Bethlehem Lutheran Church

All Saints

Imagine the World through Faith

Pastor Mary Pechauer

November 6, 2011

          Several years ago my family traveled to Washington DC.  It was on our bucket list of places we wanted to explore together.  We went in the fall.  The weather was stunning, the crowds a little lighter than in the heat of summer.  On one particular day we walked the Mall—taking our time exploring each of the monuments, ending up after a very long day, at the Washington monument—an impressive structure to say the least.  Standing a little more than 555 feet, it’s the tallest structure in D.C. and was the tallest structure in the world until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris, France.  Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there so we did our best to explore it from the outside. 

          We walked all around it.  Walked right up to it, knocked on it, stared up at it.  We did this for so long, our necks became sore.  That’s when one of the kids came up with yet another way we could view the building—a more comfortable way.  There were benches all around the building so we sat on the benches, laid back on them and looked at the monument from a new perspective—upside down.  It changed everything! 

          Now it looked as if the clouds passing by were standing still, and the building was moving.  People looked different as they walked by, feet that had been firmly on the ground were now walking about in the sky.  The trees grew toward the ground.  The heavy breeze made the building sway and the leaves on the trees were still.  Looking at the world this way, anything seemed possible. It was a great exercise for our imaginations.  Nothing about our surroundings had changed but with this new perspective everything looked different.

          Now, I’ve been known to ask for audience participation in past sermons I’ve preached.  So before I say anything else, I want to put you at ease.  I’m not going to ask you to stand on your head…today, though I do think it would help us more deeply experience the impact of Jesus’ words in the Gospel reading.

          Today’s reading is one of Jesus’ most well known sermons.  The words are familiar to our ears.  And when something’s familiar it no longer shocks us.  Quite the opposite, familiar words invite us to fall into habits of thinking that we know what’s being said, that we understand what’s being talked about.  When something’s familiar there are no surprises.  Familiar feels comfortable, good and safe.  But these words were far from familiar to those who first heard them.  Jesus was turning the world as that first audience knew it, upside down!  It was an exercise for their imagination.  Jesus was describing the scene of humanity but with a different perspective that created a new reality.  Listen closely to how the world is seen from God’s perspective and we’re reminded of the important truth that things are not always as they seem, that there’s more going on than we know.

          Just prior to this Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is so famous for, Matthew tells us that Jesus went everywhere in Galilee, teaching in synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom of heaven, and healing all the people’s diseases and sicknesses.  The word about what Jesus was doing spread so people were bringing ALL the sick to him and Jesus healed ALL of them.  Sounds like heaven on earth don’t you think?  It’s this scene Jesus leaves to have a few words with his disciples in private.  Always the Rabbi, Jesus knew this was a teaching opportunity he couldn’t pass up.  He wanted to make sure that his disciples didn’t miss the point of what was going on.

          The kingdom of heaven is at hand and they were right there in the middle of it!  Where God reigns, people are healed.  In God’s kingdom the rejected are received.  God is not far from those who grieve, or those who are sick, or lonely and or without family and friend. God is in the midst of them.  And just in case we miss it, Jesus takes the time to spell it out: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst, blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers...” 

Jesus isn’t offering up a set of conditions that must be met in order to experience God.  Jesus isn’t prescribing how we are to live so that we might know God.  Jesus is describing the way life already is in God’s kingdom.  Jesus’ sermon reveals God’s vision for the world which is very different from our own.  To see the world as God sees it is an exercise in our imagination.  It turns the world as we are inclined to see it, upside down! The outcast are included; the suffering find relief, the last are first.

We tend to focus on circumstances but Jesus teaches us that what matters is perspective. Imagine the world through faith and people are valued not because of who they are but because of whose they are.  Imagine the world through faith and there’s good news for those who suffer—no matter what your circumstances God promises to be present for you.  Nothing and no one can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  You can’t earn your way into God’s good graces.  You are accepted just as you are.  Imagine the world through faith and you begin to see God in places you didn’t think God could be.  You begin to have hope where there was only despair.  You discover peace where there had only been struggle and strife.  Imagine the world through faith and even places where death seems to have the last word, there is the promise of new life.

Today is All Saints’ Sunday, a meaningful day in the life of the church—an important day we set aside to remember those who’ve gone before us in this life. Today we remember particular people whose lives have had an impact on ours.  Many of the stories are simple but profound:  a mother’s unconditional love, a father’s unique insight, a friend who was always ready with an encouraging word.  Their absence creates a space in our hearts that never goes away.  We mourn their death and yet in faith give thanks for the blessing it is to have known and loved them.  Through them we caught glimpses of God’s grace.  None of these saints were perfect but they were children of God, people through whom God chose to be at work for the sake of His kingdom on earth.

The same is true for us.  None of us is perfect.  We are broken people—who say the wrong thing, act in hurtful ways, choose to go it alone.  Still, God claims us, chooses us to be his children in the world, and promises to work through us for the sake of others who are hungry to know God’s love.  That is the heart of the Gospel.  We heard it in our first reading today:  see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are!  Today is All Saints’ Sunday which means we celebrate the saints who have died in the faith and the saints who live in faith. Together we make up the company of heaven—a reality that blesses us with faith to see God alive in the world, a reality we affirm as we gather around the Lord’s table to receive God’s gifts of forgiveness and life.  Today we give thanks for you—a beloved child of God through whom God works to accomplish his purposes.

You may have noticed the weavings hanging from the saris on the side and on the paraments or cloths hanging from the pulpit and lectern.  Weeks ago we invited you to write your name on a strip of cloth for a project some of our artists in the congregation would create.  If you wrote your name on a strip of cloth it is somewhere in one of the weavings attached to the saris on either side.  For those of you who weren’t able to participate, there are blank strips woven in that held space for your name.  The weaving over the lectern holds the names of those who’ve died this past year.  The weaving hanging from the pulpit holds the names of those baptized this year.  Notice how much longer the pulpit weaving is than the lectern weaving?  A special thanks to our artists—Kristi, Carol, Elsa, Diane & Barb who have given us this beautiful visual of saintly lives woven together in the family of Christ. 

We are forever connected in faith, blessed to live with God’s perspective for life.  It might require some imagination on your part.  You may even need to stand on your head once in awhile. And if that’s not an option than be sure to spend time with someone who can.  Let what they see help you to believe that anything is possible, that things are not always what they seem.  It’s a Godly perspective that moves a heart to generosity, compassion and love.  It’s a Godly perspective that assures you that there’s more goin on than you know, that God’s kingdom is at hand even now—wiping away every tear.  May God bless you today and always with the divine perspective to live in the certain hope that God is present in all circumstances for the good of the world.  Amen.

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