All Saint’s Day -November 1, 2020-Blessed are the Peacemakers
Rev. 7:9-17, 1 John 3:1-3, Matt. 5:1-12
Sermon Preached by Rev. B. Hartsough
All Saints Day, the glorious company of saints, I can picture them here with us today. United, surrounding us in prayer. Surrounding us with love and faith. We need their love and prayers today. The collect for All Saint’s Day speaks of unity, “You have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship,” (BCP,245). The saints who have gone before us are part of our family and our identity.
Our election for president is two days away. Elections are always divisive. The sides are drawn. A battle is waged, and we unite against others who are different. This year our country seems extremely divided. People have taken sides. I have friends from all political parties. Some always want to make the case for why they are right. Why their candidate must win. They must prove their point. The battle must be waged. There is an “Us” verses “Them” mentality.
Subtle images on the media tell us that others that are different are against us. It is a battle. We should choose sides and unite against others that are different.
Brothers and sisters do not buy into this thinking. I am not willing to stop loving my friends because of differences. We live in this world. We live as citizens. Yet at times we are tempted to act in ways that conflict with our Christian identity. That is not our calling. When we “objectify” the other that disagrees with us or others who are different than us, we start to see them as less than human and we do not see the whole person. We may see them as their political affiliation, their race, their culture. When we see one part of them, we dehumanize them. It puts blinders on us. It desensitizes us to their life, to their hopes, to their struggles. It starts to sever our human bond. Our calling is to live respecting others’ differences. To live united with the company of saints and with the one holy universal catholic church. To live listening to others’ differing opinions and still seeing the person as a child of God.
The reading from Revelation, verse 9 describes “A great crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language.” Previously in verse 3, God’s seal was put on their forehead. This was a mark of belonging to God. These were the martyrs who survived the tribulation. This reading reminds us of our identity as Christians from all nations, languages, and political affiliations united in our baptism and united in our common life in Christ. It also reminds us of the great legacy of all those who came before us and all those who will come after us.
The second reading from 1 John identifies us as children of God. Our primary identity is that of a Christian with God as a -parent. It is on us to live into our identity as God’s children in this world so that we can look to our future. While the Revelation reading shows a future with saints exalted, we live in an in-between time. We live and look to the future with hope. As we live with this hope, the Sermon on the Mount in today’s gospel, shows us specific ways we can live into our identity.
Jesus goes up a mountain to instruct a group of disciples on how to be children of God. Jesus was instructing the crowd on how to live into their identity as children of God. Jesus by using the word “Blessed” is giving a favor and a special identity to the person who does these activities. Jesus’s instructions reverse the values of society. Those who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful. etc., they will be blessed and identified as children of God. The crowd of disciples listening to the Sermon on the Mount would have been a mixed crowd. There would have been some who were poor, some who were artisans, some young, some old, some men and some women. The Sermon on the Mount gives us guidance no matter where we are in our life and no matter our life circumstance. This is a way of addressing All in the crowd. All are called to be peacemakers, to thirst for righteousness, and to be merciful no matter their situation. This speaks to us today. We may not be hungry, but we can thirst for righteousness in our lives.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. According to the Greek dictionary on Bible hub, peace worker is a better translation here. It implies seeking out peace not division. It implies being sent not just to make peace between those at odds with each other but working peace which is the will of God. It is a way of seeing another not as the “Other’ removed from our life but as an “Us,” a part of our humanity. When we flip our thinking so that all are with us even with their differences, then our outlook towards the other changes. We are not getting ready for battle. We are inviting others into our life. We see what unites us instead of focusing on our differences. This type of thinking has the power to usher in God’s kingdom. The great saints in the church modeled for us how to live in peace and harmony with all.
In a few moments we will renew our baptismal vows. In our baptism, we are united intoChrist’s life, death, and resurrection through baptism, “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” (BCP 299). We are called by God as children. Our Christian heritage in baptism is birth into God’s family, the church, (BCP, 858). This is our primary identity. This identity calls us to live in harmony with God and with one another.
In the renewal of our baptismal vows, you will be asked several questions. The last two questions specifically ask, “Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” and “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?” (BCP 293-294)
These questions are not about divisions. We need to respect differences and strive for peace, not discord. We need to serve Christ in all persons, (BCP 305).
This is our identity. To strive for justice but to do it in a respectful way. To live as workers of peace modeling it whenever we can. To invite others to the table not to the battlefield. We need to stand strong for who we are and the way we are called to live. This All Saint’s Day remember that we live under a man-made temporal system of government. It too will pass. Our identity as baptized Christians, baptized into the life of Christ is forever sealed on our foreheads in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, you are sealed in holy baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.