St. John Chrysostom on Sharing the Gospel

john-chrysostom2Nothing is more frigid than a Christian who is not concerned with saving others. You cannot in this respect plead poverty; the woman who contributed her last two copper coins to the collection box will rise up to accuse you. So will Peter who said: “I have neither silver nor gold,” and Paul who was so poor that he often went hungry for lack of necessary food. Neither can you point to your humble birth: for they were also little people of the lower class. Ignorance will serve as no better excuse for you: they also were unlettered. Even if you are a slave or a fugitive, you can still do your part; such was Onesimus, and look to what he was called. And do not bring up infirmity: Timothy was subject to frequent illness. No matter who you are, you can be useful to your neighbor if you are willing to do what you can.

Do you see how sturdy, fair, well-shaped, graceful, and magnificent are the trees that do not bear fruit? Yet if we have occasion to possess a garden, we prefer pomegranate and olive trees filled with fruit. Sterile trees are there for appearance rather than utility; and if they can be useful, it is only in a very limited way. Such are those persons who consider only their own interest. And such persons do not even attain this end, for they are good only to be rejected, whereas the trees can be used to build houses. The foolish virgins had purity, grace, and modesty, but they were not useful to anyone because they saw themselves rejected.

Such are also those persons who do not assuage Christ’s hunger. Note well that none of them is reproached for private sinsfornication, perjury, and the likebut only for not having been useful to others. I ask you, is someone who acts in this fashion a Christian? If the leaven mixed vvith the flour does not cause it to rise, is it truly leaven? If perfume does not have a pleasing fragrance for those who come near, do we call it perfume?

Do not say that it is impossible to lead others into the fold, for if you are a Christian it is impossible not to do so. Indeed, if it is true that there is no contradiction in nature, what we have said is just as true, for it stems from the very nature of a Christian. If you claim that a Christian cannot be useful, you dishonor God and you behave like a liar. It is easier for light to be darkness than for a Christian not to send forth light. Do not declare something impossible when it is the contrary that is impossible.

Do not dishonor God.

Homily 20 on Acts 3-4

Lessons from the Throne Room

Sermon delivered on All Saints Sunday A, November 2, 2014, at St. Augustine’s Anglican Church, Columbus, OH.

If you prefer to listen to the audio podcast of this sermon, usually somewhat different from the text below, click here.

Lectionary texts: Revelation 7.9-17; Psalm 34.1-10, 22; 1 John 3.1-3; Matthew 5.1-12.

In the name of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is All Saints Sunday, the day when we celebrate the communion of saints, both those Christians who have died in the Lord (the Church Triumphant) and those of us who are living and who labor in the Lord’s power as his faithful kingdom workers (the Church Militant). So why do we celebrate a day like today? This is what I want us to look at briefly this morning.

We can find a big part of our answer in John the Elder’s vision in our NT lesson from Revelation this morning. But what are we to make of this vision? The first thing we need to be clear about is that like many of the visions in Revelation, time is quite fluid, moving rapidly from present to future and back. This is what we are seeing in today’s lesson. The vision is of God’s heavenly throne room right now, not at the end of time, although we catch glimpses of that time in it as we shall see. We know the vision is about what is going on in heaven right now because the throne room represents the heavenly Temple of God that mirrored the earthly one in Jerusalem. But when the new creation comes, God’s direct presence will flood the new heavens and earth and not be restricted to the heavenly Temple as it is here (Revelation 21.1-5, 22-27).

Why is John sharing this vision with us and why should we care? John’s original audience was the seven churches in Asia but his letter remains as pertinent to us today as it did to those churches in the first century. John writes to warn us about the coming ordeals we all will face. Echoing Jesus’ warning in our gospel lesson, John is telling us to be ready because we are about to undergo a severe testing of our faith; indeed, some of us already are! And to help us be ready, John urges us to hang on for dear life to the vision he shares of God’s throne room because it reminds us that God and the Lamb have already secured the victory over the forces of evil and that suffering and death and sickness and sorrow are not our final destiny.

So who are these people in the throne room? John gives us the answer that we all desperately need to hear. These are the people who have come through the great suffering. Think, for example, of your loved ones who have died in the Lord and of the various sufferings they had to endure before their death. Or think about the apparent untimeliness of their death in some cases. Think too about the times of your own suffering and tribulation as well as the massive suffering of the persecuted church throughout the world, especially in the Middle East. Doing so will help us understand we are all represented by this countless multitude of people from every tribe, language, and nation. Here we see these saints awaking as from a bad dream and into a glorious new reality just like you and I will experience one day. And what is this glorious new reality into which they have awoken? These multitudes get to stand in the presence of the living God and of Jesus the Lamb in worship and praise for delivering them forever from their various tribulations. This is what John means by salvation and what a real and lively relationship with God looks like.

But there’s more. John goes on to tell us that these saints, symbolic of all the saints, including our own, are wearing white robes to signify purity. The reason they are wearing these robes does not necessarily mean that they lived totally pure or holy lives, but because of the blood of the Lamb shed for them on the cross. This is what has made them clean and pure. This is what has rescued them (and us) from slavery to sin and what makes them at once able to stand in the very presence of the living God. There is no need to wait for this privilege. There is no lengthy postmortem period of cleansing (i.e., purgatory). No, the death of Jesus and the suffering they endured have done all that is required. If you find yourself thinking at this point, “No way. This is too good to be true.” you are coming close to finding the breathtaking reality of God’s love for you in Jesus and the transformative power of the Gospel. This is why we desperately need to hear and appropriate John’s vision because we are catching a glimpse of God’s promise to heal and rescue his sin-corrupted world and its people.

But there is still more. John goes on to tell us that God not only welcomes this multitude but provides a shelter for them just like he provided his tabernacle to shelter his people Israel in their wilderness wanderings. In other words, all the blessings of being in God’s Temple will be theirs (and is ours right now). If you understand this, you will begin to understand what Jesus was talking about when he announced the beatitudes in today’s gospel lesson. The beatitudes are not moral imperatives for us to try hard to follow but rather Jesus’ announcement that in him the living God is doing a new thing to redeem his world and its people from the ravages of evil, sin, and death. In other words, in Jesus we see God’s kingdom already breaking in on earth as in heaven and that people who follow Jesus are blessed because we realize God is working through our circumstances in the power of the Spirit to sustain and transform us in our heartaches and sorrow, just like we see him doing in John’s vision of the throne room.

And then John shows us one of the most poignant scenes in all the Scriptures. The scene shifts forward in time a bit, anticipating the new Jerusalem about which he speaks in Revelation 21.1-22.21. John tells us that God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the multitude in the throne room. This is such a poignant scene because it invites us to see the very heart of God, a heart filled with such a deep love for his people that it prompts God to come down off his throne and wipe away every tear from their eyes, and this after he has delivered them through the blood of the Lamb! I’m going to pause for a few moments and invite you to hold this vision in your mind. See God coming down off his throne to wipe away the tears from the eyes of your loved ones who have died in the Lord and who are with him now. And then picture God coming to you and doing the same. If you can do that rather than picture God as some uncaring heavenly landlord or cosmic bully who is determined to punish you the minute you do something wrong, you will begin to embrace the reality of God’s new day pictured here in John’s vision as well as in the midst of your own life’s sufferings. [pause for reflection]

These then are some of the lessons from the throne room. First, our beloved who have died in Christ are in his protective and healing presence in God’s heavenly throne room. They are there because of the blood of the Lamb shed for them and their suffering and sighing have ended forever. Second, they are conscious and enjoying a vital relationship with the living God, worshiping him and offering their thanks and praise to him for delivering them through the Lamb. Third, as John reminds us in our epistle lesson and implies in this throne room vision, they are awaiting their resurrection bodies that they will get when Jesus appears to usher in the new heavens and earth. Last, we who are still part of the Church Militant are given hope by this knowledge, not only for our loved ones who have died in Christ but also for ourselves because this too is our destiny. This future hope is what must sustain us as we endure our own trials and suffering. But we also remember our hope is not entirely future-based because Jesus is present with us here and now in the power of the Spirit to help us cope and to learn to live in ways that imitate him so that we can develop his character and learn to prepare ourselves to be where he is. We don’t do this to earn our way into the throne room and ultimately the new creation, but rather in grateful response to God’s great love made known to us when he rescued us in Jesus.

In a few moments we are going to read the Roll Call of the Victorious. As you hear your loved ones’ name(s) read, keep these lessons firmly in mind and then give thanks to God and the Lamb for loving you and your beloved, and for promising you strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, a hope that our beloved know to be a reality so that we, like them, know we have Good News, now and for all eternity. To him be honor, praise, and glory forever and ever.

In the name of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A Prayer for All Saints Day (2)

Blessed are you, Sovereign God,
ruler and judge of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In the darkness of this age that is passing away
may the light of your presence which the saints enjoy
surround our steps as we journey on.
May we reflect your glory this day
and so be made ready to see your face
in the heavenly city where night shall be no more.
Blessed be God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever. Amen.

A Prayer for All Saints Day (1)

Almighty God,
you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship
in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord:
grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living
that we may come to those inexpressible joys
that you have prepared for those who truly love you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Why All Saints’ Day?

Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this feastday mean anything to the saints? Do they care about earthly honors when their heavenly Father honors them by fulfilling the faithful promise of the Son? What does our commendation mean to them? The saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the lightest thing to what is theirs. Clearly, if we venerate their memory, it serves us, not them. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning. Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. in short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints. But our dispositions change. The Church of all the first followers of Christ awaits us, but we do nothing about it. The saints want us to be with them, and we are indifferent. The souls of the just await us, and we ignore them.

Come, let us at length spur ourselves on. We must rise again with Christ, we must seek the world which is above and set our mind on the things of heaven. Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory.

When we commemorate the saints we are inflamed with another yearning: that Christ our life may also appear to us as he appeared to them and that we may one day share in his glory. Until then we see him, not as he is, but as he became for our sake. He is our head, crowned, not with glory, but with the thorns of our sins. As members of that head, crowned with thorns, we should be ashamed to live in luxury; his purple robes are a mockery rather than an honor. When Christ comes again, his death shall no longer be proclaimed, and we shall know that we also have died, and that our life is hidden with him. The glorious head of the Church will appear and his glorified members will shine in splendor with him, when he forms this lowly body anew into such glory as belongs to himself, its head. Therefore, we should aim at attaining this glory with a wholehearted and prudent desire. That we may rightly hope and strive for such blessedness, we must above all seek the prayers of the saints. Thus, what is beyond our own powers to obtain will be granted through their intercession.

–Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermon 2

Augustine on the Saints of God

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With humans this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”— Matthew 19.25-26

The saints are those who are moved by God’s grace to do whatever good they do. Some are married and have intercourse with their spouse sometimes for the sake of having a child and sometimes just for the pleasure of it. They get angry and desire revenge when they are injured, but are ready to forgive when asked. They are very attached to their property but will freely give at least a modest amount to the poor. They will not steal from you but are quick to take you to court if you try to steal from them. They are realistic enough to know that God should get the main credit for the good that they do. They are humble enough to admit that they are the sources of their own evil acts. In this life God loves them for their good acts and gives forgiveness for their evil, and in the next life they will join the ranks of those who will reign with Christ forever.

–Augustine of Hippo, Against Two Letters of the Pelagians, 3.5.14

One of the reasons I love Augustine is that he was never afraid to be real. As we read his description of the saints, we cannot help but wonder how these folks can be enjoying their rest with their Lord. I mean, look at their flaws Augustine is pointing out!

Here’s the answer. They have died with Christ and so are raised with him (Romans 6.8) They were buried with Christ in the waters of baptism so that they might rise with him in his resurrection (Romans 6.3-5). And when they were alive, their lives were hidden with Christ (Colossians 3.3-4).

For you see, it is not about the saints or our worthiness. None of us is worthy to stand before God in God’s perfect holiness! Rather, it is about what God has done for us in Jesus so that through his death we might enjoy real peace and reconciliation with God (Romans 5.111). In Jesus, God condemned sin in the flesh so that we might be equipped to live with God forever, both here on earth in the power of the Spirit and in God’s promised new creation (Romans 8.3-418-25). This is what Jesus reminds us in the passage above from Matthew and that’s why we have hope for the Christian dead and ourselves on All Saints Day. Jesus is Lord, even over death!

Is this your hope or are you clinging to something less which is bound to fail? On this All Saints Day may God grant you the grace, wisdom, and courage to embrace the hope offered to you in Jesus. Come celebrate our victory over death in Christ this Sunday as we celebrate the communion of saints!