Scripture for Sunday

This Sunday we will not use the lectionary for the day, but instead the passages for All Saints Day.
Scriptures:

• Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 and Psalm 149  • 
• Ephesians 1:11-23  • 
• Luke 6:20-31

Luke 6:20-31

6:20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Reign of God.
6:21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Messiah.
6:23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
6:24 "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
6:25 "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
6:26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
6:27 "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
6:29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
6:30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again.
6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

In the Gospel reading from Luke 6 for All Saints Day, Jesus identifies the blessed in stark terms.  These words attributed to Jesus begin his "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew (5:1-7:29) and his "Sermon on the Plain" in Luke (6:17-49). Luke's version of the address is briefer, more sharply stated, marked by contrasts between "you" who are blessed and "you" who are judged/damned. In Luke, Jesus spoke directly to his followers. Matthew's version is preferred for its poetic elegance. In Luke's account, this is Jesus' second major policy statement of his reign (see also Luke 4:14-30) in the force of prophetic address.

Jesus' direct speech is disquieting, compelling the listener to ask, "Who me?"

Jesus focuses first on his disciples (6:20) within "a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon" (6:17). With the crowds, we overhear his words, wondering if he means it only for the twelve. Then we find ourselves specifically included in verse 27 among "you that listen." Jesus is not delivering an abstract definition of discipleship or sainthood. He is not listing the qualifications to "get into heaven." He is calling all to hear to become faithful and effective agents of God's reign here and now.

The Festival of All Saints dates to May 13, 609 (or maybe 610) when Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs. Pope Gregory III is credited with first moving the festival to its present date of November 1. After the Reformation, the celebration was retained in Anglican and most Lutheran churches.

So who is a saint?

In the Roman Catholic tradition, someone receiving the title of “Saint” has been officially recognized by the Catholic Church (canonized) and therefore believed to be in Heaven. Leonard Foley, OFM, editor of the book Saint of the Day, says of saints that their “…surrender to God’s love was so generous an approach to the total surrender of Jesus that the Church recognizes them as heroes or heroines worthy to be held up for our inspiration. They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ.”

Luther would expand the idea of sainthood to include all Christians on earth and in heaven. In Luther’s Commentary on Galatians (1531), Luther says:

When we have repudiated this foolish and wicked notion about the name “saints” which we suppose applies only to the saints in heaven, and on earth to hermits and monks who perform some sort of spectacular work let us now learn from the writings of the apostles that all believers in Christ are saints (Luther’s Works 27:83).

For Luther, it was nothing the Christian does of his or her own accord that made for saintliness; it was through Jesus that we are made holy.

So, in other words, saints are not called saints because they are without sin or have become saintly through works, but rather through the Spirit that flows through us into the world.

Pastor Sharon Lewis writes, “As we remember the saints who have gone before, who have lived lives of faith, and who struggled with the temptations and evil of the world, let us also remember as we look around, that we are in the company of saints. So when one of God’s people asks you who and what a “saint” really is, you may look that person in the eye and say “Saint who? Saint YOU—everyday saint and sinner, made holy through God.”