Present Tense

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
November 6, 2022

All Saints Day

One afternoon many years ago, I received a call from the husband of my close friend and mentor of about 35 years. His wife, my beloved friend, had been sick for a year. I had been to Arkansas to visit her twice during that year and both visits were deep and rich. We had the kind of friendship where we could be apart for several years and then pick up right where we left off, like no time had elapsed at all.

When her husband called that afternoon, the situation was deteriorating rapidly and my friend was only expected to live a few more hours, or a day at best. While the news was not unexpected, I was crushed nonetheless. I knew I could not get to Arkansas in time, and really did not feel called to be there. So I asked her husband "What can I do?" Of course, I thought he would say "Keep us in your prayers." Instead, he said "Just get out there and be the best priest you know how to be."

On All Saints Sunday, we remember those who have gone before us and their impact on our lives. The music, the candles, and the names evoke powerful emotions within us as we remember those who, in the words of the Burial service, "we love but see no longer." We remember those whose lives touched our own, as well as the people the church has named the "official" saints, like St. Peter or St. Mary. All Saints Sunday evokes tears of both joy and sadness as we celebrate these lives that are now lived in the nearer presence of God, and we pause for a moment to simply dwell in those memories.

On All Saints Sunday, while we remember the past and dream of a future in which God will reunite us with our loved ones, Jesus grounds us firmly in the present with the present tense words of the beatitudes. The reassuring words "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God" quickly become "Woe to you who are rich for you have received your consolation." The comforting words "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh" become "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep." Jesus begins the beatitudes with words of comfort which quickly turn to words of challenge and judgement.  These are not the words I want to hear on All Saints Sunday.

What are we to make of Jesus’ words this morning?  Jesus fed thousands of hungry people with a few fish and loaves of bread. Jesus had mercy on tears of grief and raised the dead. Jesus befriended the poor and the outcast, healing the lepers and the blind so they could rejoin society and be productive. Jesus certainly did not glorify hungry, sorrow and poverty with his actions. If Jesus worked so hard with his actions to feed the hungry, comfort the sorrowful, and lift people out of poverty, what could his words this morning possibly mean?

On All Saints Sunday, Jesus does not tell us that hunger, poverty, and misery are good things. What Jesus does is invite us into the Kingdom of God where those who have food share with those who are hungry, and those who are joyful comfort those who mourn, and those who are blessed with material resources share with those in need.  Then the hungry will be fed, and those who weep will laugh again.  When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, and give to everyone who begs from us, Jesus is inviting us to make the Kingdom of God a present reality in our midst now.  The Kingdom of God is not a magical place where all of the problems of the world are suddenly solved.  The Kingdom of God is a real place that is brought into existence in our midst when everyone does to others as they would have them to themselves, everyone is loving their enemies, doing good to those who hate them, and on and on.  On All Saints Sunday, Jesus calls us to remember those who worked to make the Kingdom of God a present reality in the world and to commit ourselves to that same work.

          This morning, we baptize Anna Longenecker into the body of Christ.  In baptism, she joins the communion of saints we celebrate this day.  In baptism, her parents and godparents promise to help her grow into the full stature of Christ and to work to bring the Kingdom of God near.  With Anna, we all promise to seek and serve Christ in all people, respect the dignity of every human being, and work for justice and peace.  When we do that work, the hungry are fed, the sorrowful are comforted, the poor are blessed, and the Kingdom of God is in our midst.

On All Saints Sunday, we remember those who have gone before us because their lives showed us how to bring the Kingdom of God near. We sing the great hymns, light the candles, read the names, and say the prayers, not just because they comfort us, but because they remind us that we, like all the saints, are called to live into our baptism and be a gospel witness in the world. When I asked my friend’s husband what I could do in the face of her death, he did not say to me "light a candle, say a prayer, or sing a really great hymn.” He said "Get out there and be the best priest you can be." The saints in our lives are the ones who call us, who challenge us, to trust in Jesus and get out there and live our lives such that the world around us will experience the Kingdom of God in their midst.

Amen