SERMON FOR THE SUNDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF ALL SAINTS

Preached at the Church of All Saints, Blackheath

at Parish Mass on November 3rd, 2019

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Readings: Dan 7:1-3, 15-18, Eph. 1:11-23 and Luke 6: 20-31

‘Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father X,

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.’

INTRODUCTION

If this were a Russian, Greek, Romanian or any Orthodox Church that’s how this Mass would have begun.  And, in so doing, we’d be reminded that, through this Liturgy – this great work we offer – we enter the Kingdom of our Three-Personed God. 

We may be in Blackheath but the curtain is being opened into heaven and we offer this sacrificial work of prayer and praise for God and the well-being of all Creation.  It expresses the mystery of our union with the place where saints and angels dwell; the mystery of Jesus’ work of reconciliation; that all things might be brought back into their right relationship in God.  And it places you and I who gather here in that most intimate relationship with the Reign of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to which we cry: Amen – so be it! 

And that, sisters and brothers, is why we gather here.  That is what we are baptised into; it’s the work we’re engaged in, in this Liturgy.  What Jesus invites us to realise through this and every Mass – to enter into the Life-giving Mysteries of the Kingdom.  Here, right now, we stand in the presence, not only of God but also the whole company of heaven, and today’s continuing celebration of the Feast of All Saints is a specific reminder of that truth.  And to draw our attention to the fact that this is a foretaste of what is to come, the church in which I last served, like many others, had above its entrance doors these words from the book of Genesis:

‘Hic Domus Dei est et Porta Coeli’

This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven! (28:17).

For this and every building where the Liturgy is celebrated symbolises that new heaven where God dwells with his people, and all that is done here needs to focus our attention on that one simple mystery – the relationship of all people, living and departed, with God. And each of you are also Church, your whole body the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  You have the gate of heaven within your heart – open and enter it!

THE BEATITUDES

That kingdom is rooted in the teachings of Jesus’ which we heard read – the Beatitudes.  These ‘instructions’, these observations, are of such importance that, in the Orthodox Church, they are always sung as the Book of Gospels is carried into the church through the iconostasis, that great screen portraying the saints surrounding Christ in heaven – of which this is a reminder.  So let’s just reflect on the Beatitude’s for a moment. 

I’m sure you’ll recognise that they are somewhat counter-cultural – and always have been.  They speak of how to live a blessed life, a life which brings us into the right relationship with God and our neighbour.  A life which is the opposite of our aggressive, violent, winner-takes-all, make-as- much-money-as-you-can culture; but they will enable us to become what we are created to be: fully human.  It’s only Matthew and Luke who record them in their gospels.  They form the basis of Jesus teaching which he wanted to impress on His disciples – they’re His Mission Statement, if you like.    

CONDITION AND RESULT

Each consists of two phrases – a condition and a result.  Luke’s beatitudes concern physical, rather than spiritual, conditions – the poor, the hungry, those who weep and those who are hated.  And, in so doing, reflects his profound concern for social justice.  So his ‘woes’ are aimed at those who experience the opposite – those who have too much; who think life’s a joke, who lack that most important virtue – humility – and each are warned of woes to come.  They gave rise to the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy enjoined on all Christians: 

Feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty;

clothe the naked; shelter the homeless;

visit the sick and those in prison;

- and bury the dead.

BEATITUDES and KINGDOM OF GOD

Now, if I were to ask you what you really, really wanted in life, I wonder what you’d say? …  For some it’s all about ‘eat, drink and be happy’.  But is life really about getting as much as you can?  Doing what you want?  Feeling important … successful …  Are these the goals and values we want to impress on future generations?  That make us human?  Or are there more important ones at which to aim?

The ‘Beatitudes’ are unique to Christianity; they point to how we might live a truly content, complete, worthwhile life – a life that’s a source of blessing.  Which is why they are offered today – this is the way walked by the saints, the way of – holiness.  For Luke, faith has to have a practical application; and if it doesn’t then, ultimately,  we’re the losers.  But if we heed the teachings of Jesus then we will come to be at one with our Lady and all the Saints in glory and share with them in the Beatific Vision of God.  This is our destiny and we’re to live out the Reign of God here on earth as it is in heaven. 

THE DEPARTED – ALL SOULS

But what about all the others?  Those who didn’t quite make it?  Well, yesterday, we remembered the Souls who have passed from this life and who wait to be part of that glorious vision. 

November, traditionally, is dedicated to the Holy Souls with Masses offered for them whenever possible.  We don’t often talk about the departed: most of us have lost loved ones and it can be a painful matter for some to have to consider death.  But, at the heart of our Faith lies this simple desire – that with all the Saints we might be re-united with our Maker in the love and joy and wonder of heaven.  That’s the promise that awaits you and I!  We know that, when we die, we will be rewarded in accordance with our faith and our works – as St. John of the Cross said: ‘At the end of our days, we shall be judged by our loving.’ 

So we believe that before we can enter into the presence of God there’s a time of preparation just as there would be when we go to a party.  Just how long that will last, depends on the individual, but as the psalmist said:

To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night. (Ps.90:4)

That’s why we pray for the departed and offer Masses on their behalf.  For us, heaven is to be at one in love with the Trinity and all the Saints.  Scripture speaks of this state in images: life, light, peace, a wedding feast, the Father's house, the heavenly Jerusalem, Paradise:

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him."  (1 Cor.2:9 cf. Is.64:4) 

But these are all images – metaphors – which try to express the inexpressible; as Peter Abelard wrote in the 12th cent. and which we’ll sing during Communion:

O what their joy and their glory must be,
those endless Sabbaths the blessèd ones see;
crown for the valiant, to weary ones rest:
God shall be All, and in all ever blest.

So at our death we may pass immediately to a life with the saints in heaven or spend time being prepared for that life. 

CONCLUSION         

But for today we celebrate all who share in that vision of God which St. John the Divine wrote about in his great Book of Revelations towards which baptism is the first step – entrance into the death and resurrection of Christ who lives, now, in the glory of heaven.  That state of being we’re open to every time we celebrate Mass; where, with  our Lady, the Apostles and Martyrs and that ‘great multitude which no one (can) count from every nation’ stand around the altar-throne of God, as St. John describes.

So let me end with a poem by Fr. Malcolm Guite for Halloween, the Eve of All Saints, which reminds us of this calling:

Though Satan breaks our dark glass into shards

Each shard still shines with Christ’s reflected light,

It glances from the eyes, kindles the words

Of all his unknown saints.

The dark is bright

With quiet lives and steady lights undimmed,

The witness of the ones we shunned and shamed.

Plain in our sight and far beyond our seeing

He weaves them with us in the web of being

They stand beside us even as we grieve,

The lone and left behind whom no one claimed,

Unnumbered multitudes, he lifts above

The shadow of the gibbet and the grave,

To triumph where all saints are known and named;

The gathered glories of His wounded love.

BLIND GUIDES - FALSE PROPHETS

THE SECOND READING at Morning Prayer today (July 18th) told the story of Jesus' giving sight to a blind beggar sitting at a roadside near Jericho (Luke 18.35f).  This theme of blindness needing healing occurs at other times in the gospels and not only in relation to individuals seeking healing; there are occasions when it concerns those exercising power.  For such people can be blind to all that does not serve their ends: they can be people blinded by the 'gods of this world' to 'keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.' (2 Corinthians 4.4f)

Light is a universal symbol of life and when we are blinded or light is extinguished - when we can no longer 'see' what is happening - then fear will stalk the streets with increasing impunity.  Because of the way we all need light in order to exist and know our way, we love the light and are suspicious of those who prefer darkness (John 3.19).  So St John would write: ‘In (Christ) was life and that life was the light of the world’ (John 1.4).  In a similar way darkness has become synonymous with death and ‘blindness’ with not seeing, something Jesus pointed out as he said that we should walk in the light of life (1 John 1.5).  John went so far as to point out that if we say that we are one with the Light but walk in darkness (and tell others to walk in the same way) 'we lie and do not do what is true'. Christianity has gone further and recognised that such darkness isn't just a matter of not seeing but it also allows something deeper and more corrosive to spread - something that has been named as 'evil'.

From time immemorial it has been realised that light can become corrupted, so one of the names of Satan – the ‘deceiver’ who rebelled against God – is ‘Lucifer’, which means ‘Light Bringer’.  Whatever the origins of that mythology it resonates with the way in which good can become poisoned. Jesus told us to beware of ‘blind guides’ (Matthew 15) who lead people astray, and in a similar way said we could recognise such guides (false prophets) by the fruit they produced (Matthew 7.15f).

From the time when Rome began to exert power over Israel (around 140 BC), this understanding of the way in which nations can also be corrupted led to the notion that ‘false-messiahs’ would arise, those who claim they can lead their followers to a ‘promised land’. Such ‘pseudo-christs’, or anti-christs, appear from time to time, especially when people cease believing in the goodness of God and lose their faith or when they have begun to place their faith in something other than the light of Christ.  Then ‘false-prophets’ can appear and fill the void left by the absence of God, something history repeatedly shows and of which there are too many recent examples - Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot etc.  The demagogue, whose  love is for money and power, can easily become the dictator and the dictator is always the child of Satan, the deceiver, and Satan has always been understood to always be recruiting new disciples.  Sometimes it is not difficult to recognise them (but we may not like to name them) and they will always have a great appeal - they will want to attract people to them.  But it is by their fruits we can tell recognise them - not least how they treat God's 'little one's'.  Which is why the Beatitudes have been understood as the guide to walking in the light (Matthew 5.1-16)

How long shall my enemy triumph over me? 

Look upon me and answer, O Lord my God;

lighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

Lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him,’

and my foes rejoice that I have fallen. (Psalm 13.3f)

REALISING THE DIGNITY TO WHICH WE ARE CALLED

‘Rouse yourself, man, and recognize the dignity of your nature. Remember that you were made in God’s image; though corrupted in Adam, that image has been restored in Christ. Use creatures as they should be used: the earth, the sea, the sky, the air, the springs and the rivers. Give praise and glory to their Creator for all that you find beautiful and wonderful in them. See with your bodily eyes the light that shines on earth, but embrace with your whole soul and all your affections the true light which enlightens every man who comes into this world. Speaking of this light the prophet said: ‘Draw close to him and let his light shine upon you and your face will not blush with shame.’ If we are indeed the temple of God and if the Spirit of God lives in us, then what every believer has within himself is greater than what he admires in the skies.’ (Pope St Leo the Great: Sermo 7 in Nativitate Domini, 2.6; PL 54, 217-218, 220-221).

            Humanity is capable of the greatest acts of kindness, generosity, selflessness and creativity – and we are also capable of their opposite. Looking at the world many often see only the negative effects of our humanity rather than the most beautiful or people who claim to have faith in a creative God seem to be inspired by the dark forces that lurk in the shadows. We have a capacity for good and ill and often forget that we have to strive for the good for the latter comes easily. For centuries the wonders of which we are capable have been attributed to God and, affirming that we have the image of God within us, saints like Francis of Assisi, Charles de Foucauld, Teresa of Calcutta and a myriad of others have striven to emulate and incarnate the grace of God in their lives. The power of the opposite to truth, beauty and goodness has also been recognised and named as evil or the work of Satan. As western society has rejected, denied or ignored the notion of God and Godliness the notion of evil, of dark forces which can corrupt us, has continued to catch peoples attention and worked on their imagination and  examples of wickedness can seem to be more apparent than those of goodness.

            Into this condition St Leo’s words echo: Rouse yourself, man, and recognize the dignity of your nature and I wonder if we have we forgotten the dignity by which we can live, a dignity that needs working at because it’s easy to fall victim to hatred and violence – physical, emotional or spiritual. Our age is one which needs saints – women and men who place a premium on living out of our human dignity and who are prepared to spend time and energy cultivating goodness in their lives; who hear the call to live out of our blessedness rather than our selfishness.

            Jesus said:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall 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 pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, 

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you

and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven,

for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’ (Matthew 5.1-12)