We remember. We press on: The Feast of All Saints

I recently had the pleasure of presiding at a wedding. It was wonderful. The bride and groom gathered with family in the Chancel. The flowers were perfect, the music glorious. And the bride and groom themselves were delightful. As they bound themselves to one another, I had a glimpse of God’s presence in our midst. It was a moment of God’s mercy, grace, and of course, love: faithful, honest love.

You may know that First Corinthians chapter 13 is one of the most popular readings for a wedding. Perhaps you’ve heard it: Love is patient, love is kind… Speaking for myself, I rarely listen to the whole text anymore. I think I already know it. Yet, when I really listen and seek to follow Paul’s guidance on love, I am transformed. 
Over the last few years, I’ve found that the Beatitudes have also become popular for weddings. And I’m always so pleased when couples choose this portion of the Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes invite us to experience God amidst some hard realities in our lives. If a couple chooses this reading, they seem to acknowledge that hard things will come.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…” 

A bit easier to ponder for some than Luke’s version: “Blessed are you who are poor…” (Lk 16: 20) To be honest, I’m not really sure what it means. Are we poor in spirit when we are feeling sad or lonely? Are we poor in spirit when we recognize our dependence on God? Is this a bit like the first will be the last and the last will be first?

“Blessed are those who mourn…” 

Do we imagine there is blessing in our mourning? Probably not while we are deeply in our mourning. Yet, when we hold one another in our grief, when we share our sorrows with one another, blessings come. There is a sacredness, a sacrament of God’s community and kin_dom, when we mourn.

“Blessed are the meek…” 

Indeed, every relationship and community benefits from patience and gentleness. And people I know who practice these (meekness, humility) are blessings, to me, in and of themselves. 

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” 

We all know that life is uncertain and there will be moments of grief and humility. To me, this beatitude, though, presents a particular challenge. How do we hunger or thirst for righteousness? What is righteousness; who decides? Many of Jesus’ teachings challenge us to move from self-righteousness to righteousness, from moral superiority to justification. Justification or sanctification in the Christian life comes from binding our life to Christ. In other words, we are made holy by the ministry of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. When we hunger for Christ in our lives, we come close to God.

“Blessed are the merciful…the pure in heart…the peacemakers…” 

These are all fairly palatable and strong wisdom for marriage, or any relationship. Mercy, faithfulness, peace making make for good connections in community. They are primary ways to love God and our neighbor.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake…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…”

These last few verses are very compelling and uncomfortable. Couples are inclined to leave these out for their wedding. (Rare is the person who wants to equate marriage with persecution.) These two Beatitudes are very specific to the Christian life: what does it mean to bind our life to Christ? How do we live as peace makers, loving God and our neighbor? Will it require our social standing, hostility and criticism, even our lives? Following Christ may cost us something, more than just giving up our way. When we choose Christ’s way over any other, we come very close to God, like the prophets, like the saints. These Beatitudes are stark reminders that God’s ways come first, above human glory; and, our desire for human glory can be hard to shed.

The Greek word we translate as blessed is makarios. If there’s anything I’ve learned studying the Beatitudes it is this: this word does not naturally translate to English. Blessed could mean happy. Except, makarios doesn’t mean happy the way we imagine happiness. Rarely is anyone who is mourning walking around joyful and laughing. Blessed could mean blessed; but, again, not the way we mean commonly mean blessed. We often consider being blessed along the lines of being prosperous, fortunate, or enviable. Rarely do we equate persecution with fortune or prosperity. Blessed could mean greatly honored. That translation helps me the most. Indeed, I honor those who mourn, the humble or meek, the merciful, and the peacemakers. And, perhaps that’s a good motivator for embodying The Beatitudes. Whatever translation works for us, the point is that these ways, the ways highlighted by The Beatitudes, are closest to the ways of God. 

We can find God in self-less-ness, grief, humility, a desire for doing what is right, and compassion. We will find God when we seek peace and righteousness, when we follow God’s ways before any other. If we’re looking for God’s plan, if we’re looking for ways of belonging, if we’re looking for the image of God, The Beatitudes are a clue.

This is why we read The Beatitudes on All Saints’ Day. Consider anyone you imagine a saint (we’re about to read a long list), do we imagine that their lives resemble the ways found in The Beatitudes? 
I didn’t know St. Francis or St. Clare. And we consider them saints. Their lives are measured in acts of mercy, humility, and an ardent desire for righteousness. 

You don’t know The Groundhog Queen. She isn’t perfect. And she’s a lot of fun. She is loving and kind, gracious and self-giving. She is humble and pure of heart. She has borne deep grief. My friend, The Groundhog Queen, is joyful in the Lord. She wants nothing more than to share that joy with you. She is a saint. 

I never met Bishop Pierce, Mary Worthen, Jim Moseley, or Gordon Wittenburg. Yet, they are saints in the life of this parish. Men and women who sought the ways of God in their life and the life of this church.

The Feast of All Saints is the day to remember. The heart of Christian community is the desire to follow Christ: to pursue righteousness, God’s way of love, to risk seeking God before ourselves. The life of faith is marked by poverty of spirit, mourning, humility, and mercy; markers often scorned, belittled, and feared by our culture. Our community bears the marks of those who came close to God right here on Spring Street. It was no easy task building community on the corner of 17th and Spring Street. Many people gave, and continue to give, generous offerings of themselves to this place. And, even if they found glory in these offerings, it is Christ who reigns. Enter into the Garth, the Garden, the Cathedral and we will find ourselves surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses: lives measured in acts of love rooted in something greater than themselves. We remember.

And we press on. This afternoon (Tomorrow evening), as I’m installed as the Dean and Rector, we will also baptize two adults. Perhaps this is a holy coincidence. More likely, this is God’s way of nudging us closer to who God calls us to be: a gentle reminder that the life of the Cathedral is not about us. Our life together is a sign and symbol, a sacrament, of something greater than ourselves. God is working, at all times and in all places, to reconcile us to God’s self. As we seek Christ’s ways, we bind ourselves to his life, death, and resurrection: we are raised to new life in Him. Our community, yoked in Christ’s love for the world, has the power to bring God’s reconciling love to the world. If we remember anything today, may it be that we are a community of God’s saints: those who strive to seek God, to follow Christ, in all times and all places.

Over the last few months, I have experienced the great pleasure it is to be “The Dean.” Of course, I long to know more of you and more about each of you. And, what I already know, what you’ve already taught me about you, is: kindness, hospitality, a deep desire to serve, and your hunger for God. I know that you grieve, personal and communal losses. And I know that you hope, that you believe God raises us up from what presses in on us. I am honored to grieve with you, to dream about the future, to bind our hopes together. I am delighted to be a member of this community of God’s saints.

I am so excited for our future. I know it will not be easy. Our desire to love God and our neighbors is our foundation as we face any challenge. We know hard things will come. And we know we will experience God in the midst of them. Blessed are we when we search for God and find God. Blessed are we when we mourn, for we will find comfort.

Blessed are we when we seek ways of meekness, righteousness, purity, and peacemaking, for we will come close to God. And may God grant us strength and courage to keep searching, keep following, keep showing up, that we may see God again and again and again…Alleluia! And thanks be to God!