Revelation 7: 9–17 / Psalm 34: 1-10, 22 / I John 3: 1–3 / Matthew 5: 1–12
This
is the homily give at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker
on Sunday, November 1, 2020.
“SAINTS: LIVING IN THE PRESENT AND IN THE FUTURE”
(Homily
texts: Revelation 7: 9–17, I John 3: 1-3
& Matthew 5: 1-12)
On this All Saints’ Sunday, as we consider what it
means to be a saint (and, by extension, as we ask ourselves if we qualify to be
saints), let’s ask ourselves this question: Does a saint live in God’s world,
or does a saint live in the everyday world?
The short answer to the first part of the question
we’ve just posed is “Yes, a saint lives in God’s world.” The obvious answer to
the second part of the question is a bit more challenging, for we may well say,
“A saint lives in the everyday world, but not by the values of the everyday,
secular world.”
Our appointed texts for this day describe the
relationship between God’s world and the everyday, secular world, well.
The writer of the First Letter of John describes
God’s initiative in reaching out to us in love. Notice the prominence of the
word in the Bible: “Love” is everywhere in Holy Scripture! In response, those
who have received God’s love, respond by living by godly values. In other
words, they strive to live (with God’s help) holy lives which reflect God’s
ways and God’s values, not the values of the secular world in which they are
immersed. There we have the answer to the second part of our question, in a
nutshell. But we also have the answer to the first part of our question, for
saints maintain an orientation to God, living in God’s world, we can say with
certainty. Saints make it their aim, therefore, to turn to God to be reminded
of what it means to live saintly lives, but then to turn toward the world,
demonstrating those values to the world. Back and forth, turning to God, then
turning to the world, that is the life of the saint.
Turning to our Gospel text, Jesus’ description of
the values by which God’s people will live is found in what we call the
Beatitudes. Every one of the Lord’s sayings describe a radically different way
of being. His instruction was radical in the time, place and culture in which
they were first spoken, and they remain so today. In a sense, the values
described in the Beatitudes form a filter for the saint which allows God’s
values to flow into the world, but which block out the harmful ways of the
world which seek to corrupt the ways of God.
Saints are called to maintain a broad,
all-encompassing vision for God’s plan for them and for all who come to faith.
Such a comprehensive view folds into its purview the living of a holy, pure and
godly life in this life, but it also holds in view the destination toward which
our life in God is moving: Eternity. That is the wonderful description we find
in our passage from Revelation. There, the writer describes the saints of God,
gathered around the heavenly throne, praising God for the ongoing relationship
that began with our entry into this world, but from which, now, the saints are
no longer constrained. What a glorious vision! No wonder this text is often
used at funerals. It describes the Christians’ fondest hope and guarantee.
AMEN.
