Sermons from St Faith's
'For All the Saints'
Jackie Parry, 2nd November,
2014
The
sermon on the mount is one of literatures most
well known examples of Jesus’ teaching and has
influenced thousands of people throughout the
years, and has even led to great changes in the
world. Dietrich Bonheoffer’s exploration
of this sermon led to him writing one of
Christianity's greatest books, “the cost of
discipleship” which influenced many
people. Gandhi gained tremendous strength
from the beatitudes, calling the passages the
grandest manifesto of non-violence ever written,
and it is believed this influenced a statement
of non violent resistance, which helped in
setting India free from oppression.
The ‘sermon on the mount’ is one of my favourite
passages in the Bible. I feel it is a
message of comfort, hope and faith. It
could be considered as just one single sermon
which Jesus preached on one definite situation;
but in fact it is the summary of his consistent
teaching. Jesus is talking to his
disciples; but in fact he is talking to all
Christians - all people who follow him.
Every beatitude is a key principle to living a
Godly life, and as such, brings blessings from
God. They are focussed positively on what
we should be like, rather on what we should not
do. They do not merely keep us from evil
but lend us to truth, because by the power of
the Holy Spirit, the people of God can have the
love and holiness of God as a dominant force in
their lives. An important lesson for the
disciples then, and for Christians today.
Jesus is saying that God’s blessings lie not on
the rich and powerful, but on the ordinary,
everyday people, and this can bring much comfort
and happiness to those who choose to follow God.
Many forms of happiness are temporary – they are
here today and gone tomorrow. People are
looking for a way to deal with the challenges,
the uncertainties, and the difficulties of
life. We want some assurance that the
direction of our life will offer meaning and
will connect us to something larger than our
individual stories. However,
regardless of whether they are personal
struggles or family matters, they are just as
real and of no less concern to God. And
here, in the beatitudes, we hear that Jesus is
saying everyone would be blessed by following
these attitudes, actions and priorities which
bring joy to the heart of God.
Today we celebrate the feast day of All Saints
and this is an opportunity for believers to
remember all saints and martyrs, known and
unknown, throughout Christian
history. Of course, the Church – the
Christian community – has always looked up to
the saint and martyrs because their lives were
especially holy; the witness of their lives is a
great encouragement to all. They were
notable exemplars of the Christian faith, in one
way or another. They were ordinary men and
women who lived their lives in faith and who
touched the hearts of many, but who may also
have been persecuted for their faith.
This morning we celebrate the saints and martyrs
of yesterday, but who are the saints of today?
These are the ordinary men and women who strive
to do their best for humankind. Who fight
for the greater good; who stand against
injustice.
There are also people who are known to us
personally and are present in our day-to-day
life; who touch our lives in perhaps small ways;
by saying a kind word, by being a good friend,
by standing by us and supporting us when others
might walk away; by saying to us, “I’m here for
you.”
There are other men and women of faith, who have
strived to make the world a better place in the
past and continue to do so in the present.
These people, and many more, are not saints as
such, but are the everyday, ordinary people who
care and do good, or “saintly”, things in
peoples’ lives, in God’s name.
We probably wouldn’t read about them in any
church history book and they may not be famous,
but they are simply people who touch our lives
and help us in our journey with God, and maybe
known only to you.
Let’s just take a moment to think about
that. Think about who the people are in
your life who have done something good, who have
been an influence in some way, who have helped
to put you on the right path, or perhaps have
guided you in your faith?
Who are the ones who have led you to this place
today, to this church, to worship God? Who
are special to you? Who are those saintly
people who have touched your life? It is
good to remember and give thanks.
And that is what All Saints Day is all
about. Setting aside a day each year to
remember and to thank God, not only for all the
saints which are recorded in history, but also
the saintly people whose names may not be
recorded in the churches history books, but
whose names and faces are recorded in our hearts
and our memories.
Some of them may be long gone, some more
recently, and some are still alive and continue
to play a part in our lives. But the one
thing in common with the saints of the past and
the saintly people of the present is the love of
God. And in that love, God’s grace and
compassion shines and flows through them,
touching those around them, and following
Christ’s teaching in the Beatitudes, bringing
comfort, hope and peace…
Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who feel
the weight of the worlds suffering,
the humble, those who long for what is right and
good,
those who show mercy and compassion,
those who are pure in heart who don’t have any
room for bitterness, anger or avarice,
those who work for peace, and are willing to
accept the ridicule and derision of others in
order to stand up for what is right and
good.”
Today we are invited to walk the path of the
saints, the way of the Beatitudes. The way
may be narrow and hard, and we need faith and
courage to walk it, but by the example of the
saints and with their prayers, this will
encourage us and help us on this path.
Christians are called to be loving, kind,
compassionate, generous and faithful
people. This is the way God created us to
be. And when we live according to God’s
will, we experience life to its fullest, and we
may even be one of those people who will bring
joy and comfort to others, in God’s name.
Amen.
Sermon: 2nd November 2014 St Faiths, Great
Crosby.
Readings: Rev 7: 9-end, 1 John 4:1-3, Matthew 5:
1-12 (Beatitudes and All Saints Day)
Jackie Parry
Jackie Parry
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