All Saints
God’s Grace is Sufficient
Revelation 7:9-17
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. November 1st, 2020
One day I was taking a history class when the teacher said, “When people ask ‘who is the smartest person to ever live?’ the answer is usually Einstein, or Da Vinci, or Thomas Aquinas. When, in all likelihood, the smartest person to ever live as probably a peasant who never had the chance to exercise their gifts.” That stuck with me, and I think it’s true. Someone’s fame or accomplishment can’t tell us how smart a person is, because there are all sorts of people who never had the opportunity, or were left to languish in obscurity.
Christians have also recognized this simple truth. Though as Christians we prize holiness above intelligence. We have our own heroes, our own bright lights of fame and accomplishment. We’ve taken to calling them saints, or holy ones. From the earliest days of the Church we have passed on stories about the great deeds and awe inspiring faithfulness of those who have gone before. The Book of Acts is a history of these great heroes of the faith. How Stephen suffered martyrdom, how Paul fearlessly preached the gospel to Agrippa. We also tell stories of St. Lawrence, he of the river, how when Caesar asked him to produce the wealth of the Church he came before Caesar with the orphan, the widow, and the poor. When he was sentenced to death by fire for his insolence, he is said to have told his killers, “turn me over I’m done on this side.” St. Lawrence became known as the patron saint of comedians.
Then there’s St. Patrick who delivered the gospel to Ireland, bravely standing up to the tribes there. St. Francis who gave up all that he had to live the life of a beggar, and through word and deed preached the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever he went. There’s Dirk Willems, an anabaptist who was arrested for heresy. He escaped his prison by tying rags together into a rope. It was winter time and the moat was covered with thin ice. As he fled his pursuer, the guard fell through the ice. Rather than take that as his opportunity to escape, Dirk loved his enemy as himself, and saved the man’s life. The guard thanked him by recapturing him, and he was martyred. And I would be remiss if I did not bring up the example of John and Charles Wesley who devoted their lives to preaching the gospel in the British Isles, to setting up small groups where people could share their testimony and receive accountability in their walk with the Lord, and led to the salvation of thousands.
We have many, many heroes of the faith. But we recognize that God’s grace is lavish and unlimited. Though we know the names of thousands of saints, we also know there are many ordinary saints. In fact, there are probably saints whose names are only known here in this town, whose memory is only carried by those who once knew them. Individuals who gave tirelessly, prayed unceasingly, whose lives were full of the love of God. People who, when you met them, there was a life in their eyes.
All Saints is dedicated to all of those ordinary saints who we knew in our own walk, who have gone to be with the Lord, and whose example informs our faith even today. In our reading from the Book of Revelation this morning we see an image of that great cloud of witnesses, the Church triumphant that sits before the throne in worship. We are told, “I looked, and there was a great crowd that no one could number. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and held palm branches in their hands.” Just before this John had the vision of the 144,000 sealed from the twelve tribes. First he hears how 12,000 have been sealed from Judah, 12,000 sealed from Reuben, 12,000 sealed from Gad, and so on. 144,000 is a lot of people! Especially back then. But 144,000 is also a definite number. As if God’s grace had found its limit, as if these were the saints, and no more. There are some who still believe something like this today.
But salvation is not limited to the 144,000, those sealed from the tribes of Israel are not the only ones making their way to heaven. Instead John looks and there is an innumerable crowd made up of people from all times and places. They all had endured tribulation, and they all had washed their clothes in the blood of the lamb. And they now live eternally, shepherded by the lamb who gives them the water of life.
God has many, many children. Who can count the saints? Why, they are more numerous than the sand on the seashore or the stars of heaven. And we have known them. Saints have been placed in our life, by the grace of God, that we might better know his love for us. They are tangible proof of God’s grace, and God’s love. And we remember them all today, all they have meant for us, all that God worked through them. Knowing that God calls all of us to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Knowing we are all called to perfection in love. We are all called to be saints. And God gives all of us more than enough to grow in love.