“Who Are These?”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today we celebrate
the Feast of All Saints. We celebrate both the saints in heaven and the saints
on earth. We just sang: “O blest
communion, fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all
are one in Thee, for all are Thine.” As we sing that hymn, we can't help
but think of our own family members and friends who have died in the faith,
those we have loved who are now praising God with heavenly anthems more
beautiful than anything that we dare to imagine. As we sing that hymn, we are
reminded that, by God's grace, we will enter into that victory celebration that
has no end. For our God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
The Book of
Revelation gives us a glimpse of this in the heavenly liturgy. We often hear
people talking about the need to be multi-cultural or cross-cultural. Too often
that language is used as a cover for those who would attack western culture—the
supposed culture of dead, white, European males. But here in the Book of
Revelation, we have genuine multi-cultural worship: those from all nations,
tribes, peoples, and tongues are joined together in a single liturgy, centered
in the Lamb of our salvation, Jesus Christ. They do not come with many
different songs; with one accord they chant, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
And they are joined by the angels, the elders, and the four living creatures in
the worship of the Trinity as that celestial choir sings, “Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and
might, be to our God forever and ever!” From all nations, tribes, peoples,
and tongues they come; but their song is singular as they glorify the eternal
God who gave His Son to be the Savior of the world.
The liturgy of
heaven and earth revolves around the Lamb of God. Christian worship is Christ-centered.
He is present here to bless us with His words of pardon and peace. He is here
with His body, born of Mary and hung on a cross, to give us His blood-bought
gifts of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. The whole Divine Service
points to Him.
The liturgy does
not belong to us; it belongs to the Triune God. The Divine Service is God's service to us by means of His Word and
Sacraments. Salvation belongs to our God. That is what He gives us here. We do
not come here to be entertained, but to be built up in faith in Jesus Christ.
We learn from the saints and angels how to worship God, how to receive His
gifts in faith, how to confess Him as the author and finisher of our faith.
Who are these
saints? The elder before the throne tells John, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” These are the
blessed ones our Lord tells us about: those who recognized their own spiritual
poverty; those who mourned over their sin; those who were reviled, persecuted,
and slandered for the sake of the Lord and His Gospel. The great tribulation is
the life of the Christian under the cross. You see, the saints have no
self-made holiness. Their holiness is the blood of Christ that cleanses us from
all sin. They wear the white robe of His righteousness that covers their shame
and wraps them up in the forgiveness of sins. Through that righteousness they
have access to the presence of the living God.
“We feebly struggle, they in glory shine.”
But like those who have gone before, we are saints. We are saints because the
blood of the Lamb has atoned for our sin. The white robe of Christ's
righteousness with which they are clothed is also our beauty and glorious dress,
given us in our Baptism. They wave the palm branches of victory because the
Lamb has triumphed. Death could not hold Him in its icy grip; and because He
has been raised from the dead, we have the pledge of eternal life. “And when the fight is fierce, the warfare
long, steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and hearts are brave again,
and arms are strong.”
Our Lord has won
the victory. And we are one with our Lord Jesus. Through Him, we are also one
with those who have gone before us. The Feast of All Saints gives us a glimpse
of that unseen reality. What comfort that is to us who still feebly struggle!
We are not alone. As we gather around the Lamb, we are surrounded by the saints
who have gone before us and saints who still live on this earth. We are members
of His church, partakers of the communion of saints. And we are blessed, for by
the blood of Jesus, we are saints. And today we join with all the saints of all
times and places in their heavenly liturgy. In the name of the Father and of
the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment