Matthew 5:1-12
A modern day saint died the other day.
And 4,000 people gathered in a Detroit sanctuary to worship and celebrate
her life. Another 1,000 were crowded into an overflow area for a funeral
service that lasted seven hours. Just days before, her body laid in
state in the Capital rotunda….a first for an African American
woman…and people stood in line for hours to file past and pay
their respects.
A modern day saint…an inspiration to a generation…a symbol
of a movement…a pioneer for human rights…a source of hope.
Rosa Parks wasn’t any of those things because she had charismatic
personality or could gather thousands of people who would come and listen
to her great words of wisdom. She was actually kind of shy. And didn’t
like to call lots of attention to herself.
But she was tired…tired of standing…tired of being treated
second class…tired of being invisible. And so she sat down. She
sat down on a bus. And as she sat, thousands of others stood up and
spoke up and began a movement that would change a nation in the direction
of justice and equality and freedom and rights. Oh it’s a work
that isn’t done yet. We still have a long way to go. But on this
All Saint’s Sunday, we thank God for that brave, quiet woman,
that saint, who sat down…and stood up…for the dignity and
equality of God’s people.
Rosa Parks was a modern day saint…who modeled grace and allowed
grace to flow through her…and nudged the world a little bit closer
to the grace-filled Kingdom of God.
The Beatitudes are a pretty good description of sainthood. These might
provide a pretty good description of Saint Rosa. Maybe you know other
saints who have touched your lives…and embodied these marks of
Sainthood. You see…to be a saint you don’t have to be a
Paul or a Peter…who started this great movement called the Christian
Church. You don’t even have to be a Rosa Parks, who began a movement
to transform a nation. You don’t even have to begin a movement.
You can simply be a follower of Christ. A carrier of grace. A believer
who knows Christ and offers grace to others. And as I said, the Beatitudes
offers a pretty good description of that kind of a Saint.
Jesus says these will be blessed…these saints who are:
Poor in spirit and acknowledge their need for God.
Mourners…shedding tears over a broken world.
Meek…not thinking too highly of themselves.
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness…
Merciful and pure in heart…
Peacemakers…..And persecuted for righteousness sake.
These are carriers of grace. These are saints. Some…like Rosa
Parks…hungering and thirsting for righteousness…ignited
a world-changing movement. Others…you fill in the name…simply
shared a bit of grace with you when you needed it most…they let
you see Christ…they made his love real…with a spirit of
gentle quietness. These saints we remember and honor today.
I spent some time last week walking through our cemetery…pausing
to read a stone here or there…pondering who these saints are who
have gone before…on to their eternal reward. You knew some of
them…some of them were your family and friends. Others died 100
or more years ago and we can only speculate about their lives. I looked
at the stone for Rev. Wakefield… that soldier-saint who burned
down the little white church in battle. And then returned to rebuild
it…and not only to rebuild it, but to serve himself as a preacher
of the Gospel. I stopped by the stone of Haskel and Willa Smith. I’ve
heard a lot about those saints…the leadership and stewardship
they provided to our church for many years…and their legacy that
lives on through the beautiful parsonage on Ardfour Lane. I saw other
names there as well…some familiar, some not so familiar…Lynch…Cock…Wright…Clark…Dean.
Saints who lived and served and shared grace and contributed to the
life and spirit of this congregation. If you get a chance, walk around
the cemetery and contemplate the saints who are there…and give
God thanks. I think you’ll experience a moment of holiness.
There’s a hymn that pretty well sums up what we do and what we
remember on this All Saints Sunday. It says: “Rejoice in those
saints, unpraised and unknown, who bear someone’s cross or shoulder
their own. They shame our complaining, our comforts, our cares; what
patience in caring, what courage is theirs. Rejoice in God’s saints,
today and all days; a world without saints forgets how to praise. In
loving, in living, they prove it is true: the way of self giving, Lord,
leads us to you.”
I invite us now to join together in remembering the saints of our church
who have moved on to eternal sainthood in the past year…as well
as other saints who have touched your life with grace. We will begin
by singing the chorus that is printed in the bulletin. Then Rev. Haynes,
and Kevin Sabo, our Memorial Chairman will read the names of our recently
deceased Annandale Saints. I will light a candle to honor each one.
And then, you are invited to name those saints who you wish to remember
today. Name them aloud…quietly, or so all can hear. After the
naming of the Saints, I will lead us in prayer to thank God for these
saints, and to dedicate the memorial gifts that are listed in your bulletin.
These memorials are tangible tributes to the saints of our church.
Thanks be to God for the saints who have touched us with God’s
grace.