Prayer of the Day
Dear Father in Heaven, in all the universe there is none like
You. In Your love and grace, You have lifted us, Your children, from sinner to
saint through the shed blood of Your Son Jesus Christ. Fill us, your humble
children, with the Holy Spirit and guide our actions so we may live up to the
position of saint in this world and in the world to come. In Jesus name. Amen.


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1st Reading Revelations 7:9-17
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could
number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white
robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud
voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to
the Lamb!" And all the angels were standing around the throne and
around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their
faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing
and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and
might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." Then one of the elders
addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and
from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he
said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb.
"Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day
and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them
with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not
strike them, nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and
he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes."

2nd Lesson 1st John 3:1-3
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be
called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does
not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's
children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know
that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him
as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is
pure.

Gospel Lesson Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he
sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
shall be satisfied.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and
utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and
be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.


Message
Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and from our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Let us pray. Dear Lord God, may the words of my mouth and the
meditations of our hearts, be acceptable to you. I pray this in the
strength and the name of our Redeemer Jesus Christ. Amen.

There is nothing like taking a stand different than everyone around
you, to distinguish yourself within a crowd. Like trying walk up a
crowded downward headed escalator. Today is one of those days for
the Lutheran Church. On the day where many of the “Old time
churches” formally recognize today as “All Saints Sunday” we include
ourselves as part of this group yet we standout on the escalator
because, as Lutherans we define saints differently than the other
churches. Lutherans stand out from the crowd when it comes to
saints.

Lutherans gather throughout the world today to observe through
remembrance all the saints both the living and those who have
passed on. And this is where the difference is, the living part. Today
is a day to praise and worship Jesus Christ who through His life here
on earth has made the saints holy through baptism and faith.
And the differentiators or that two things that make the Lutheran
position different is the “living part” and the “saints are made holy
through baptism and faith.”

In reality it is God that deems those who are “saints”, no amount of
money, no amount of work of or petitioning the earthly leaders can
make a saint. People can be acknowledged for their life worthy of
being called a Christian, but it is God alone to defines Saints in
Heaven.

Many of our Christian brothers and sisters, do not agree with us on
this belief. Most Christians who acknowledge saints do not believe
that saints can be saints if they are still living. They also believe that a
saint must have led an exemplary life serving Jesus, they must have
been “super Christians” and miracles must have been attributed to
them, and even better if they died a martyrs death for Jesus.
But for Lutherans, being a saint isn't about what I have done or have
not done or what miracle God has been performed through me or the
fact that I died serving Jesus. It is about who I am in relationship with
God. A saint is someone who recognizes who he or she is with
respect to who God is. It is about how that person has acted or not
acted with respect to how God expects us to act. It is about faith, faith
in God and His Son Jesus. It is about be born anew in baptism, it is
about being born again as a child of God. It is about knowing the
relationship you and I have with God the Father.

For example probably the most known saint is the Apostle Peter.
Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome is named after Him. He gave his life
for Jesus, the man who was killed for his faith. The man who brought
over 5000 people to the foot of the Cross of Jesus within the first few
months after Pentecost. The man who would eventually be crucified
for his faith and following Jesus.

Yet he is also someone who failed the test of faith when Jesus
called him out to walk on water. He is also someone who Jesus had
to rebuke with the words, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance
to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on
the things of man.” (Matt 16: 23b) Or how can we forget his denial of
Jesus three times when Jesus stood alone before the Jewish
Authorities or his head to head confrontation with the Apostle Paul on
having to follow Jewish tradition.

Being a saint isn't about what you have done, but about who you
are. The definition “It is about who I am in relationship with God” can
just as easily be used for the word sinner, as well. Peter was both
sinner and saint, the same way all of us are both sinner and saint.
For Lutherans, a saint is a forgiven sinner. A saint is someone who
accepted who they are with relationship with God. Someone who
acknowledges who Jesus is and what He as done for us on the cross.
Our forgiveness comes through that cross, our forgiveness comes
when we acknowledge our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and
Saviour, when we acknowledge and change our ways to his ways.
Does this mean we will no longer sin – no it does not. It means with
all our earthly might we try to do what is right and we rely on the Holy
Spirit living within us to help us; and when we fail, and allow Satan to
tempt us away from the path of light; we come back to God and say I
am sorry, I blew it. It means that we again acknowledge who we are
with relationship to God.

For me the best example of this is Saul of Tarsus, or more
commonly known as the Apostle Paul or Saint Paul. Here is a man
who stood by and approved of the stoning of an Apostle. Here is a
man who, when he had both physically and spiritually seen the light
changed his relationship with God, yet still admitted, “For I do not
understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the
very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law,
that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells
within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my
flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to
carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want
is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:15-19) Paul's faith was so
strong. His belief in forgiveness and conviction in his baptism,so
strong, he publicly acknowledged that he was still tempted by Satan,
and that he could not at times resist the temptations. Paul wrote
these words for all to read and draw strength from with respect to his
battle with sin.

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing
greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a
messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming
conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it
should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the
more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest
upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak,
then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

For when I am weak, I am strong. Strong in the Grace of God,
strong as a saint knowing that God loves him enough to forgive him.
On those days when I find Satan throwing thorns in my side, I find
incredible strength in knowing that if Paul struggled with His life, and
was willing to admit it, then for me too, there is hope, actually there is
more than hope, there is assurance that my forgiveness is
guaranteed, that my sainthood is real and that your sainthood is real
too. As Luther said, "The saints are sinners, too, but they are forgiven
and absolved." We are forgiven and absolved. Both sinner and saint.
But we also gather today to also remember those fellow believers
who have been lifted from this world, and now reside in best of best
places, with Jesus in His father's mansion. We remember those
brothers and sisters in Christ who have served God and us as well.
People like Binky, Phyllis, Peg, and Doris, Dave, Denny, Bernice and
Agnes, Marge, Joan, Ray and Anne, to mention a few.
We remember them and others who were sinners and saints. They
knew who they were in relationship with God. They know who they are
now. Saved, redeemed and loved.

I want to close with a quote I read this week from a Lutheran
magazine, “It's easy to rely on ourselves, with forgiveness as an
insurance policy in case we mess up. But this wise pastor reminded
me that even on my best days, what matters most is not what I do or
decide but that Jesus died for me. When I look at myself in the mirror,
I always see the reflection of a sinner. But when God looks at me, he
sees me through Jesus. My sin is covered with Christ's own
righteousness. Thanks be to God! “ Amen.

Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we sit here humbly drawn to You, knowing that our
thoughts words and deeds have made us sinners, but through the
shed blood of Your Son Jesus we are cleansed and made whole. We
are both sinner and saint and we thank you for Your love that has built
the bridge between the two. Thank you in Jesus name. Amen.

Now, may the peace of God and the Love of Christ, which passes
all human understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen
An article worth reading this week: http://www.thelutheran.org/article/article.cfm?article_id=4210

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The fewer the words, the better the prayer.
[quote from Martin Luther]

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Readings for November 8, 2009
1 King 17:8-16;
Hebrews 9:24-28 ;
Mark 12:38-44

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