The church, full of beloved saints, is the living body of Christ, called to God’s mission in the world.

Vicar Bristol Reading
All Saints Day
Texts: Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

Beloved saints of God, grace to you and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The closest I have ever been to the body of Christ was at the place where that body died, Calvary, the site of Jesus’ crucifixion.

In Jesus’ day, Calvary was a rocky hill just outside the city gates of Jerusalem, where criminals were put to death. Today, it’s buried underneath an enormous, ornate church in the Old City. When you visit Calvary, you wait inside that church for hours alongside hundreds other religious pilgrims from all over the world. One by one, you kneel beneath the lavish gold altar that has been constructed over the spot. You have to get down on your hands and knees and actually crawl underneath it, and then you reach your hand into a hole in the floor under the altar, and at the bottom of the hole, you can touch stone, the ground that was beneath the cross of Christ.

You have traveled for days and waited for hours, but your chance to touch this particular stone lasts for only a few seconds. And, if you’re like me, you spend those few seconds trying to imagine that this very stone that you are touching with your body was once touched by the body of Jesus. You try to feel some kind of physical closeness to Christ, to reach underneath everything that humans have piled on over the years. And you think, “Maybe Jesus was here, right here. Maybe his feet, his hands, his blood touched this stone. Maybe this is the closest I’ll ever be to the real body of Christ.” And then your turn is over and you move on so another pilgrim can reach the very ground touched by God.

While I was away visiting the place where Jesus died, back home in Chicago my seminary advisor died.

Gordon was my wise teacher and trusted friend, an encourager and confidant in my journey as a ministerial leader. His death was unexpected, and it was jarring to receive this news on the other side of the world. The last time we’d spoken, neither of us had known he was sick, so we hadn’t said goodbye. For months after, it felt surreal that he was really gone, and I struggled to say out loud that he had died. But this morning, almost exactly ten months since his passing, I am ready to hear it out loud. I added Gordon’s name to the Book of Saints, so he will be lifted up in prayer, alongside all the precious ones we remember today.

There are countless stories about who these saints were and the impact they had on your lives. There are countless memories – of joy and sorrow – that fill this room as their names are read. We speak their names because there is power in naming. There is power in remembering. We remember the saints who have gone before us because their faithfulness inspires us to live faithfully. The way they embodied Christ to us, moves us to embody Christ in the world now.

We call these departed siblings in faith “saints,” not because their lives were flawless but because their lives were beloved.

They were – and are – loved by you, and they were and are infinitely loved by God. Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that one has to earn the designation of “saint,” by living a perfect life of selfless service. But in our tradition we name all the faithful as saints, knowing that we are all imperfect and we are all forgiven. Certainly we should do our very best to embody God’s compassion in our actions. Jesus tells us more than once that we are all called to care for any who are in need and to love even our enemies. But –   it is not human actions that make saints. It is God’s action: God’s boundless love, God’s unlimited mercy, that’s what makes saints of us all. Each life, marked by both weeping and laughter, is seen and valued by God. Every person, simultaneously saint and sinner, is held in God’s grace forever. No life is too broken, too painful, too sinful for God to be fully present. Everyone, no matter their circumstances, can be transformed by the Spirit for the sake of the Gospel.

Jesus’s words in Luke are a reminder of this; Jesus says that those who suffer are the inheritors of the riches of God’s kingdom.

Those who are poor, hungry, and excluded are called “blessed” in God’s reign. Blessing, then, doesn’t always entail feeling good or avoiding struggle. Blessing doesn’t equate to worldly success. If you measure the value of a life by what the world considers successful, you will miss the ways God’s spirit is at work in all people, no matter how successful they look according to the world’s standards. When we name and remember the saints who have gone before, we don’t remember their worldly success, we remember their faithfulness to God. Likewise, when we name and celebrate the saints who are newly baptized, we don’t claim for them the gift of wealth or comfort, but the gift of God’s Spirit and the call to God’s mission. The true blessing that is given to all the saints is the gracious love of God, abundant in this life and the next. An inheritance that is sure. A treasure that is eternal. It cannot be undone or taken away, not by hunger, not by poverty, not by suffering, not by death – thanks be to God!

And because that inheritance is sure and that treasure is eternal, you are freed.

You are freed by love of God, and freed to love your neighbor. You are sent out to proclaim the Gospel, the good news, with your words and with your deeds. And the good news is this: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Resurrection is the good news! God makes life possible where life seemed impossible. Christ’s death on the cross at Calvary was not the final word.

So the place where Jesus died was not the closest I’ve ever been to the body of Christ, because Christ’s body is not there on that rock of Calvary, because Christ’s body is not dead.

God’s resurrecting power is stronger than death, and has redeemed all of creation. And Paul tells us that the very same power that raised Christ from the dead is still at work in the world… in you. You are the living body of Christ. You, the saints of God, the ones marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, the ones sent into the world to serve, you are Christ’s body. The body of Christ is here, right here, alive in the faithful saints of God: saints that have passed into eternal life, saints that are living out the mission of the Gospel right now, and saints that are being baptized into new life every day. The church, full of beloved saints, is the body of Christ that is being made new again and again. That is the power of resurrection, and that is the power of God in you.

Amen.

Life in Christ is abundance and blessing, even in this frightening world, and it is freedom: freedom to truly live, and freedom to help others also find life and freedom in Christ.

Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
The Sunday of the Reformation
Texts: John 8:31-36, with references to much of John’s Gospel; Jeremiah 31:31-34

Note for online readers: This sermon came on the heels of doing a five week Bible study on John’s view of salvation – life in Christ in God’s reign – and John’s theology, along with Jesus’ words in John, were fresh in my mind as I wrote. But the sermon was written out of John 8:31-36 (with brief note to Jeremiah 31:31-34), the text for the day. There was so much in this brief Gospel reading that resonated in my heart with the rest of John’s Gospel, after being so immersed in it for two months. This wasn’t an exercise in fitting in Scripture quotes, in other words; I simply wrote the sermon I felt God was calling out. But after Sunday’s liturgy, I was curious to see if I could track all the references in the whole of John that ended up in this sermon, so I went through and noted them. (There are a couple instances of repeat references I didn’t include.) In hopes that it might be helpful for those who read the sermon online to look up things for themselves, for further study, I offer them here. If they’re not needed, try to ignore the footnote markers! I think they’re a little distracting to reading and to flow, so you could also simply watch the video and avoid them. – Pr. Joseph Crippen

 

Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

“If you continue in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”¹

Try to grasp what Christ Jesus is offering you: “If you remain in my Word, that means you are, in truth, my disciples, and in that reality, you will also know the truth, and in that knowing, you will be made free.”²

We know these beloved words well. Yet we often seem to just admire them and regularly miss the profound, life-shaping gift Jesus offers in them. Do you ever experience it?

That’s John’s question in writing this Gospel.³ John believes if you did realize just what Jesus was offering you, you’d have an abundant life,⁴ a life that experiences light in the darkness of this world,⁵ a life that quenches your deepest inner thirst,⁶ a life that feeds and satisfies you like nothing else you know.⁷ A life where you are truly free.⁸

If such a life sounds wonderful to you, then listen to Jesus’ words today and consider whether you can trust him.

The path to trusting begins with remembering: Jesus is the Word.⁹ Jesus is the truth.¹⁰

“Remaining in my Word” simply means living life connected to the very life of Christ, God’s eternal Word in the world.¹¹ It’s God’s Word written on your heart, as Jeremiah promises.¹² It’s being joined to the Vine that fills you with life, as Jesus says later in John.¹³ “Knowing the Truth” is simply knowing Jesus,¹⁴ God-with-us,¹⁵ the Word-Made-Flesh,¹⁶ and as Jesus repeatedly says in John, that means knowing God,¹⁷ through life in the Spirit.¹⁸

So Jesus says: stay with me, connected to me,¹⁹ and you will know God’s intention for you and the creation – God’s Word – and you will know the very heart of God for you and for the creation – God’s Truth.

That’s how you find light in the darkness, by trusting in Jesus and holding tight.²⁰ That’s how you are quenched to your very core, by trusting in Jesus and being filled.²¹ That’s how your deepest hungers are met, by trusting Jesus and taking him into your deepest center.²² The Meal of Life we celebrate each week is a real eating and drinking of Christ’s life into you. But this connection with Christ is also available to you always through the Spirit,²³ not just at Holy Communion. God’s very Word²⁴ and God’s very Truth²⁵ – Christ Jesus – in your heart. That’s where you find true freedom.²⁶

And Jesus’ promise assumes that this Truth, this Word, are given you because this world is frightening and challenging, to help you live freely in it.

In John, Jesus offers life to a foreign woman, estranged from her community, and fills her with conviction of God’s love and welcome, even in her challenging circumstances.²⁷ Jesus heals a man blind from birth, but more, is God’s presence with him, changing this man’s life.²⁸ Jesus offers himself to Mary and Martha and they know him as God’s living, resurrection life, even in their grief, and even before he raises Lazarus.²⁹ Again and again, knowing and trusting Jesus in John doesn’t always change people’s outer circumstances.³⁰ But they find freedom and joy and hope in God’s new birth³¹ that trusting Jesus gives them. They live in God’s Word, they know God’s Truth, and they are changed.

Listen to what Jesus promises you and the world:

I am the Light of the World, Jesus says.³² The world is still filled with darkness, but you can see when you hold on to me.

I am the Bread of Life, Jesus says.³³ You might still have physical pain and difficulty and needs, but if you hold me within you, I will satisfy you fully.

I am the Gate of the sheep³⁴ and I am the Good Shepherd,³⁵ Jesus says. Even with the wolves of fear and doubt threatening and the beasts of hatred and oppression crushing so many of God’s children, I will be with you and all my children, always.

I am the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus says.³⁶ So even if you die, you will live, and better, if you trust in me now, remain in me, you’ll find life in God now that will change you forever.

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus says.³⁷ Holding on to me, you’ll find your way in this world, you’ll know the truth that God loves you and all things, and you will have life within you, no matter what happens to you.

And I am the True Vine, Jesus says.³⁸ Stay connected to me, which means you’re connected to God, and the life that I flow in you will produce the same sacrificial love that I have for the creation that will save all things.³⁹ Your love will be a part of saving all things for God, too.⁴⁰

This is true freedom, freedom indeed, that Jesus offers you.⁴¹

Freedom from anxiety and worry: you belong to God and no matter what happens, God will always be with you, in life or in death.⁴² Freedom from fear of your sinfulness and flaws: you are loved forever by God and your sins are forgiven, forgotten.⁴³ Freedom from the possessions that claim ownership of you: you have the life of Christ in you, and are free to let go of these false gods that can’t truly satisfy you.⁴⁴ Freedom from blindness to your privilege and power: you are a branch of the Vine of love that gives up all power and privilege, even divine life, for the sake of love of the other,⁴⁵ and you are free to love in that same way.⁴⁶

This is the freedom Jesus offers you. Freedom indeed, true freedom to live, no matter what the circumstances of your life might be.⁴⁷

And living this is true discipleship.

Because knowing this freedom makes you Christ, like Jesus.⁴⁸ You become a servant:⁴⁹ a washer of feet,⁵⁰ a bringer of light to others’ darkness.⁵¹ You become someone whose vulnerable, sacrificial love fills up others in their deepest need,⁵² quenches the thirst of a world longing for justice.⁵³ You become a shepherd who not only works to protect others from the harm of this world but who works to change this world so that all might find green pasture and clean water, hope and life.⁵⁴

When you are free in Christ, you not only know the abundant life Jesus longs for you to know.⁵⁵ You become a sign of that resurrection life in the world, so others might be drawn to the love of God in Christ and be free indeed themselves.

“If you remain in me,” Jesus says, “this is what will happen to you, and to the world.” ⁵⁶

So where else would you want to remain, to be, to live?

In the name of Jesus.  Amen

Note: Scripture footnotes are below the video.

 

Scripture references:
[1] John 8:31-32
[2] John 8:31-32
[3] John 20:31
[4] John 10:10
[5] John 1:3-4; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9; 12:46
[6] John 4:13-14; 6:35; 7:37-38
[7] John 6:27, 33, 35, 50-51
[8] John 8:36
[9] John 1:1, 14
[10] John 14:6
[11] John 1:1-2
[12] Jeremiah 31:33
[13] John 15:4-5
[14] John 14:6-7; 18:37
[15] John 1:1, 18
[16] John 1:14
[17] John 1:1-3, 18; 5:19-23, 37-38; 7:28-29; 8:18-19; 14:7-9; 15:23
[18] John 3:5-8, 34
[19] John 15
[20] John 1, 8, 9, 11, 12
[21] John 4
[22] John 6
[23] John 3
[24] John 1
[25] John 14, 18
[26] John 8
[27] John 4
[28] John 9
[29] John 11
[30] Sometimes it does – Cana, a man healed on Sabbath. Sometimes it doesn’t – the woman caught in adultery. Sometimes it takes time for people to trust Jesus for life because of their circumstances – Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea – but they come around. And sometimes there’s faltering in the trust – the disciples on Thursday through Saturday of Holy Week, including Peter and Judas – but they are welcomed back into trust, forgiven, loved (which would have included Judas had he lived, I’m convinced.)
[31] John 3
[32] John 8:12; 9:5, 39; 11:9-10; 12:35-36, 46; 16:1
[33] John 6:35, 48, 51, 53-58
[34] John 10:7-10
[35] John 10:11-18
[36] John 11:25-26
[37] John 14:6-7
[38] John 15:1
[39] John 15:5, 9
[40] John 15:16-17
[41] John 8
[42] John 10:11-18, 27-29
[43] John 3:16-17
[44] John 6:27, 49, 58, 63, 66-68
[45] John 3:14-15; 8:28; 12:31-32; 15:13, 20
[46] John 13:12-16, 34-35
[47] John 8
[48] John 17:18, 21
[49] John 13:16
[50] John 13:12-15
[51] John 12:36
[52] John 13:34-35; 14:21; 15:12-14
[53] John 4
[54] John 21:15-17
[55] John 10:10
[56] John 8:31-36