Honoring the Saints of God

November 6, 2011 All Saints Day Revelation 7:9-17 Matthew 5:1-12 Year A “Honoring the Saints of God” What does the word Saint mean? The word Saint means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To some – we think of the great saints of the bible – Paul, Peter, Matthew, Luke. To some we think of the great saints of time – of Ghandi, Martin Luther King, to some we think of the great people of our lives, our grandparents, our favorite uncle, our parents, our first Sunday school teacher. We might even think of a stranger along the way – someone who we know did something really important. An unlikely saint I am pretty sure that in thinking of the meaning of a saint, we would never think of a young man of about twenty years old, in a sailor’s uniform, sitting in the bottom of a ship, looking at silk – checking it meticulously for holes and other faults. Ironing it out, and them folding it in just the right way. But to Charles Plumb, he was a saint. Because he was the person who packed his parachute. Who packed your parachute story Every now and then someone sends you something on the email which is worth Keeping. Some years ago a friend, and I can't remember who it was now, sent An email entitled "who packed your parachute". I was interested to see Recently that it is doing the rounds again. It was one of those you are meant to send on to people who have a special Place in your life. It is the story of a US fighter pilot from the Vietnam War, called Charles Plumb. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air Missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and Spent 6 years in a Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now Lectures on lessons learned from that experience. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today." Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. He says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform, a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said, "Good morning, how are you?" or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor. Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't even know. "Now," Plumb asks his audience, "who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory --- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety. Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. The email finished with the suggestion that "As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachute." [1] A saint is someone who packed your parachute. Before you even thought of venturing out into life, before you thought of doing whatever it is that you do. Saints are those who packed our parachute There was someone who packed your parachute. Someone who prayed that you would be safe, someone who thought of the obstacles that you would face, and someone who sacrificed their life and their safety, so that you could have more. Some of those people we know and we value very well. Others – like the young sailor – we may never know. All we know is that we would not be here without them. This church would not be standing here; our lives would not be the same. Saints could have done big things or little things, a saint could be here with us now, or they could be gone. They could have passed this year, a thousand years ago. A saint could be a boy or a girl, a saint could live next door, or on the other side of the road. Saints come in all sizes and shapes. That is the point that revelation is trying to make. Our text starts out by saying – I looked and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages standing before the throne and before the lamb. 12 is the number of completeness Chapter 7 also says that they were numbered 144,000. The book of revelation is written in code. That does not mean that there are only 144,000 in heaven. 12 is the number of completeness. There were 12 tribes of Israel, Jesus had twelve disciples. 144,000 is 12 X 12000. That is twelve – over a thousand times. A number that is beyond complete. Everyone who is supposed to be there is there. Everyone is there – before the throne of God worshipping and praising God. Who are these people and what are they doing here One of the elder angels of heaven asks – who are all of these people dressed in white – and what are they doing there. They are the saints of God – those who have been made holy by the blood of Jesus – those who remained faithful to God no matter what- those who lived their lives in relationship with Jesus Christ. ASD not about us We remember the saints on this day – because God is calling us to think beyond ourselves and beyond our comfort zones of what makes sense. Life is not just about us. Life is about everybody. God knows no boundaries in life. For God, life and death are doors to pass through. And for today – we are called to remember that we are part of a much bigger picture. All saints day is to remind in a world we are prone to forget the past and to be afraid of the future – that God’s world is eternal. That there are multitudes in our lives – who have made the world what it is, and that now it is our turn to act. Our turn to prepare a parachute for those who are coming behind us. Come beyond the deadness of our lives One pastor said that All Saint day calls us to come out from behind the wheels of our dead lives – and to know that Christ has given us new life. Not just the resuscitation of the normal life – but a new life. Sometimes I feel out of kilter – and I wish that I could just return to normal. And I have to be reminded that in this life, there is on normal – there is only what is before me. And the strength to go on. How did they get here? Jesus Christ, the lamb of God is my strength to go on. The elder angel asks another good question – he asks not only who are the saint – but how did they get here. All saint day reminds us that we get to the throne room of God through our suffering. We have suffered failure, rejection, injustice, and loss. Those before the throne are there because they have suffered death. 1 Corinthians 15:26 says that death is the last enemy to be conquered. All Saints day reminds us that Jesus Christ has conquered that enemy – for us and for those whom we love who are faithful. We struggle, we are still struggling – but the good news is that God has not forgotten our struggle. Why they there dressed in white – worshipping God – scripture are says because they will hunger no more, nor any scorching heat and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. All saints day reminds us – that we are not in the throne room yet – there is still struggle ahead for our lives – and yet we can share in their joy. We can be comforted by the lamb of God – right here and now. In order to go forward In order for us to go forward, we have to remember where we came from. In order for us to go forward we have to remember those who got us here, in order for us to go forward – we have to remember who packed our parachute – and why we need to pack for others. I want to leave you with the words of psalm 34 - bless the lord at all time, in all places, in honor of all people. Amen.