as glorious as the temple of their imaginations.  As Haggai says, it is as nothing in their sight.

          Like any good preacher, Haggai takes the people to a low place so that he can bring them back up again.  Of course the temple is a ruin, and of course it is a matter of sadness and disappointment, but from here the only direction the people of Israel have to go is up.

          Haggai preaches “Yet now take courage all you people of the Land, says the Lord, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt.  My spirit abides among you; do not fear.”  Just as God was with the people in exile, so now God is with them as they return home.  Through the prophet, God promises that the nation of Israel will one day rise again, and that the temple will once again be built.  And it won’t be simply replaced, rather “the latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former.”  This new temple will be even better than the old one was.

          Now the truth is, I disagree with some of the language and ideas in this passage.   I don’t think that God will bring all the wealth of the nations into one nation and house.  And I don’t think that God truly promises prosperity to us or to a nation.  But, despite those disagreements, I find a lot in this narrative that I can agree with.

          First of all, I really like the notion in chapter one, that though we may be getting along fine, we are nothing without our faith.  I see a lot of modern parallels between the Israelites who eat and drink and yet are never full, and our modern American culture.  Throughout time people have hungered and thirsted for something more, and yet they have allowed themselves to be distracted by the world around them.  We try to stuff ourselves with anything we can get our hands on, when the only thing that will satisfy us is a relationship with God.  Just as the Israelites needed the temple to have a truly full life; so we need the church.  Worship, praise, and the family of faith are among the necessary building blocks for life.

          Another bit of this that I agree with is found in verse eight of the reading.  “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts.”  As you know, we are in stewardship season, and I can’t miss an opportunity like this verse!  Though he is speaking primarily about the wealth of other nations, Haggai is reminding the people of Israel that all wealth belongs to God alone.  Everything we have comes from and belongs to God.

          Haggai reminds the people that God will provide the resources that they need to rebuild the temple.  What matters to them, is how they use the resources they are given.  Are they using what they have only to build up their own houses, or are they offering a portion of their time and energy, their silver and gold, for the building up of the temple?  This is a wonderful question for us to ask ourselves.  How are we using the resources that God has given us?  Haggai reminds us that everything we have belongs to God.  Are we using our resources to build up our house of worship, or are we simply using them to build up our own individual homes?

          I have to tell you today, the part of this reading that resonates the most with me, is found in verse 9.  “The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts.”  The future of this temple is brighter than its’ past.  I believe that this sentiment is more relevant today than ever before. 

          There are very few Protestant churches in this community, in this state, in this nation, that are not looking back fondly on some glory days.  I hear stories about this church all the time.  We used to be full, people sat in the aisles, people stood outside, they would bus them in.  When are we going to get back to those days of glory?  I love these stories, and it is important to remember our history, but folks, we are never going back.  We are never going back to those days of crowded sanctuaries and bustling fellowship times.  Church doesn’t look like that anymore and it won’t look like that ever again.

          I don’t want to sound negative here, those days were wonderful, but we can’t go back in time.  The future of the Protestant church in Middle America does not look like the past.  We are not the same nation and we are not the same people.  I don’t need to point out how high our median age is rising.  The church is getting old, young people aren’t coming, and things are changing.  The future is not death, but the future looks a lot different than the past.

          I find words of hope for the future of the church in these words from Haggai.  As the Israelites stand around and stare at the ruins of their temple, God speaks through the prophet to remind them of God’s faithfulness.  “Do not be afraid, I am with you.”  God seems to say. “And don’t worry, your future is even brighter than your past.”

          Just like the Israelites, God is going to lift up among us the resources that we need.  God is building this church into a new thing, we are headed for new days of glory.  I know I am not the only person here who feels this energy.  We don’t know what the future looks like exactly, and we don’t have all the answers to our problems, but we know that the future of this church is good.  Like the psalmist, we are going to sing to the Lord a new song in this church.  We are going to discern new ways of going forward and new ways of doing ministry.  God is with us, and the latter splendor of this church will be even greater than the former.

          Now, don’t misunderstand me here, there is a tricky nuance to where I am going with this.  I am happy that there are more people coming but I don’t think we are going to necessarily grow this church back to its former glory.  No.  Rather I think the glory we are going to see is the future that we are living in together.  The future will be different from our past, much as the re-built temple was different from Solomon’s original splendor.  What makes the future glorious is not literal silver and gold; rather it is in the richness of our experience together and our growing faith life with God.  The past of this church is wonderful memories and stories, but already they have begun to fade.  The future of this church is glorious, shining bright with hope and promise, a moment that we are going to live into together.  The future of this church is brighter than its’ past because that is the place God is calling us to.  That is the beauty that we will experience together.  That is the blessing that is coming our way.  It is true and wonderful and real, and it is here and now.

          We gather together around the table today to give thanks as a community.  Rather than celebrating communion alone in our pews or coming forward as individuals, we are going to gather like a family around the table.  Like families at home, this church family has a past and a future.  We have glory days we long for and we have hopes for where God is leading us today.  We gather together today to thank God for a future that is filled with hope.

          When Jesus gathered with his disciples, he too was gathering at a time of change and transition.  The former temple religion was soon to be gone, and a new faith, centered on an individual experience of the divine was moving forward.  Jesus changed the church and changed history when he instituted this meal.  Just as Jesus re-directed and re-shaped the imagery of the church of his time, so too he re-directs and re-shapes the church that he is calling us to be. 

          Today, as we gather as a family of faith around this table, I want to call us to give thanks.  Let us give thanks for our past: for the presence of God that has shaped and formed this church, for the glory days of crowded pews, and for the lean times when we made it through on grace alone.  I also want us to give thanks for the future: for the new church that God is calling us to be, for the energy and vibrancy that are growing among us, and for the glory days that are on our horizon, new experiences of the divine in this community of faith.  Haggai reminds the people of Israel and us that God has been with us, through thick and thin, and God goes with us into our future.  Let us sing to the Lord a new song, for the coming days of this church will be even more glorious than its’ past.  Praise the Lord!  Amen.

           

Level with the Saints

November 3^rd, 2013        “Level with the Saints”      Rev. Heather Jepsen

Luke 6:17-26

          This morning’s gospel reading appears familiar at first as Jesus begins his lesson on blessings, commonly called the Beatitudes.  But it doesn’t take long before we realize that these are not the warm fuzzy Beatitudes we find in Matthew’s gospel.  No, these are the hard edged, often confusing, and down-right troubling Beatitudes from the gospel of Luke.

          The Beatitudes we are more familiar with, those in the gospel of Matthew, are given during the first portion of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew’s Jesus begins.  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”  These are the Beatitudes we know and love, and these are the words we still find on display throughout our world.  From the engraved words on a bookmark, to an artistic rendering in calligraphy, to one of those cute little desk signs; these words are everywhere.

          You will find no cute little desk signs for Luke’s version of the Beatitudes.  “Blessed are the poor.”  Not the poor in spirit, just the poor.  “Blessed are the hungry, blessed are those who weep.”  Luke pulls no punches in spiritualizing the Beatitudes, like Matthew; rather these are straight out blessings on those who are among the lowest of the low in ancient and modern society.

          Even more troubling than Luke’s blessings are the curses that follow.  “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.  Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.  Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.  Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”  Woe?  Whoa!  Words like that might cause someone to choke on their Sunday morning donut!

          These two differing versions of the Beatitudes are a great example of the two gospel writers’ differing perspectives on who Jesus was and what he came to do.  In Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as the new Moses; Matthew spends a lot of time telling us how Jesus is the true Jewish Messiah in fulfillment of the ancient scriptures.  Luke has a different agenda.  Luke is busy showing us that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and the Gentiles, and that he has come to bring about the kingdom of God, a topsy-turvy place where the first will be last and the last will be first.  As a studier of the scriptures I find it amazing how the same historical sayings of Jesus can be presented in such totally different ways.  It is not very often that we consider two different accounts of something to both be true.

          Personally, I think I would rather have a cute little desk sign with Luke’s Beatitudes than with Matthew’s because they are more startling and powerful.  When we look at the text there is a lot going on here.  Rather than climbing to a mountaintop to deliver his sermon, in Luke, Jesus comes down to a level place.  That is why we refer to his version as the Sermon on the Plain.

          I think there is an awesome clue to Luke’s Beatitudes in this setting.  Jesus comes down and stands on a level place with all the people, disciples, followers, and curious onlookers alike.  Rather than being on a mountainside, where people would be spread out on different tiers, or different levels, the people in Luke’s gospel are all on the same level.  A level playing field if you will.

          When we re-examine Luke’s blessings and curses, we find that the words of Jesus also put people on a level playing field.  Blessings on the poor, the hungry, the sad, and the outcast lift all those people up in society.  Woes on the rich, the fat, the happy, and the popular push all those people down.  Low people up, high people down, and we have a level playing field.  The Sermon on the Plain!  Cool, huh?!?

          Of course, to put everyone on a level playing field doesn’t sound like such a good idea to those of us who are riding high right now.  No matter how we slice it, it hurts to hear Jesus speaking curses on the rich and the fat, which describes a lot of Americans.  Though thousands of years old, these words of Jesus ring true even in our modern culture.  Being wealthy, being well fed, being popular, and being happy and blind to the suffering of others, are all mixed blessings.  These things are temporary, they are deceptive, and they make it harder for us to see our need for God.  Jesus reminds us that when the end of all things comes, we will be stripped of these blessings. 

          Although it is a frightening thought, we know that this is true.  Death is the great leveler and as the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you.”  Jesus’ sermon here in Luke reminds us that in the kingdom of God we will all be on a level playing field.  And though many of us here stand to lose some, we need to remember that that is OK, that it is even a blessing.  In the kingdom of God, the last will be first and the first will be last.  Everyone gets in the door, but it can be hard on those who were first!  Hence those woes that Jesus hands out.

          This idea of a great plain, or a leveled playing field, is a great connection to the Reformed tradition of All Saints which we remember and celebrate today.  One of the marks of the Reformation, was a re-visioning of what it meant to be a saint.  We are going to go back to school now as I quote one of the best Presbyterian teachers, Donald McKim.  In his book, Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers he writes,

“The sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers reacted strongly against what they believed was a mistaken view of saints by the Roman Catholic Church.  There the emphasis was on the lives of saints, their special “holiness,” and also the view that saints who have died can play a role in the lives of the living on earth.  Reformation confessions admonished that saints are not to be adored, worshiped, or invoked.  The Reformers believed that it is only the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ who intercede with God on our behalf in prayer.

Presbyterians see all Christians as “saints”, not because they are especially “holy” or “perfect” or never sin.  All Christians, while saved by the work of Jesus Christ, are still sinners in constant need of God’s forgiveness in Christ.  The church is the “communion of saints”.  One way to understand this phrase is to see it as referring to the church as the fellowship of Christians – all the “saints”.  A wider view is to have a comprehensive view of the church and to realize that the church on earth is surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” – all the saints who have died and are now in heaven.  Their lives and witness can inspire us and be powerful examples or models to help us live our Christian lives.”

          On this All Saints day of celebration, we gather to remember that when it comes to God we are all on a level playing field.  None of us is above another in terms of holiness or purity, rather all of us are saints before the Lord.  We specifically remember those who have gone ahead of us into the great cloud of witnesses this year.  Like us, all of the saints that we remember and honor today, experienced a mix of blessings and woes in their lifetimes.  Now that they have died, these saints are now truly on a level playing field and a part of the great church in heaven.  Friends that we have known and love, these saints now go before us to show us the way. 

          In this life, some of will experience great blessing, and some of us will experience great hardship and pain.  Most of us will experience both.  The words of Jesus in the gospel of Luke serve to remind us that when the kingdom of God is finally at hand, all of us will stand on the same level.  Some of us will be lifted up and some of us will be brought down, but all of us will stand as saints before the Lord, part of the great cloud of witnesses.  Thanks be to God for this great leveling, and thanks be to God for all the saints.  Amen.