I can remember visiting with Jim Lee not too long before he died.  We were actually talking about what he might want as part of his funeral service.  He really liked the hymn, For all the Saints --- but he said, "I don't know if its really right to think of myself in that way."  We did sing that hymn at his funeral and we sing it today --- and he was exactly right to think of himself in that way.  Most of us when we hear about saints, think it most definitely must be talking about someone far more holy, pious, sanctified than ourselves.  When you hear someone say, "She is an absolute saint," don't you picture a very sweet, kind, generous, never made a mess in her life sort of person?  But we are the saints of God, each one of us, because that is our identity as one of God's beloved ones, one who is sanctified by the work of the Spirit of God.  And it isn't just those who have gone before us who are the saints.  Read any of Paul's letters and he constantly addresses the various communities and identifies them as saints, members of the church, the people who have been chosen by God, set apart to do God's work in the world.  The holiness that we have comes, not from getting to some level of perfection, but comes from that mark of the cross that sets us apart in baptism.

          This is a day of remembering too.  A day of remembering all those faithful departed who have shaped our lives and blessed us on our way.  A day of giving thanks for all they shared.  A day to remember that we are surrounded by that great cloud of witnesses and that when we gather at the table, they are here, the whole company of heaven.

          A few months ago I would not have imagined that I would be reading my own dad's name as we remembered the saints today, but now he too has joined that cloud of witnesses.  He would not have thought of himself as a saint either, but he did talk a lot about how blessed he was, and he often told people what a blessing they were.  Blessed is a word that Jesus completely redefined when he gave his Sermon on the Plain as it is known in the gospel of Luke, the Beatitudes.  And blessed wasn't anything like what the people of Israel thought.  Their understanding was that if your life was going well, if you had lots of property and good health, and sons --- you were blessed.  And if you didn't, clearly there was something wrong with you because God was giving you the cold shoulder.  Jesus came along and said, No, this is the kingdom of God --- the kingdom of God is about justice --- it is about God's passion for the world, it is about a world transformed.  The promises given in the Beatitudes were not simply an "It will be better in heaven" sort of speech.  Jesus was announcing that he came to light the fire for this kingdom.  Marcus Borg in his book Jesus says "The Beatitudes confirm that the kingdom of God is both religious and political:  it is God's kingdom, and it is a kingdom on earth that involves a transformation of life for the poor and the hungry.  God's character as compassion and God's passion as the kingdom of God were at the center of Jesus' mission.  They were Jesus' passion as well.  Indeed, as we shall see, his passion for the kingdom led to his execution.  He risked and gave his life for it."

          It is that same kingdom that we, the saints of God are called to proclaim and work for.  We are a sign of God's passion for the world, and so we are part of blessing those who are in need, those who are hungry or weeping, those who are reviled or outcast.  Our job is to be part of turning that all upside down because we are followers of Jesus.

          Those WOES sound plenty foreboding.  And yet, they are filled with an invitation for people to see what was really crucial, what was really valuable and give their energy to that, give their trust and faith to that.  It was a reminder that we are all connected, and our joy cannot be at the expense of those who have no joy.

          The Sermon on the Plain concludes with more instructions to the disciples and all who had ears to hear.  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.

          John Roth, in his book Choosing Against War, talks about an event that happened after the collapse of apartheid in South Africa.  People feared there would be a bloodbath as people sought revenge for all they had suffered, but that didn't happen, partly because of the work of Nelson Mandela who established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  The goal of the commission was reconciliation between blacks and whites. Roth tells of an elderly woman whose son had been taken by white police officers, shot, and his body set on fire as the men celebrated around the fire.  Eight years later these same men took her husband, tied him to a pile of wood, doused him with gasoline, and set him afire.  In 1994 she finally faced the leader of the group, Mr. Van de Broek as the court prepared to pass sentence.  Those involved had confessed their guilt, and the Commission turned to the woman for a final statement regarding her desire for an appropriate punishment.  I want three things, the woman said calmly.  I want Mr. Van de Broek to take me to the place where they burned my husband's body.  I would like to gather up the dust and give him a decent burial.  Second, Mr. Van de Broek took all my family away from me, and I still have a lot to give.  Twice a month, I would like him to come to the ghetto and spend the day with me so I can be a mother to him. Third, I would like Mr. Van de Broek to know he is forgiven by God and that I forgive him, too.  And, I would like someone to come and lead me by the hand to where Mr. Van de Broek is so that I can embrace him and he can know my forgiveness is real. (As told in If God is Love, Philip Gulley and James Mulholland)

          Pretty amazing, especially when I think of some of the petty grudges that are so easy for me to hang onto, but there it is, breaking in, the kingdom of God.  The dream of God where those who are hungry will be fed, those who mourn will be comforted, those who are excluded and hated will be leaping for joy.  The blessings of God, the promise for what is possible here and now, and what will be fully revealed when we gather with all the saints, "The holy ones of the Most High who shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever --- forever and ever."

AMEN