For All The Saints

All Saints Day November 6, 2022 Luke 6:20-31 For all the Saints Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship One: Come, a great cloud of witnesses surrounds us as we gather. Many: May the lingering echo of saints resound in our songs. One: May their stories open a space for the Spirit to enter us anew. Many: In remembering them, may we find ourselves re-membered. One: May the God of every generation form us anew for this generation. Many: And may a new joy rise in our lives and in the life of the world. ( United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Bob Cross) Invocation God of every age and time, inspire us today with memories of saints whose energy still lingers, hovering around and within as encouragement and strength. Wrap us anew with a felt sense of your persistent presence, granting a new energy to offer You everything of our hearts, minds and souls. Yes, Love of Life, root us and ground us in this. And let it be more than enough for today, as we gather in the name of Jesus. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, The Rev. Dr. Bob Cross) Song For All the Saints UMH 711 Children’s Sermon Full Children’s Sermon: Good morning children. Many churches celebrate this Sunday as “All Saints Day.” On this day we remember all the believers in the family of God that have gone before us, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and others that we read about in the bible as well as the many other men and women of God who were disciples of Jesus Christ down through the ages. I want to say more about this but first I wanted to show you something I brought from home. (Hold up your family photo album.) Do you know what this is? That’s right. It’s my family picture album. I’d love to show it to you. Look at this elderly man here. This is my grandfather Ernie. He was a wonderful man. He had a bad leg because he was injured in the war but he worked very hard on his orchard growing apples. I’ve always been inspired by how much he loved us and how he was such a hard worker. And here is my grandmother MacKinnon. In the summers we used to go with her to the lake. She was very caring and looked after us if we ever got hurt. I often look at this photo album because it reminds me of family members I used to know and even one that I never got to meet because they died before I was born. (Put down the photo album and hold up your bible.) Do you know what this book this is? Right, it’s a bible. I like reading the bible too. As believers in Jesus Christ we are all part of the family of God. The bible is a book about members of the family of God that goes back many, many years. (Open up the bible.) This part of the bible talks about a man names Abraham who had great trust in God. This part talks about Moses who led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. This part talks about God’s son Jesus and about the disciples, John, James, Peter, etc. We call them Saints. Saints are people who have been “set apart” for God’s holy / special purposes. In a sense we are all saints, but we like to specially remember them because they knew Jesus and were the first to follow him. What I want you to understand is that these Saints that are mentioned in the bible are really part of our family – the family of God. So you see that the bible is like our family album. It tells the story of great men and women of faith in the family of God; the same faith family that we belong to! Children’s Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the many and wonderful saints that followed Jesus down through the ages. Help us to follow their good examples and to remember what a blessing it is to be in the same family of faith. We ask this in Jesus’ name – Amen! Feel free to use this story on Sunday morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus.com and consider linking to this site. Thank you. A.H. Prayer for Transformation and New Life Loving God, Grant me grace to release everything too much or too little into your transforming fire of refinement. Sear in me the strength of your saints – generous and gentle, focused and fierce – just enough to answer every devilish temptation distracting or denying Your Holy hope for my re-formation. Yes, Love, form me anew from the inside out, centering others ahead of every selfishness that dares me to choose anything less than You. Release me from the burdens and brokenness of my own making, that I may be readied to meet You in every ordinary saint whose path crosses mine in the gift of this day. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins) Words of Grace Hear the good news! Jesus tells us that the Holy One is a God of grand reversals. Weeping turns to rejoicing, hunger is answered with fullness, honesty of heart is answered with grace upon grace. Every energy that diminishes is interrupted with a newness of life made possible by the One who is always searching us out with forgiving love. In Jesus, God revealed that grace and forgiveness has already arrived, and it includes you and me. It is the Good News! You can trust it with your life. The saints knew it and now you do, too. Thanks be to God! Amen and Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins) Scripture Luke 6:20-31 Sermon For all the Saints I am convinced that one of the most deadly illnesses in the world is grief. It makes all of the other things in life that we deal with so much worse. When we suffer a loss, and that loss starts to live in our thoughts and in our bodies it can take its toll on us. We all suffer loss, we all have an experience with death. All of us are dealing with unresolved grief. So as we take the time to honor those whom we have lost this year, our grief and sense of loss is real. So it may seem ironic that our scripture for today is about how to be happy. But Luke 6 speaks more of a holy happiness – not the emotion of happiness. Happiness in the midst of struggle. Finding Peace, justice, and wellbeing – when things in life don’t support that. Happy – what does that mean? What does it mean to be happy? What does it take for you to be happy? What does being happy have to do with serving God? Jesus must have given some thought to that same question. There are two different stories of how Jesus answers that question. The first story of how Jesus answers that question is in the book of Matthew – given in what is called the Sermon on the Mount. After Jesus calls his disciples – he takes them up on a mountain top and tells them what it means to be a happy Christian. He gives them 8 condition of what it means to live a blessed life – called the 8 beatitudes. In Luke, Jesus also talks about the beatitudes in Luke - But this time after going up on the mountain to pray – he comes down to level ground to speak with the people. In Luke this sermon is called the sermon on the plain. Jesus gives 4 blessings, but he also gives 4 woes. Four statements of how life should be, and four statements the life we should be wary of. He is telling us that there are two kinds of happiness in the world. One has lasting consequences, and one does not. There is the happiness that the world gives, and there is a holy happiness – that we can only get from being connected to God. The word beatitude is a latin word – that means blessing. The old testament gives several beatitude list – the 10 commandments are a sort of statement of blessings. I have decided that I will wait until I preach on Matthews list of beatitudes before I get on my soap box about the true meaning of being blessed. Because Luke’s sermon the plain has a slightly different meaning. In this context – the word beatitude is closer the to latin meaning of the word – meaning happiness. Happiness as a tangible condition of life. Matthew uses a more spiritual definition of the word. Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who are sad for they shall be comforted. Luke uses a concrete, economic definition that applies to the lives of those who have gathered to hear Jesus. Happy are those who are poor, those who are hungry, those who cry and those who are rejected. Those are the 4 conditions in Luke for being blessed. That would have been 99% of the people who were on the plain listening to these words. They had nothing, they lived hand to mouth everyday, and there was no hope things would ever change. A family had sold everything possible to pay bills and to put food on the table. Nevertheless, a burglar broke in one night when the family was gone. The family returned and found the door knocked off its hinges. "œWhat did the burglar get?" the police officer asked. The head of the house just shook his head. "œPractice," he said. It's not easy being poor. What did Jesus mean, "œBlessed are the poor?" A quote from Helen Keller sums of Jesus point best. She said that blessings in life don’t have anything to do with our condition in life. Life can be full of suffering, but it also can be full of overcoming – that is holy happiness.are Luke gets even more direct about the difference between worldly happiness and holy happiness. Because he gives 4 blessings, but he also gives 4 woes. Woe to those who are rich, woe to those who are filled woe to those who are laughing now, woe to those who are popular. You have received your blessing and will receive nothing more. The word for woe is an interesting Greek word – meaning consolation. – or paid in full. In other words, those who have in this life have received their reward, and there is nothing else for them to receive. But those who rely on God – shall receive their blessing from God. There is more to come. Is Luke saying that we should strive to be poor, and that there is something wrong with being rich. Not exactly. He is just telling us that there is a difference between worldly happiness and holy happiness? What does happiness mean to you? Where does your happiness come from. Which list describes your condition in life? Poor, hungry, weeping, hated, excluded, reviled defamed? Or rich full, laughing, well thought of? There is a true story about a Quaker who put up a sign on the vacant piece of land next to his house. It read: This Land Will Be Given To Anyone Who Is Truly Satisfied. A wealthy farmer who was riding by stopped to read the sign and said to himself, “Since I have all I need as a wealthy man, I certainly qualify. I might as well claim the land.” He approached the Quaker to seal the deal. “And art thou truly satisfied?” the Quaker inquired. “I am, indeed. I have all that I need.” “Friend,” said the Quaker, “if thou art satisfied, what dost thou want the land for?” We can all be hungry for a better world. We can pray for the day when all will be taken care of. We can consider ourselves happy in all circumstance. If our happiness comes from God, not from others. Our scripture goes on to give us a second even stronger message. Not only are we called to recognize our own need and dependence upon God. We are called to recognize the need and vulnerability of others. And then to offer to them, through our lives, the rich soil of compassion and justice. We are called to be in solidarity with the poor, the hungry, with those who are weeping. We are called to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Biblical scholars point out that the Beatitudes are what is called a “performative word.” These predictions about blessedness are not going to happen — they are already happening. This is not about what might be. This is about what is. This is God’s agenda, God’s vision, God’s kingdom. The reality described by the Beatitudes will happen, is happening, whether we choose to be part of it or not. Only a few of us are called to be the poor. A few more of us are called to work with the poor. But all of us are called to be for the poor — because that’s what it means to be God’s people. My friends, our scripture readings for today remind us that “human happiness” and “holy happiness” are often two different kinds of reality. Jesus is suggesting that “blessing” is more than enjoying ourselves. The goal of life is more than self-fulfillment. And prosperity is more than getting what we want. Happiness is to be open to God. Blessedness is to be fully alive and in harmony with God’s ways both in the good times and the bad. Let us be comforted and instructed by the words of the psalmist: Happy are those who delight in the Lord. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. (Psalm 1) (Susan Andrews – the sermon Holy Happiness) We come together today to remember that true happiness comes in living together, supporting one another, and working for a world where all are given true peace, justice and wellbeing. Coming together today will not take away our grief. We are a part of a community that has worked for that goal since the beginning of time and our work is not done. Saints are those who participate in that work. The candles that we light remind us of their presence, their example, their work. Let their light lead us and inspire us to continue to stand, to be the saints of God. Who in all time and in all things bring God’s Kingdom to earth. Song My Hope is Built UMH 368 All Saint’s Day Prayer Bless the many parted souls who lived their lives with grace. Bless the saints in heaven, gathered in that special place. May we tell their stories and remember all the ways they lived their faith and spent their days. There is glory and reward, even if at first there’s strife. Oh, blessed saints, you help us see a path that’s to eternal life. May we always hold them dear and know their life and place. May we know their inspiration and aspire to their grace. (Loyola Press) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment (Don’t Print) In Ephesians 1, believers are reminded we 1) are adopted as God’s children 2) are given forgiveness and redemption through Christ 3) are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. What an inheritance we’ve received! We also have a history of receiving financial inheritances from those who have loved this church over our history. As we celebrate All Saint’s Day, we remember these who have provided an inheritance for the on-going witness of this church. (You might name 3 or 4 specific names, especially if they would be remembered by many, or if their gifts are events/spaces/rooms named for them.) While weekly, monthly and annual financial gifts are necessary, the financial gifts offered by earlier saints provide examples of ways we, too, might provide an inheritance for this fellowship. (If you have a flier in the bulletin or a slide on the screen with information about how to create such a gift, call attention to it now.) Know this community of faith will celebrate your decision! For each gift, given today, or planned for years from now, we are grateful. Let us joyfully offer our gifts. Prayer of Thanksgiving (Print) Loving God, thank you for the inheritance you provide for each of us. We ask you to accept these gifts of gratitude. Help us use them wisely and well to extend your Realm on earth. AMEN (Disciples of Christ, Center for Faith and Giving) Remembering our Saints Prayer UMH 713 Candle Lighting Service Communion UMH 13 Invitation to Communion (Don’t Print) (consider using CH#649, “Give Thanks for Life” as a communion hymn. While not explicitly focused on communion, it uses language of “thanks”, provides images of light from Christ, and wheat as a sign of resurrection) Around this table, we’ve come to break bread, to drink from the cup, to remember – and to anticipate. Like a diamond, this ritual includes a multitude of facets. Today, we focus on thanksgiving and memory. With memory, we call to this present moment the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. With thanksgiving, we share simple sips of juice and morsels of bread as signs/emblems of Jesus blood and body. But with eyes of memory, we also see and call to mind loved ones no longer present, who shared bread in the past around this very table (perhaps invite people to name one or more – aloud or in silence –). And with an attitude of gratitude, we give thanks that this meal is a rehearsal for the banquet to which Jesus invites all. So let us feast! Communion (don’t print) This text is used by the pastor while the congregation uses A Service of Word and Table II (UMH 13–15) or III (UMH 15–16) or one of the musical settings (UMH 17–25). The pastor stands behind the Lord's table. The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. The pastor may lift hands and keep them raised. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise. It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty (almighty God), Creator of heaven and earth: God of Abraham and Sarah, God of Miriam and Moses, God of Joshua and Deborah, God of Ruth and David, God of the priests and the prophets, God of Mary and Joseph, God of the apostles and the martyrs, God of our mothers and our fathers, God of our children to all generations. And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn: The pastor may lower hands. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. The pastor may raise hands. Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ. By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection you gave birth to your Church, delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit. The pastor may hold hands, palms down, over the bread, or touch the bread, or lift the bread. On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said: "Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." The pastor may hold hands, palms down, over the cup, or touch the cup, or lift the cup. When the supper was over he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said: "Drink from this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." The pastor may raise hands. And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith. Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again. The pastor may hold hands, palms down, over the bread and cup. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood. The pastor may raise hands. Renew our communion with all your saints, especially those whom we name before you— Name(s) —(in our hearts). Silence may be kept for the remembrance of names. Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, strengthen us to run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet. Through your Son Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, all honor and glory is yours, almighty Father (God), now and for ever. Amen Copyright: “The Great Thanksgiving for All Saints and Memorial Occasions” Copyright© 1972 The Methodist Publishing House; Copyright © 1980, 1981, 1985 UMPH; Copyright © 1986 Abingdon Press; Copyright © 1987, 1989, 1992 UMPU. Used by permission.” Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Go forth from this time of worship as a flowing stream through a parched desert, pouring the love of God upon the hearts and lives of all you meet so that hope might take root and blossom. As you go, know that the God who created you, the Christ who redeems you and the Spirit who empowers you is with you today and ever more. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. Bob Cross) Community Time Benediction Beloved of God, trust that the Holy One still forms saints. They might be standing next to you. They might just be you. Trust that God has formed your life to be part of something larger than you could possibly imagine. So go, anticipating that God is already blessing you to bear good news into the world. Yes! Yes! Yes! Amen and Amen! (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins) Additional Illustrations