All Saints'

Matthew 5:1-12- All Saints Sunday - November 6, 2011 

  The Blessedness of the Christian Life

November 1^st was All Saints’ Day.  But we celebrate this holiday today in order to remember those saints who have gone before us.  But what exactly is a saint?  To be a saint is to be sinless, and perfectly holy.  Our Epistle reading from Revelation 7 provides the most excellent definition: “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.”  Even in heaven, a saint’s identity continues to be found, not in his or her own good works, but in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  A saint is one who is blessed by God. 

Although saints certainly do good works on earth, and they are indeed rewarded in heaven, a saint is a saint not because of his own righteousness that he earned by obeying the law.  A saint is a saint because he receives Christ’s righteousness that Jesus earned by obeying the law in our place.  God calls them saints who have been baptized into the death of Christ and share in His resurrection victory over sin and the grave.  A saint is one who while yet living on earth reasoned accordingly: Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; I am a sinner; therefore Jesus took away my sin too.  That’s what a saint believes.  And God counts this faith to him as righteousness and calls him holy.  A saint is one who has washed his robe in Jesus’ blood, and it has come out spotless, and it remains spotless forever.  That’s what a saint is. 

We are saints.  We are also sinners.  We are saints and yet, while we remain in these bodies of corruption, we are sinners at the same time.  This seems to be a great contradiction.  But the life that we live as saints we live by faith in Jesus, and so we can’t see our saintliness in ourselves.  But we see it in Christ.  What we do see and feel in ourselves is the life that we live as sinners.  It is marked by sorrows as we struggle against the desires of our fallen flesh, and as we suffer the consequences.  The saints of God are oppressed by sin from without and from within.  It is a constant battle. 

The reason there is so much pain in the world is because of sin.   When loved-ones grow ill or when tragedy disrupts our lives, it is because of sin. When homes are broken, or when children have no father, it is because of sin.  In order to talk about heaven and about our departed Christian loved ones who now live with God in heavenly joy – to even begin such a pleasant discussion requires that we first consider and acknowledge the unpleasant reality of our sin.  This doesn’t mean that we must trace all our sadness and pain to some specific transgression of the Law (although sometimes we can).  But it means that in this valley of sorrow as often as we must suffer, we must also learn to repent of our sin whether or not we see any connection between our sin and our suffering.  This is life the life of a saint on earth. 

But in heaven there is no sadness or regret, there is no pain – neither physical nor emotional, there is no guilt or shame; in heaven there is only pure and holy joy, health, peace, and life, and it lasts forever.  The reason heaven is so wonderful is because in heaven there is no sin.  And so we can’t have any sin either.  But one does not get to heaven by doing good.  One gets to heaven by being good.  That’s why it’s so important that in this earthly life we learn to find our goodness not in the things that we do, but in that which Jesus has done for us. 

And this is exactly what Jesus teaches us.  “Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them.”  By teaching us who is blessèd, Jesus teaches us how we are blessed. 

 “Blessèd are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  To be poor in spirit does not mean that you don’t have money and wealth.  It means that you don’t trust in it.  God blesses rich people with more money than they need just the same as He blesses poor people with what seems like not enough.  But the riches of this world fade away and are eaten by moth and rust.  Blessèd is he who regards his inheritance as a child of God more highly than anything the world treasures. 

“Blessèd are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  What do you mourn?  The death or illness of a loved-one?  The loss of property?  The scorn and betrayal of friends?  Contrary to what the world teaches, this is not an indication that God has refused to bless you.  Right here from Jesus’ own mouth, you who mourn are blessed by God.  His strength is made perfect in your weakness.  Woe to false preachers who preach a gospel of earthly prosperity instead of the Gospel that comforts sinners.  And so we mourn.  We mourn death, and pain and whatever else our sin has justly earned.  We mourn our lack of faith when things go wrong.  We mourn our doubts and our worries.  We mourn our failure to live virtuous and God-pleasing lives.  We mourn as sinners, repenting our sins.   How miserable this looks to the world.  But these are they whom God calls blessed.  He blesses us who mourn by comforting us with the forgiveness of our sins. 

“Blessèd are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”  We know the God who creates and sustains all that exists.  And yet from the world’s perspective it looks like this God of ours is holding out.  We are taught to be shrewd and competitive in order to get the things of this earth.  And of course it’s good and honorable to work hard for your living.  But we learn from the meekness of Jesus that every good thing comes from Him who holds the world in His hand.  And so we wait on His mercy no matter how much or little we have, and we receive with thanksgiving even the smallest gifts that He gives.  To those who wait on the Lord, God denies no good thing.  

“Blessèd are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”  We are saints – holy people living holy lives who have holy desires.  We see this world of sin and it grieves us.  We see justice denied to those who are wronged, we see immorality prevail in our culture, and it fills us with righteous anger.  But we know Him who avenges the needy, and who does not forget the cries of His saints.  But the very unrighteousness that we hate is what we also see in our hearts and lives.  God sees our need for a righteousness that we ourselves do not possess, and our desire to have what we cannot produce.  Christ, who did what the law required, freely gives to us what He has earned.  Jesus satisfies those who hunger and thirst for a righteousness not their own by fulfilling all righteousness for them. 

“Blessèd are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”–––“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Just as the forgiveness that we show to others finds its source in Christ for whose sake we are forgiven, so also the mercy we receive is the mercy that we show to those who need it.  We look to where God’s vengeance against sin was taken out on Christ alone as He bore the sin of the world on Himself.  In God’s justice, we see God’s mercy toward us.  When we see the true cost of God’s mercy, we learn to value mercy toward others as more precious than anything else. 

“Blessèd are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  Those saints in heaven who gather around the throne of God and worship Him day and night in His Temple have pure hearts.  And they see God.  We on earth gather around the throne of God’s mercy to confess our sinful hearts.  And we see God.   Jesus delighted in God’s holy Law and hated sin because His heart was pure from all evil desire.  But He didn’t despise us in our sin.  Instead, He took it upon Himself.  He was punished in our place even as His Father in heaven hid from Him His face.  This same Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the throne of His Father where He sees Him face to face.  There in heaven Jesus makes constant intercession for us, showing the Father the satisfaction He has made, so that here on earth we too might see God.  And we do.  We see His gracious face in the words of the Absolution that give to us everything Christ’s sacrifice has earned.   We see God when He places in our mouths the very body and blood of Jesus that purifies our hearts from all sin and blame and that gives us a foretaste of heaven. 

“Blessèd are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”  Jesus is the Son of God.  By His death on the cross He made peace between God and man, as the angels sang at His birth: “Peace on earth and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled.”  By doing what He was born to do, Jesus proved that He was begotten from the Father from all eternity.  We who have been baptized into the name of God have also been born again to new life as sons of God and co-heirs with Jesus.  Being called sons of God we share every blessing and honor that belongs to Christ. 

“Blessèd are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”   Christians are persecuted for doing good.  Christian teenagers are teased who resist the temptation to fornicate.  Christian mothers are sneered at who regard the fruit of the womb as a blessing from God and hold motherhood as a noble calling.  Christian fathers are mocked who take seriously their job to discipline and teach their children the word of God.  God’s saints are persecuted for doing what they are called to do.  But in this persecution they are blessed by God, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

“Blessèd are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Blessèd are all of God’s saints who confess the Gospel and suffer for it.  Blessèd are you who are mocked and laughed at and who lose respect from friends because you take a stand on the word of God even when it is unpopular to do so.  It never has been popular.  But he who makes a Christian confession receives a Christian’s reward. 

Today we celebrate All Saints’ Day as we remember all those saints before us who have made this Christian confession and who now enjoy the reward that God has promised them.  A saint is one who is blessed by God.  But we don’t look very blessed.  And, as we continue to struggle with our sin, we certainly don’t look like saints either.  This entire list of blessings that we just heard from Jesus sure doesn’t seem to describe us.  These are the very virtues that we lack. 

But “blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).  We don’t look at ourselves to be blessed.  Instead we look at the blessed life that Jesus describes.  Because He describes the righteousness and purity and meekness and mercy of Him who lived not for Himself and His own blessing, but who lived for us and for our blessing.  He describes His own life that He lived for us and gives to us by faith in Him.   Even now we are saints.  For the righteous life that is ours by faith today is the same righteous life that is ours in heaven.  It is the life that we share forever with Christ as we press toward glory, and with all the saints who have reached their goal. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.