1 Advent, Year B

“ECHELONS ABOVE OUR PAY GRADE? – YES & NO”
A sermon by: The Rev. Gene Tucker; given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, November 30, 2008
Lectionary readings: Isaiah 64:1–9a; Psalm 80:1–7; I Corinthians 1:1–9; Mark 13:24–37

The military has some wonderful sayings that are used to describe things. Often, they have a humorous angle to them.

One such example (which seems to fit today’s gospel reading from Mark, chapter 13) is:

“Echelons above my pay grade”

This statement simply means that the matter at hand is above my rank and my authority to deal with (and maybe even to understand).

With regard to today’s gospel reading, which deals with the return of the Son of Man, there are, it seems to me, some aspects of His return that are “echelons above our pay grade” to understand or to have authority over. But, there are aspects of it that are completely within our ability to control, to understand, and to exercise authority over.

We’ll look at both side of that equation shortly.

First, however, we ought to look at just what sort of literary genre we have before us today, which strikes our ears with its dire warnings that tell us that the “sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.” The type of writing we hear today is called apocalyptic writing.

Literally, the word (which comes from the Greek) means “unveiling”. In translation into English, it has also come to mean “revelation”.[1]

Apocalyptic writing was common to Judaism, where the Book of Daniel falls into this category. Certain books of the Apocrypha also are apocalyptic.[2]

Likewise, the New Testament contains apocalyptic passages, even as it ends with the Book of Revelation, often known as the “Great Apocalypse”.

The passage[3] before us today is often called the “Little Apocalypse” by biblical scholars.

Apocalyptic writing pulls back the veil which clouds God’s power and God’s intention from our view. We get a glimpse of God’s power to “have the last word”, and God’s intentions in establishing His command over all that is (including the powers of evil).

Such writing often appears at times of great distress among God’s people. It offers hope at just such a time when it seems like there is no hope. It reminds people to expand their horizons, to see that God is still with them in their trials, that God is still in charge, and that, in the end, persecutions and hardships will cease, and God’s name will be acknowledged by all.

Mark’s gospel account, written (most scholars think) in the years 65 – 70 AD, was most likely the first gospel account to be written. But, if so, it was also written just after the first organized persecutions of Christians occurred under the Emperor Nero (62 – 64 AD). The Christians to whom Mark was writing were reeling under the reality of the awful things that had happened in Rome to the believers there. Chapter 13 of Mark’s account serves to strengthen their weak knees, and to lift their drooping hearts. It serves to remind them that God is still in charge, that persecutions will eventually end, and that they are to be watchful and faithful in the meantime.

Before we leave the matter of apocalyptic writing, we ought to enumerate some of its features. They are:

• It arises during times of hardship and persecution
  
  
• It pulls back the veil which shrouds God’s power and God’s intentions, allowing us a glimpse of both.
  
  
• Its language is both figurative and literal, tying together the present reality with future reality.
  

This last point is most important: Since some of the language (but not all) is figurative, a strong word of caution is in order about the interpretation of the timing of future events. Many, many Christians down through the ages have longed for Jesus’ return in glory (as they should!), but many have longed for that great and glorious day so much that they have attempted to decode with certainty the timing of that return. All such ventures are risky ones, at best. Recall that today’s gospel says, “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

The present reality is spoken of in literal terms, while (as we said) the future reality is addressed in figurative terms. If some Christians have “gone out on a limb” to set the timing of the Lord’s return with preciseness, then many others have reacted to these risky ventures by shying away from the topic altogether.

Alas, we are called to hold both the present reality and the future reality together in tension.

Not knowing the exact time of these future events ought to prompt us to a better attitude of watchfulness.

God’s people down through the ages have watched and waited…..Notice the opening verse of today’s passage from Isaiah 64: “Oh, that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down!” The people in Old Testament times were watching and waiting.

Early Christians, too, watched and waited. St. Paul addresses their concerns by describing the return of the Lord in some very specific ways (though he never sets the time frame, quite wisely). See I Thessalonians 4: 13 – 5: 2, and I Corinthians 15: 51 – 52 as examples.

Well, then, returning to our opening theme, we must ask ourselves “what matters concerning the Lord’s return are ‘echelons above our pay grade,’ and which are “within our pay grade?’”

Let’s describe, first of all, those things that are “echelons above our pay grade”:

he exact timing of the Lord’s return: Recall that Jesus tells us “no one knows the day nor the hour”, but “only the Father”.

• The signs that will accompany His return: Remember that apocalyptic writing employs – to some degree or another – figurative language. A strong word of caution is always in order when we approach this literary genre.

These things, then, are within our ability to understand, and our authority to exercise control over:

• The signs that will accompany the Lord’s return: Notice that this aspect of these future events is both within and outside of our ability to understand. The signs that will accompany Jesus’ return are the connecting point of the present reality and the future reality.
  
  
• Watch! Notice that Jesus uses this word three times in the passage read today. We can be ever mindful of the future reality of the Lord’s return. If we are, then all of the present reality is forever changed, forever made holy. God’s future reign already breaks into the present reality!
  
  
• Be good stewards: Jesus reminds us (in Mark’s abbreviated form of Matthew’s Parable of the Talents[4]) that we are to be good and faithful servants, caring for the work that God has given us to be in charge of until the return of the Lord.

Today, we have the two great Advent themes before us:

1. Jesus’ Second Coming in great power and great glory, and
   
   
2. Our preparation for Jesus’ First Coming as He is born in a cow’s stall in Bethlehem.

Since we find ourselves between the First Coming and the Second Coming, we find ourselves in the same position as those early Christians who first read and heard Mark’s gospel account.

We, too, like them, watch and wait.

We, too, like them, are called to live in the tension of the present reality and the future reality, knowing that the future reality offers hope, especially at times when there is no hope.

We, too, like them, are called to be faithful stewards of the riches God has given us to care for, until His return.

May we be faithful in all these things!

AMEN.

__________________________________________________________
[1] As in the Revelation to St. John the Divine, the last book in the New Testament, which is also known as the Apocalypse of John.
[2] I Enoch , IV Esra, and II Baruch are examples.
[3] Mark 13: 1 - 37
[4] See Matthew 25: 14 – 30.

Last Pentecost

"A QUESTION FOR MATTHEW"
A sermon by The Rev. Gene R. Tucker, given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
PROPER 29: Ezekiel 34:11–17; Psalm 95:1–7; I Corinthians 15:20–28; Matthew 25:31–46

Let’s ask Matthew a question this morning (before we leave our year-long walk with him in this first year of our three-year cycle of readings):

“Which is it? Which timeframe is important?”

We ask this question because of what we read this morning, and because of what we read elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel account.

Consider the beginning of the passage we read today: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.”[1]

Obviously, Matthew is recording Jesus’ words, which refer to some time in the future….the scene is a cosmic one.

But then consider these words of Jesus that Matthew also recorded:

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”[2]

This statement from our Lord Jesus Christ seems to refer to the present. Matthew seems to be reminding us that Jesus is with us, here and now, whenever we gather together in his name.

Furthermore, consider this statement, the one that closes Matthew’s Gospel account: “And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”[3]

Here again, we read another statement that seems to refer to the here and now…. “Lo, I am with you…”

So, Matthew, our question is: “Which is it? Which timeframe is important, the future, or the present?”

Matthew seems to be confusing us, isn’t he?

After all, as rational human beings, we understand we can’t reconcile present reality and future events. We can’t live in two timeframes at once.

As children of the Enlightment, that 17th and 18th century movement that maintained that human intellect and reason could understand all realities and could discern all knowledge, we know we must either choose the present, or the future.

Or must we? Must we choose either the present or the future?

Christians down through the ages have often done just that:

The present: Some choose to emphasize the aspects of the Gospel that focus on the present: “Care for the poor and the needy, the downtrodden and the oppressed is the Church’s concern and focus,” they would say. “What happens in our daily lives is the central concern for us as Christians,” they might maintain.

The future: Other Christians spend large amounts of time trying to figure out the timeline for future events, trying to guess what God’s plans and schedule for the fulfillment of His purposes for the world and for humankind are. Consider the series of books that have appeared in recent years that deal with this subject, books such as “The Late Great Planet Earth”, or the “Left Behind” series. These books sold (and sell) quite well. People are fascinated by these topics, and want to know if the authors have some “inside knowledge” by which God’s mysteries can be unraveled, at least a little bit.

So, what’s the answer, Matthew?

Do you want us to choose either the present or the future?

What would you say, dear reader (or listener)?

Let me venture an answer on Matthew’s behalf: The answer, Matthew seems to be telling us, is that we must choose both the present and the future!

“Both”, you say…..

Yes, both.

You see, Matthew seems to hold both the present reality of our daily walk with the Lord and the future reality when the Lord will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords[4] in tension with one another. Matthew never seems to think that both realities cancel each other out, or that we must choose one over the other.

And the reality of both the present and the future is present in the passage before us today….

Let’s look a little closer:

The future: We noted earlier on that the passage today begins with a cosmic scene. Recall with me the words, “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another.

Wow! Matthew now unfolds for us – in Jesus’ words – the final, climactic scene that he has alluded to all through his Gospel account. Remember that, time and again, Matthew has alluded to this final separating process, in which the good and the bad will be separated out. We’ve read and heard these words over and over, as we do (for example) in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13: 24 – 30). There, we read that the weeds that had grown up with the wheat will be pulled up “at the harvest”.

The present: But Matthew picks up on the Lord’s emphasis on the here and now, the present time of our daily lives…..

Notice how this unfolds in our narrative today: Our Lord chronicles a series of concrete, observable actions that all take place in daily life, actions that meet everyday needs. Deeds such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the prisoner, welcoming the stranger.

So, then, if we are to live with the tension of a dual focus on both the present and the future, then how to we reconcile the two?

I think the answer is that: the future makes holy the present.

Let me say that again: the future makes holy the present.

The key to understanding that important connection is found in the text….Notice how the Lord emphasizes the eternal consequences of our daily actions: “As you did it (these things) to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me.”[5] At the end of the passage, we note that these righteous will enter into eternal life.[6]

No longer can we take actions that occur in daily life as isolated, minor events. They are not isolated, not from God’s knowing and seeing, nor from the importance that God attaches to them.

Moreover, Matthew seems to be telling us through Jesus’ words that we are in charge of our own spiritual destiny. Our actions and the choices we make to do good works affect our spiritual welfare in a direct, cause-and-effect sort of a way.

Having walked with Matthew throughout this entire Church Year, we would expect nothing less….

For Matthew has the daily walk (remember that this is a key concept of Judaism – which Matthew carries over into his understanding - the daily walk (Heb: halach) with God) always in view. Matthew’s concern – unlike John, who is more concerned with our conscious decision to accept Christ as Savior, to be “born again”[7] – is with the everyday decisions and actions we make.

For the mature Christian, we must embrace these various perspectives, for no one approach can begin to comprehend the mystery of God and the scope of His workings in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

So, we are called to say, with regard to our overall relating to the Lord, that we must:

• Accept Christ as Lord of our lives, being “born again”, (John’s concern) and
  
  
• Walk daily with the Lord by following Jesus’ teachings.[8] (Matthew’s focus)

And, with regard to the passage before us today, we are called to:

• Concentrate on our daily actions, our everyday choices, and
  
  
• Keep the final judgment always in view, as well.

May we, by God’s grace, embrace and hold fast to the mystery of God, revealed for all time in the teachings and life of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

May we, by God’s grace, be mature in our faith, holding fast to both the present and the future realities of God’s plan for humankind.

May we, by God’s grace, accept Him as Lord and Savior, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and may we walk with Him in this life, that we may live with Him in eternity.

AMEN.

__________________________________________________________
[1] Verse 31
[2] Matthew 18: 20
[3] Matthew 28: 20
[4] This is the title we read in Revelation 17: 14 and 19: 16. (Recall Handel’s use of this title in the “Hallelujah Chorus” from “Messiah.”)
[5] Verse 40
[6] Verse 46
[7] See John 3: 3, where Jesus uses this phrase in His conversation with Nicodemus.
[8] Jesus’ teachings are another of Matthew’s major concerns.

27 Pentecost, Year A

“IN THE MEANTIME”
A sermon by: The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, November 16, 2008
Proper 28 -- Zephaniah 1:7, 12 – 18; Psalm 90:1–8, 12; I Thessalonians 5:1–10; Matthew 25:14–15, 19–29

“For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property…”

Today’s reading follows directly on last week’s, where we heard the “Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens”.

That’s important for us to know, if we are to understand the context of today’s passage. “For it will be,”, we hear. What does “it” refer to?

The answer is (taken from the context of the preceding passages in Matthew’s Gospel account:[1] The return of the Son of Man.

The focus is on Jesus’ eventual return to earth. It is that time when the final sorting out will be accomplished, when the good and the bad are separated. This is one of Matthew’s major concerns.

But Matthew’s other concern has to do with the question, “What should we, as Christians, be doing until the Lord returns?” Matthew’s concern, you see, also lies with the everyday matters of Christian living.

Jesus’ parable, heard today, deals directly with the Christian’s daily walk with God, the everyday matters of living.

So, let’s turn now to this parable, and note (as we should always do) some of the features of it:

• Talents: A talent (usually measured in silver) was an enormous sum of money. One commentator says it is equal to 15 years’ wages for a common laborer in Jesus’ time. (As an aside, it’s worth noting that this parable is the vehicle for the word “talent” coming into our modern speech, where it has come to mean one’s abilities and gifts.) So, each of the three servants are entrusted with a large sum, a valuable asset.
  
  
• To each according to his ability: Notice (verse 15) that each servant is entrusted with a sum which is calculated to correspond to that servant’s ability. (The subtext here is that the man knew his servants quite well, just as they knew him quite well…..see the next point.)
  
  
• You reap where you do not sow, and gather where you have not winnowed: The wicked and lazy servant knew the master’s characteristics, that he was successful in all that his affairs. (Presumably, the other two servants knew, as well.)
  
  
• I hid your talent in the ground: In these uncertain economic times, hiding money in a mattress might seem to be a good move. During Biblical times, hiding money in the ground was the surest way to secure it (remember, there were no locks on doors at that time). If a person was entrusted with a sum of money and hid it in the ground, in the event that it was stolen, he would not be held accountable. The bottom line for this third servant, the wicked and lazy one, is that he followed the safe and acceptable path.

Now, notice the responses of the three servants: In verse 16 (not read as part of our Gospel today), we note that the one who had received five talents “went at once” and traded the five talents, so as to make five more. Likewise, the one who had received two, did the same. These two servants respond immediately to act on what they had been given. Perhaps the value of the talents motivated them. Perhaps the master’s nature – one who reaps where he does not sow and gathers where he does not winnow – provided the motivation.

But the third one takes the conventional, acceptable (and safe) route, hiding the talent in the ground.

You and I live in the timeframe of this parable. We are like the three servants, for we have been entrusted with the riches of the Lord.

What to do with this trust is the key question for us….

We could be like the third servant. We could take the safe and conventional route, content to simply “go along to get along” with God.

But, like the master in the parable, results and growth are expected. We are called to contribute to the increase of the kingdom of God by making wise uses of those things that God has given us to use for the benefit of His kingdom.

Each of us has been entrusted with the riches of God. To be sure, the amounts and the types of the gifts we have been trusted with differ according to our abilities to handle them. Are we living up to our full potential, spiritually?

26 Pentecost, Year A

Proper 27 -- Amos 5: 18 – 24; Psalm 70; I Thessalonians 4: 13 – 18; Matthew 25: 1 – 13
“FAITH: THE LAMP BY WHICH WE GREET THE LORD”
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, November 9th, 2008

“Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Today’s Gospel text contains this disturbing sentence with which the parable of the ten bridesmaids[1] closes, “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

As is typical of Matthew’s Gospel account, he wants us to be absolutely sure we get the meaning and the application of Jesus’ parable, heard today, that is, the Parable of the Wise and the Foolish Maidens.

OK, well enough. But the question arises, “Watch for what?”

For the answer to that question (and also the context of today’s parable), we must back up into chapter 24, where we discover that Jesus is talking about the coming of the Son of Man, that is, himself.

OK, so now we can understand that the context of today’s parable has to do with the waiting and the watching that the early Church (represented by the 10 maidens) is undertaking as it watches for Jesus’ return. It is a concern that St. Paul addresses in the I Thessalonians reading we hear today.

We might pause for just a moment to remind ourselves that the early Church was quite concerned with the matter of Jesus’ return to earth to reclaim those who had come to faith in Him. St. Paul’s writings (see I Corinthians chapter 15 for another passage on this topic) contain a number of references to it. The Fourth Gospel also records Jesus’ words as He says, “I am going away, but then I will come back to you.”[2]

So, Jesus has some specific instructions for these early believers: Watch! Be prepared!

Let’s look, then, a bit more closely at this parable we have before us this day: Three things stand out about it, and all three are typical of Matthew’s concerns:

• The good and the bad stand side-by-side: If the 10 maidens represent the Church, then the Church is composed of those who are doing the work God has given them to do, being prepared for whatever may come. But others are not, not at all. Moreover, there’s little indication of “who’s who”, not until the time of reckoning comes. Matthew has treated this subject before, as he records Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares.[3]
  
  
• The final “sorting out” is coming: The bridegroom’s approach spells the end of uncertainty about the true identity of the members of the Church. A consistent theme throughout Matthew’s Gospel account, we see it again here as we hear Jesus say, “The door was shut,” while the five foolish maidens come, seeking entrance, only to hear the bridegroom say, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.”
  
  
• “Walking the walk”, day-by-day, in the meantime: If Matthew has the “big picture” in view (that is, the final day of reckoning), then he also has the everyday “business” of being a believer in view, as well. The Hebrew word for this daily “walk” with God is halach. It is a key part of the Jewish understanding of our relating to God.

It is to this issue of our daily walk that we now turn.

And specifically, we turn to the image of the lamps the maidens carry.

Interestingly enough, Jesus does not use the image of a wedding garment (as He did in Matthew 22: 1 – 14) to show the preparedness of the maidens. Here, He uses the image of the oil lamps.

The oil lamps have two components that Jesus specifically identifies in His parable: the wicks (which need trimming as they are put into use) and the oil which fuels them.

Let’s unpack the image of these two components a bit, drawing conclusions from them:

• Oil: The Old Testament often uses oil as a symbol for the good deeds of God’s people. In Old Testament imagery, this oil is the fuel for the daily walk with God, consisting of deeds of kindness, generosity, and righteousness.
  
  
• Wicks: I remember my Danish grandmother trimming the wicks on the kerosene lamps that were an essential part of the emergency equipment every household needed to have in the rural farm country where the electricity could go off at any time. She was good at trimming those wicks! You see, wicks need trimming regularly as they see use. So Jesus’ image of the trimming of the wicks represents the regular sharpening and honing of our lamps of faith, which are the means by which we will recognize Him when He comes again.

Finally, let’s work with the image of the lamp, its oil and the regular trimming of its wicks, for a moment:

Jesus clearly wants us to understand that we can’t be sitting around, looking into the heavens, waiting for His return in the clouds. Apparently, as we read through I Thessalonians, this was a clear problem for the early Church there in Thessalonica: many people refused to work, or to “be about the business of the Kingdom of God” by sitting around, waiting for Jesus’ return. A cursory look at Christian history will reveal periods of time when many Christian people did just the same thing…Groups and leaders have arisen from time to time, claiming to know just when Jesus would return. (Guess they forgot to read the end of today’s parable, and especially Jesus’ statement, “you know neither the day nor the hour.”)

We have work to do!

We have deeds of kindness, acts of mercy and generosity to put our hands and our hearts into. That’s the “oil” of bringing the kingdom into reality.

Then, too, as we act on our faith, fueling our walk with God with the oil of righteous acts, we will need to sharpen the wicks of our lamps in order that the light given off may be bright.

You see, with regular use, our faith needs maintenance. We need to sharpen our skills that our light might shine brightly into the world around us.

To do so, we sharpen our skills by regular attendance at worship, Sunday-by-Sunday. We hone our knowledge of the Holy Scriptures by regular and deep study. We trim away any excess material that might accrete to our faith walk by acknowledging our sins and our weaknesses, which dim the light of Christ.

One last thought: doing all of these things: deeds of righteousness, acts of mercy, regular worship, consistent Bible study, allowing God to trim away anything that would hinder our walk with Him, all of these things keep the light God has given us shining brightly. For in the final analysis, it is this light which will allow us to see Christ when He comes again.

AMEN.

[1] The Greek word which is sometimes rendered as “bridesmaids” or “maidens” literally means “virgins”. For the purposes of this sermon, I will use “maidens”, which is how the Revised Standard Version (RSV) translates the Greek word.
[2] Paraphrased from John 14.
[3] See Matthew 14: 24 – 30.

The Sunday after All Saints, Year A

All Saints Sunday, Year A: Ecclesiasticus 44:1–10, 13–14; Psalm 149; Revelation 7:2–4, 9 – 17; Matthew 5:1–12
"SAINTS: WORKERS IN THE LABORATORY OF GOD, THE CHURCH”
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 (by Mr. Barney Bruce, Licensed Lay Worship Leader)

“Let us now praise famous men and women”, workers in God’s laboratory, the Church.

Have you ever thought of the saints in ages past as workers in a laboratory?

As I prayed about this sermon, and thought about the saints in the Church’s history, and yes, even the saints I have known in my own life, I think the image fits….For the saints are those people who delve into the mysteries of God, seeking to apply the wisdom that comes from God to our everyday lives.

Lab workers do the same thing: they seek to take the wisdom of the way the world was created, and apply it to everyday situations and problems.

Take, for example, some famous people from the past, who are the discoverers of things that have made human life safer, more enjoyable, and more disease-free: We could name Thomas Edison, whose laboratory is preserved at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. Edison labored in his lab, and in the process of painstaking research, was able to take the elemental things of the world like electricity, magnetism, and other things to create the incandescent light bulb and the phonograph. Likewise, Jonas Salk worked in his lab to discover a vaccine for polio 50-some-odd years ago.

These are the saints of modern science that we can name. In secular terms, they would be saints with a big “S”.

But there are many others who work, day-by-day, whose names we do not know, but who seek to find answers to many of the problems humankind faces today. As they do so, they work with the basic elements of the universe as God designed it to find ways to relieve suffering, to make life better and safer.

Lab workers need a lab in which to work, a place were the tools of discovery are all available. They need a place where they can gather together, working together, each person’s strengths being brought to bear on the problems that lay before them. Lab workers need a place where they can share their successes and their failures. They need a place where one person’s insights can help another worker’s lack of understanding. A scientific lab fulfills many functions and many roles.

The Church is God’s laboratory. It is the place where the more seasoned explorers of God’s truth lead others. It is a place of spiritual apprenticeship, if you will. It is a place where the saints can rejoice in their successes, but openly admit their failures. It is the place where we can watch God working in each other’s lives, so that we can recognize God working in our own lives in similar ways.

The tools of discovery are to be found in the Church: God’s word written, the Holy Scriptures, are heard in each worship service, are studied for insight into the way God created human beings, and for wisdom in living in accordance with God’s commands. The Holy Spirit,enlighten s Christian believers as they seek to understand more and more of the wisdom of the God who created us, and who created everything that is.

The Church is God’s laboratory. But God does not intend for the work that is done in God’s lab to stay within the walls of the workplace.

No, the scientific lab’s reason for existence is to make life outside the lab better. Similarly, the Church’s reason for existence is to make a difference in the world outside its doors.

Many of the Church’s great lab workers, the saints we apply the title “saint” (with a big “S” to), are precisely those who made a difference outside the doors of the spiritual workplace. Consider St. Francis of Assisi, for example….Like many saints of his time and place, Francis was a shining beacon of light in an otherwise pretty dark time….Francis called Christians to return to their spiritual roots, if you will, calling them to a life that is free of ties to material wealth, to power and prestige. The Church of Francis’ day was in love with all three of these: material wealth, power and prestige.

Now it is our time in the lab. We are the modern-day discoverers of God’s timeless truths. We are called to take our place in the lab, where we read the record of the discoveries of ages past, as God’s workers in the same lab in ages past wrote down their record of discovery. We know that record of discovery as the Bible. We are called to take our place in the lab, where we study their struggles, their failures, and their successes. For we are the inheritors of their work, and we benefit from knowing their stories. There’s no need to duplicate their work, though we are called to build on the results of it.

But just as the challenges of a modern-day technician in a scientific lab are different from the workers of generations ago, so, too, are the challenges we face in the Church different from theirs.

In some cases, the challenges the outside world presents us as 21st century Christians are more complex than the challenges of years ago.

Yet the basics of the faith that sustained and empowered the saints of ages past remain the same. The way God designed the world spiritually remains constant. The challenge for us is to reapply those same principles and that same wisdom to new and more complex problems.

The saints that we remember mastered just those sorts of challenges are the ones we remember, like St. Francis of Assisi.

But Francis and the other masters of discovery were simply following in Jesus’ footsteps. For Jesus is the founder of the lab, and what we remember Him for most particularly is His ability to apply God’s wisdom in new ways, addressing deeper human concerns and needs in the process.

Essentially, that’s the “bottom line” for the Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 1 – 12), for the Beatitudes seek to lead us into a deeper understanding of the wisdom of God. At first glance, each of these sayings looks like foolishness to the world, like a puzzle that a technician might face in a scientific lab. But the disciple of Jesus discovers the truths that Jesus taught in the Beatitudes and elsewhere through painstaking and careful work in the lab that our Lord founded, the Church. Eventually, the puzzle is figured out, and the ways God intended us to follow and to know make sense.

We said a minute ago that it’s now our turn in the lab….All Saints Day is a perfect time to remember and recall those Christians who have been influential in our own lives. Would that list include a Christian parent or relative, a dear friend, or perhaps even a priest? Was a Sunday School teacher the source of God’s wisdom? Was it a grandparent or a coach the one who helped us to discover the truths of God in new and refreshing ways?

We, too, are adding to the record of God’s work in our own lives. We are writing our own chapters as we seek to apply God’s timeless wisdom to the problems and challenges we face. If we’re doing the job right, we will record our failures along with our successes. We will admit that the problems and challenges we face prompt many of the searches for answers that we seek. We will rely on the wisdom of Holy Scripture, which is the record of the saints in ages past, as we press on in our quest for wisdom and understanding. For Holy Scripture is the textbook which guides our own process of discovery. Our findings are like a student’s notebook, reflections on the textbook, the Bible, that contains the master library of the wisdom of God.

So, let us “now praise famous men and women”, the saints of God, those in ages past whose names we know, and those whose names have been forgotten, but who are known to God alone. Let us praise the saints of God in our own lives in ages past, and let us praise the saints of God with whom we rub elbows everyday.

AMEN.