Sermon: All Saints Sunday Eucharist

Preacher:

Date:

Sunday 3rd November 2013

Service:

Cathedral Eucharist

Readings:

Ephesians 1: 11-23

Luke 6: 20-31

Listen:

Download Recording (MP3, 13.5M)

May we with all the saints in light shine as lights in the world.

If you type the phrase "All Saints" into google, the first three links that come up are for the British fashion retailer All Saints, based in Spitalfields. At this time of year they're presenting Below the Knee -  a new women's footwear collection.

Scroll down a little further and you come across Wikipedia pages about the 1990s girl band "All Saints". I can't recall any of their singles or their names; only that they split up. Twice.

Only then would your google search lead you to information about the feast we celebrate today and to churches bearing the dedication "All Saints".

Yet in a sense the saints we give thanks for and the saints we are called to be have echoes with clothing and song. We are to be distinctive not in our fashion but in the pattern of our lives, presenting the values of the Kingdom. We are to people with a song on our hearts and lips, praising and glorifying God.

On a feast day such as this our thanksgiving is tinged with prophetic challenge. We face the complexity and delight of being united with the whole company of heaven; we look squarely at our world and attend to its cries.

Today we give thanks for those who have shaped us in our own journey of faith; and for all those men and women in every generation who have sought to reflect the love of God and to proclaim his Kingdom. They aren't known to us by name but they kindled a flame of faith that dwells in us.

They are our family in faith: cherished, anonymous, encouraging and provocative. For as much as there see family resemblances, our heritage has been forged by disagreements as well as being fostered by a divine vision. What is true of the past is true of our present.

We are called to live out of God's reality in a world longing for light. We won’t always agree or meet

the expectations of distinctiveness. Nevertheless, in praise of God we are rooted and reshaped; by his Spirit we are inspired and equipped to be a blessing in this world.  We walk in the footsteps of Christ, inspired by all the Saints. 

Shine as lights in the world: a people of praise and prophetic engagement. With all the saints in light: a distinctive and diverse people.

Jesus' teaching leaves us in no doubt about the challenge of living in such a community. The words of blessing and woes are so memorable that perhaps they lose their prophetic edge.

As he addresses a large group of followers Jesus lays the foundations of a renewed community.

And it is a community that exists among and for the most disadvantaged. It is a community called to challenge, transform and reconcile.

Jesus is addressing words of blessing to those who find themselves in desperate circumstances. This does not lessen the call for us, as saints, to hunger and thirst for righteousness; but it does draw our attention to the poor, the hungry and the grief stricken. This isn't a glorification of poverty or a complacent acceptance of the status quo. Rather it is a declaration of the radical reversal that takes place in God's Kingdom. When we pray for peace, compassion and justice, do we wait for God to act? Or do we expect ourselves to be changed as we become agents of peace, justice and compassion?  When we give thanks for food, warmth and fellowship, we can also act to be a blessing to those who are vulnerable?

Shine as lights in the world

Do people spend time with us and go away feeling more encouraged and motivated in their calling? Do our local councillors and MPs know the things that concern us - the changes we want to see for the sake of the common good? Last month, two hundred sixth form students who were studying RS or politics took part I'm a "Question Time" event organised by our Schools' Department. Not only did they ask difficult questions but they faced challenging answers. They wanted to look beyond self-interest to shared responsibility. They weren't preoccupied with the needs of their generation, but sought an equitable sharing of resources for old and young, privileged and lonely, for those yet to be born and those born in despair. Unlike Russell Brand, we did encourage them to vote and to play a part in our democratic process.

Too often we think being popular is more important to us than being prophetic. Those students, and Jesus' teaching, force us to face the challenge of intergenerational responsibility.  To stand with all the saints in light reminds us that our inheritance of hope subverts worldly priorities.  Sometimes the demands of the Kingdom will mean we are despised or misunderstood or criticised.

We can’t avoid the challenge. Woe to us when we lack generosity or gratitude; woe to us when we court popularity.  And then Jesus says: Do to others as you would have them do to you. That sounds doable. But what does that look like? He takes us beyond reciprocity and what is reasonable or sensible. Jesus says, even in the face of insult, excessive demands and all that makes us defensive, we are to love.

That is kind of vision, commitment and action we see in the lives of the saints.   That is why we give thanks for them; and why we pray to become like them. That in our own imperfection and frailty we might take down the barriers that separate us: the fear of vulnerability, our disagreements and lack of trust. We are to locate those things in Christ, in hope.

That "in-Christ-ness" began at our baptism and is deepened in prayer and praise:  we are caught up in a process of transformation; agents fulfilling God's purposes. To be members of this renewed community carries with it the responsibility for live in faith and hope and love, as lights in the world.

In worship our lives are re-shaped: we come before God as we are to receive forgiveness and grace; and the Spirit is already working within us. A sign if all that is to come. Thus our lives should be give glory and praise to God. Wouldn't it be amazing if it could be said so us: we've heard of your faith and your love of others. As members of the body of Christ, in this mother church if the diocese, that'd be a powerful witness.

If Luke reminds us that the gospel is about social, religious, economic and political justice; Paul reminds us that a church called to risk is called to pray. Prayer roots us in God; his wisdom enables is to see world differently: to be attentive and responsive to the cries we hear. So when we invite our colleagues and friends, professionals and students to engage with and discuss issues around compassion and care, we do so because we believe that our trust in God makes a difference to how we view the world. We do so because our hope isn't wishful thinking but awareness that creation is being drawn together in Christ. We do so because love, justice and compassion are marks of the Kingdom.

The challenges facing us in social care and within our health service are real; yet we have an opportunity to be a blessing.  The power of God made manifest in the resurrection is made manifest in new ways in us.  At a time of declining affiliations and increasingly loneliness we are to offer a different vision and a compelling pattern of life. We have been given a hope, a pledge and a promise there love conquers fear and builds up trust.

This is our prophetic calling. This is our eucharistic calling. Bound together in mutual love we are saints; the body of Christ. Here we receive a glimpse of the fullness of God in gifts of bread and wine; gifts of Christ's body and blood. We are drawn into the company of God's faithful and flawed people, called to mediate the fullness of him who fills all in all. 

All Saints: called to live distinctive lives rooted in God and responsive to the world; people of praise and prophetic action.  With all the saints in light shine as lights in the world. To the glory of God.