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The Message for Nov 5, 2017
Thankful for the Saints
Matthew 5:1-12
Rob Miller, Pastor
Today we begin a 4-week worship series on giving thanks for a living faith (image).
According to Hebrews 11:1… faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
We, the baptized, are called to live by faith, to practice the faith, to exercise our faith, to view all of life through the lens of faith. We live thankful lives because of our faith. Without faith life would take on a whole different direction.
Our theme today is Thankful for the Saints. I am not talking about the football team, although I am thankful for them, and I enjoy watching them. That’s a topic for another time and place.
Here’s a definition for saint…
Saint - a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness or likeness or closeness to God.
We often think of saints as those who have died and now live forever in heaven. Of course, that’s true. That’s part of the focus of our worship here today. But notice that according to this definition, a saint can be someone living…
Someone who is holy - meaning “set aside for a special purpose.”
Someone who is God-like - we’ve been created in the image of God.
Someone who is living in a close relationship with God.
This definition suggests that anyone can be a saint.
We could say that saints do good things for others expecting nothing in return. The 500 acts of grace we have been doing as a congregation could be seen as acts of sainthood. A saint is someone who does God’s will, making this world a better place by sharing kindness.
Saints share kindness. Let me show what I mean. Check out this video…
Notice: he didn’t do things anonymously. He did things personally and expected nothing in return except for people to continue sharing the kindness with others. He looked for people who needed a little kindness in their lives in other words, anyone.
Did you hear what he said? He said, Kindness is the bridge between all people. Kindness is the one thing that cuts through everything regardless of your station in life.
He was handing out kindness, not money. Money was the means for him to hand-out kindness. The only currency you need is kindness.
That is what saints handout. In many and various ways saints share kindness with others.
Have you noticed that we live in a world that loves to celebrate the celebrities among us whether they share kindness or not. Our culture idolizes celebrities. But in the church culture we celebrate the saints among us, those who intentionally share kindness with others.
The world could certainly use a little more kindness, could it not? Maybe you could use a little more kindness, could you not?
This brings us to our reading for today Matthew 5:1-12. We call these 12 verses - the beatitudes.
Read Matthew 5:1-12
These are the blessings of Jesus, strange blessings indeed. What do they mean? The people that Jesus says are blessed do not appear to be blessed. They appear to be unlucky or cursed
These blessings are intended to be like a splash of cold water in the face of those who are super religious, self-centered, and self-righteous. Those who thought more highly of themselves than they should. We are talking about the Pharisees. They weren’t very fair you see. They would have heard about Jesus telling this story.
They were wealthy, successful, powerful, and very religious. They looked down on those who were not like them. They believed that the coming Kingdom of God would bring them more happiness. That God would surely reward them for being so good and holy and righteous - aka saints in their own eyes.
But they were not very saint-like in God’s eyes. They did not share. They were selfish and self-centered. They did not need God or God’s coming kingdom. They could not see pass their own piety. They lived life with the motto, Look at me – I’m soooo good!
These blessings from Jesus are also intended to be a cool drink of water to those for whom life had not been so kind.
These are people longing for something better, something that brings hope into their lives. These are the people the world would love to forget. And yet, they are people that God would never forget.
These were people who were other-centered. Who knew their lives were a mess. They knew that without God and God’s coming kingdom they were doomed for sure. They lived with the motto, Don’t look at me – I’m nooooo good!
Jesus turned the world upside-down with these blessings. He gives the gift of grace to those the world calls, “losers.” And he gives a slap on the face to those the world calls, “winners.”
We tend to believe that you get what you deserve, right?
If you work hard… if you’re good… if you do all the right things… then you will receive good things in your lifetime. If you don’t work hard… or you’re not very good… or you don’t do the right things… then you will receive not so good things in your lifetime.
That how we expect life to work. We like to keep things fair.
Jesus says “fair-smair! Life is not about fairness. It’s about faithfulness. Our God is not fair. Our God is faithful.” That’s what Jesus is saying in these beatitudes. God does not give us what we deserve, thank God for that. We don’t deserve anything.
Our God is faithful, especially towards those who don’t deserve it…
Jesus invites us to see these beatitudes as a guide for how we live our lives. Notice the word “attitude” in the word “beatitude.” Jesus is telling us to check our attitude towards others. To look at people, the ones the world wants to forget, and to see them as God sees them. God sees people differently than we do.
God sees each one of us as unique, special, full of potential, no matter how good or how bad we are. God sees past all of that. The guy in the video saw past all of that. Can you?
Can you look past the good and the bad in others and see the blessings that God bestows upon each one of us? Can you see in your own life that you are blessed to be a blessing to others? You are! And let no one convince you otherwise.
To be blessed has nothing to do with fame, or riches, or power, or position in this world. To be blessed is to do our part to make this world a better place. If we don’t, who will?
St. Francis of Assisi gave us some powerful words to live by. Words that go like this…
Lord; make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Saints are ordinary people like you and me who do extra-ordinary things for others like Jesus did. As Saint Paul said, “I can do all things through him that strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Saints are people who choose not to ignore but to act.
Saints are people, who don’t see themselves as saints, they see themselves as servants, answering the baptismal call from Jesus to serve and not to be served.
Saints are people who realize they are not perfect and they don’t try to be. They know they make mistakes and they learn from them. Saints live their lives as forgiven sinners.
Saints are all around us.
They are teaching in the classrooms of our public schools.
They are providing care to the ill and injured in our hospital emergency rooms.
They are serving in our retirement homes, helping people transition from this world to the next.
They are students who take a stand against bullying and name calling.
They are men and women who work in various companies where customers receive an honest service at an honest price.
They are the people all around us who do their job joyfully making a difference for good in people’s lives.
If you want to see what a saint looks like… then I invite you to look in a mirror and see the face of a forgiven sinners who smiles back at you. And then by the grace of God… Go be a saint and not a sinner.
Amen.