I was asked to share some sermons of mine.
Reading references for the morning in question are between square brackets; these are according to the Swedish lectionary.
Pax.
14th after TRINITY
[Ezek. 37:15-22; Eph. 4:1-6; Jn. 17:9-11]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
"That they may be one"
Every year, between 18th-25th January, churches in this part of the world come together to pray and worship during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Christians of various denominations come together for lectures, cultural events and ecumenical services to underline that what they have in common is greater than what divides them.
This is of course a wonderful tradition; Christianity has a sad and shameful reputation of being split up in so many different denominations.
But even though this Unity Week is important and should be cherished, there are of course 51 more weeks in the year when we as followers of Christ should consider unity, being one.
The traditional Christian way of reflecting and speaking of the one God, is that of the Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. "That they may be one, as you and I are one," Jesus prayed.
Three in One, and One in Three. It perhaps sounds odd and even contradictory, but ordinary mathematics don't apply here.
In the Catechism the Trinity is described as Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier.
This is interesting, because it means that Christians are not only challenged to reflect on who God is, but also on what God does. It's the specifically Christian way of speaking about God's being and action in the world.
It's not just academics and theology, it's also practical and for every-day life; it's not just the mind or the soul, it's also the body; not just passive, but also active.
In the 6th century BC, the prophet Ezekiel longed for a unity between the Hebrew tribes in exile in Babylon. A political union that would bring back the glory days of the united monarchy under David and Solomon.
And in the 1st century of our era, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians urging them to live out the bonds of unity in which they had entered at baptism. He urged those first Christians to care for their own, Jew and gentile.
However, -while political statements and cooperation might prevent wars, and might advance socio-economic prosperity; and while ecumenical and even inter-religious agreements and celebrations might promote understanding and tolerance, and might ensure that the Church as a whole is listened to when she speaks out on issues of justice and peace- for our Gospel reading today those positive results are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, a fraction of our limited endeavours as human beings, fantastic though they are. It doesn't end there.
The unity of the Trinity sets us an example; it's a unity to be prayed for and worked on. It's a unity extended from the Divine to us all. By God's grace and forgiveness accomplished in Christ, the broken relationship is restored, the unity with His people renewed.
But this reunion isn't just between God and ourselves, it goes further and much deeper; it's also within ourselves and with Creation.
To quote the Catechism: What does this mean?
"...one body, one Spirit"
As Christians we are called not just to focus on the here and now, we are equally called not just to focus on the hereafter. Our mortal lives matter just as much as our lives after death. Both body and soul are God-created and as such they both matter to God.
Christians are called to be at peace within ourselves so that we can be makers of peace for the world. Each person matters, but is also part of the greater whole, like the three Persons in the one Godhead. It's individual not individualistic.
Unity!
"...one hope"
We all want better things in our lives, better things for our loved ones and our children; we might hope to be able to be given the opportunity to make amends, to graduate, to find employment, to find that special someone; we might hope Liverpool wins the next match, or that we win the lottery.
But as Christians we are called to the realisation that our own hopes, our ambitions, should not hold back others or hurt them in any way. And these conflicting ambitions can be very difficult to overcome.
Unity!
"...one Lord, one faith, one baptism"
The divisions between Christians is a horror to God, it must drive the Almighty crazy. Christianity cannot be taken seriously at all if we keep squabbling amongst each other; we are called to come together, not just for that one week a year but always.
As Christians we are reminded that that baptismal unity, that baptism into the Body of Christ isn't just for Sundays or special occasions -important though these may be- but for the whole year, every year, our whole lives, and beyond
And not because we can't otherwise pay the rent of our empty churches any longer, not because we are scared of other religions or atheism or the 'big bad secular world', but because Christ Himself asks us to and prayed for it.
Unity!
"...one God and Father of all"
As Christians we are called to care for everyone and everything. Ourselves, our Christian brothers and sisters, people of other faiths, the homeless in our streets, the refugees landing on our shores, those fleeing for their lives, those who are ill, angry and afraid, poor and hungry, happy and seeking.
Every year our Lutheran partner-church in the USA holds a volunteer day under the slogan 'God's work, our hands'. It underscores a shared history, a shared hope, a shared conversation, a shared humanity, a shared creation.
Unity!
God Himself in His mercy and love has set us an example to accomplish this, given us the Scriptures to be inspired, the Creeds and Confessions to articulate it, the Spirit to find the strength for it.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
15th after TRINITY
[Neh. 9:19-21; Acts 20:32-36; Mt. 6:31-34]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
What do Christians, indeed all human beings, need?
There's the saying: People can do three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food.
It puts things into perspective at its basic levels of human need.
Fancy cars, big villas, WiFi internet, holidays in exotic far off places, expensive brands of all sorts, and so on, do not feature in this list!
Our little saying brings it all back to the basics: the question is not what do Christians, indeed all human beings, want, rather the question is what do they need.
Air, water, food, these things are the necessities needed in order to survive, in order to simply exist.
And when these basic necessities are lacking, we realise just how much we take them for granted; our fridges are filled often to the brim with food we end up throwing out, and this while millions on this planet are starving; the industrialised West but also developing countries are the biggest polluters, and we will need real international commitments to take care of God's Creation, not just humans but all of Creation; as for clean water, just ask the good folks of Lancashire how it feels to be without it for weeks, just like millions of others in the world living in places where epidemics caused by filthy water are very common.
As Christians however we recognise the fact that we are not only physical beings, but spiritual ones as well; we live by bread, just not bread alone.
There's a hint of this in Nehemiah's writing this morning.
In the 5th century BC, Nehemiah, in the employment of the Persian king, oversaw the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its Temple after the exile. He reminded the Israelites that God had looked after them in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt; He had provided guidance as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; He had provided food in the form of manna (and quails, not mentioned here); he had provided water at Marah, clothing and healthy feet for walking (Ex. 15-17).
But Nehemiah also describes how God gave his good Spirit to instruct them.
The connection between physical wellbeing, notably food, and blessing and instruction is often found in the Bible, like when the Apostle Paul connects his labour and teaching with prayer.
It's also found in the rituals of the Church, most visibly in the Sacraments.
A Sacrament as such connects God's promise, His word of grace, to a visible sign, a tangible created thing.
The waters which clenched the thirst of the wandering tribes in the desert became the waters of Holy Baptism, baptising us into the death and resurrection of Christ, into a daily regeneration of the Spirit and of forgiveness (SC on Baptism).
The manna, the bread come down from heaven, is Christ Himself, whose Holy Communion restores, renews and reinvigorates, giving each and every one of us life and salvation (SC on Communion).
All these blessings aren't just physical but also spiritual.
We may want many things, but what we need is sustenance for the body and the soul: air and water and food ànd forgiveness and grace and love.
These God-given blessings serve as a constant reminder to us that our Father cares for our physical as well as our spiritual wellbeing; we are not to fret, but rest assured that God cares and knows what we need.
We all worry about what the future may hold, but how did worrying ever help or contribute to that future?!
For millions in the world the future is a luxury, because they are too busy surviving.
So if God cares for us, will we too then care for others?
After all, Paul was being very practical when he wrote about "working hard to help the weak".
In our extremely individualistic and commercialised world, a slogan that is often heard -even from those identifying as Christians- is that 'God helps those who help themselves'. Sounds pious enough... But it's not in the Scriptures; it's more a symptom of love of the self than of love for the neighbour! It denies grace, both from God and from those claiming to worship Him!
Many people who have a lot only want more, or as Saint Paul so beautifully describes it with that wonderfully old-fashioned word, they covet more.
Often this is out of jealousy or out of fear. But envy and fear aren't good advisers, they lead to greed and obsession, even resentfulness.
But sharing doesn't mean losing out, now does it?!
When God blesses us with so many good gifts, both physical and spiritual, both in this life and the next, perhaps we should ask ourselves what we're prepared to do with them? Will we use them for good, or in a more modern term, will we use them constructively? Are we willing to share, to look out for the needs of others as well as ourselves? Are we willing to thank God for all He gives and then give to others?
We are made free to serve, but all too often in our selfish world it's unfortunately all about what we want not about what we really need and most certainly not about what anyone else needs.
"Seek first the kingdom of God", in other words are we truly worrying about the things that really matter?
What do Christians, indeed all human beings, need?
Certainly not more greed and indifference but more compassion and engagement.
"Seek first the Kingdom of God".
When we show God's grace to the world, the grace we were freely given, the rest will follow.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
MICHAELMAS
[Dan. 6:16-22; Rev. 12:7-12; Lk. 10:17-20]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Angels...
They seem everywhere: tv-series and films, books, so-called oracles, angel cards, pictures, jewellery, the weeping angels in Dr Who, and so on, and soon they'll be back in many Christmas decorations too.
Even in a society where religion, Church and God are still often regarded with suspicion or at least from an aloof distance, angels however seem very popular, or at the very least they seem fantastical and science fiction enough to be entertaining and/or usable.
The word 'angel' actually denotes a function rather than a being or state.
The Greek word 'angelos' literally means 'messenger', so a job or task rather than a character so to speak.
So whether we think of angels as fierce winged warriors or cute chubby babies in Baroque art, as a special person in our lives or the person sitting next to us this morning, as the stranger on the bus or the unexpected act of kindness, as a bringer of a good message, of Good News (with capital letters); however we think of them, angels have occupied the minds and imaginations of the faithful and others throughout the ages.
The Scriptures give us some information about angels:
- There seem to be different 'sorts' of angels: seraphim, cherubim, archangels, angels, etc... Some of these are even named: Michael and Gabriel being the most famous.
- They remain in the presence of God, worshipping Him constantly. Like eg. the seraphim in the presence of God singing "Holy Holy Holy."
- They proclaim important news to mankind. Like eg. Gabriel did at the Annunciation.
- They are with the faithful, at our passing, at our prayer, at the Day of Judgement.
- They are said to rejoice at the sinner's conversion.
- They are not to be worshipped! As the angel in Revelation told John the Evangelist. They too are creatures and they too are fallible. Like eg. the fallen angels.
- Some are believed to be special guardian angels.
While this gives us an idea, in the Middle Ages some Christian writers and thinkers developed an entire theory on the order of angels and their functions. It involves a whole lot of speculation; suffice to say, that in these organised orders there are different angels and lots of them.
So what does all of this mean?
Well, as Jesus suggests, let's look at the positive rather than the negative, let's return to our word 'angelos', 'messenger'. Rather than focus on the form, let's go back to the content, to what angels represent.
The Bible doesn't tell us many things about these go-betweens and tradition only offers some calculated guesswork.
But it does tell us quite a lot about Him who created the angels and sends them to His other creatures.
Because being a messenger involves several things and tells us a lot about the Sender: care and interest, presence and initiative, communication and relationship.
It's God who is the Sender.
It's God who in His grace sends His angels, whether or not we interpret this as pure supernatural beings or actual people of flesh and blood.
It's God who takes the initiative, an initiative we should be taking but never do, so God does. Why? Because God cares for us, loves us and is interested in us, and there is nothing that could ever erase that care, that love and that interest!
It's a message about the kind of God we have, a God of love and a God who is love!
Angels represent this.
If you care for someone and are interested in them, you want to be near them, don't you?
Angels represent this presence.
At the beginning; in life and creation; in this chapel this morning, at worship; in times of great joy (like when the sinner mends their ways or when healing occurs, as in our Gospel narrative); in times of great danger and anguish, against the powers that be, seemingly impossible (like Daniel in the lions’ den, when the king literally sealed his fate); at the end, when our tomb -like Christ's- will be covered, when -like Christ- new life will begin at the resurrection, like angels were there that first morning and when Christ ascended to the Father, as we too will go to Him one day).
It's a message about a God that will never let go, whatever happens and whatever we're up against; in the end -as we read in Revelation today- God will put things aright.
God is present and calls us to be present.
Angels represent this.
And God is a God of His creating and life-giving word, Christ is the Word incarnate.
God is in constant communication with His creatures, in constant relationship.
It's a relationship not only between God and ourselves, but also between ourselves and within ourselves.
It's a relationship that tells us about the Creator and His creation, where the spiritual matters just as much as the physical; it's not just about the soul but also about the body, it's not just about the earthly but also about the heavenly.
It's about the message, the Good News, that in Christ all these broken relationships are restored, reconnected, time and time again.
It's about a God that makes this effort, speaks this Good News through messengers -spiritual and physical- every single day. Continuous forgiveness.
Angels represent this.
Perhaps you feel that angels surround you all the time, perhaps you believe that you have encountered them, perhaps you see them merely as a metaphor or symbol, perhaps you have trouble getting your head around it all.
Whatever the interpretation, God invites us today to think about this connection between heaven and earth, things visible and invisible as the Creed puts it, and rejoice -with the angels- that our names are written in heaven.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
THANKSGIVING SUNDAY
[I Chron. 29:10-14; I Thess. 5:16-24; Lk. 17:11-19]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The healing of the ten lepers is a quite well-known story.
The leprosy mentioned here is a generic term covering all sorts of skin diseases.
The Law dictated that people who suffered from these afflictions had to live apart from the majority of society, probably to avoid the spread of the disease, but more so because they were considered imperfect and therefore ritually unclean. To put it this way: if someone would be suffering from psoriasis or severe acne they wouldn't be allowed in church this morning. Let's hope there aren't any churches around who adhere to that rule!
When the skin healed, the patient had to be checked over by a priest and get the official recognition which allowed them back into social and religious life.
Jesus abides by this rule, in fact, Jesus kills two birds with one stone so to speak as the lepers are healed on their way to see the priest and get their official seal of approval.
And when only one of the ten, a Samaritan no less, comes back to thank Jesus for his healing, Jesus seems slightly annoyed.
Where were the other nine?!
Weren't they healed as well?!
And they didn't return to give praise to God?!
How rude!
After all, they had called out for pity, and their prayers had been answered.
"Your faith has made you well.", Jesus explained to the Samaritan.
For Luther faith and prayer were basically the same thing; they're an act of creation.
"Do not despise your prayers...", Luther urged people.
No prayer is insufficient, no prayer is too short, too weak, too simple, no prayer is irreverent, no prayer is useless!
When we pray, it's the Spirit who prays in us.
When we pray, we pray through the Son.
When we pray, our prayers -however imperfect- ascend to the Father.
But sometimes prayer seems difficult, a real struggle, just like faith is.
Often continual prayer seems a continual struggle, just like faith.
God doesn't need our prayers and yet God invites us to pray, because God wants to hear our prayers, He wants to listen to our prayers.
In prayer we encounter God, it's a place where we talk to God, where God talks to us.
Sometimes it's a dialogue to and fro, a conversation. Sometimes it's a monologue where God does all the talking and we just listen.
Prayer is our lifeline with our caring, loving, forgiving, listening God, even if on many occasions it doesn't really feel like it.
In prayer we return to the place where everything is as it should be; in prayer, as in faith, God is God and human beings are human beings.
And it's certainly not a relationship of tyranny but one of love and creation.
Being human though means that we're flawed, selfish, distracted, and this is very often reflected in our prayer life.
Then it's a good thing we have special days, like Thanksgiving today, to remind us that we -unlike God- do need prayer.
And our prayer really shouldn't be our one way street from us to God.
We ask a lot of our Father in heaven, indeed some people only pray when in need or when they want something.
God isn't a vending machine; we can't just put in the coins and expect whatever it is we want to simply come out.
We ask a lot of our Father in heaven, and that's alright; God is happy when we turn to Him, when we call on Him, when we cling to Him.
But a day like Thanksgiving today should remind us that it's not just all about asking, but also about rejoicing, about praising, about giving thanks.
When we pray, do we mind our p's and q's, as the saying goes?
When we ask God to 'please do this', to 'please give us that', do we then also simply say thank you?
If our Gospel story of this morning is anything to go by, we all of us tend to often leave that bit out, don't we.
Perhaps we can look at Thanksgiving today to re-start a good habit of minding those p's and q's.
Perhaps we could look at it as an invitation for some respect and courtesy, plain politeness even, to a God who doesn't need our prayers but nonetheless rejoices in them and listens to them.
After all, that's what we're celebrating here this morning, alongside millions of Christians around the world who gather on Sundays around the Lord's table.
'The Lord's Supper, the Breaking of Bread, the Mass, Holy Communion'...as Lutherans we're free to choose from many descriptions.
One of these descriptions is 'Eucharist', a Greek word literally meaning 'Thanksgiving'.
God's free gift of the Sacrament of forgiveness and wholeness, of Christ's body truly present in bread and wine.
And an open invitation to give thanks in it.
Eucharist, Thanksgiving.
Our Anglican brothers and sisters down the road actually use the words from David's prayer (vv. 11, 14b) from the Bible in their prayers of thanksgiving after the collection and offertory hymn.
So on this Thanksgiving day, let's come to the Table, in prayer, in faith, let's receive the bread and wine, God's free gifts.
And let's ask God for His help and care for all our needs.
And let's give thanks to God for it.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
REFORMATION SUNDAY
[Jer. 31:33-34; Gal. 3:25-28; Jn. 8:31-36]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
There's a website called Old Lutheran, selling all kinds of Lutheran 'merchandise' like books, jewellery, t-shirts, etc...
Their slogan is "Old Lutheran- the Centre of Lutheran Pride! (But not too proud)"
And this sums up what today's celebration is about: Reformation Day should never be a celebration against or opposite from other Christians, but with them, we might even say for their benefit.
When one part of the Body (with capital B) rejoices, it should be for the good of the whole Body.
Then what can our own Lutheran tradition contribute to the Church universal, the whole Body of Christ? Or in other words, why are we here and why are we celebrating?
Lutherans -or Christians of the Lutheran tradition, might be a better way of putting it- have their own perspective on the Jesus narrative, the story of God and His people, to add to the grander Christian reading of this story. Lutherans have their own take on the Covenant of God to contribute to the wider attempt of Christians to learn and live out this Covenant.
If Reformation Day should be about anything it should perhaps be about how we as Lutheran Christians can energise and stimulate our sister-churches in their own being in God's Covenant.
How to re-discover time and time again the joy and commitment the Covenant offers, and not take it for granted.
How to re-evaluate time and time again in order to better share the Good News which the Covenant speaks about.
How to re-appreciate time and time again the love and forgiveness and freedom God hands down in this Covenant.
This Covenant is after all an undeserved free gift from God.
And the concept of 'free gift' is the very core of Luther's and Lutheran theology...or at least it should be. Grace, grace and more grace, should be the basic answer with which Lutherans try to explain the Covenant from their point of view.
The Covenant comes to us from above, not in a submissive and tyrannical way, but lovingly, like a parent caring for their children.
This gift is free, and is free for each and every one of us!
In the Small Catechism this is emphasised by using personal pronouns singular:
"I believe God has made me...I believe Jesus Christ had redeemed me...I believe the Holy Spirit has called me..."
However, this relationship is personal nòt exclusive, it's individual nòt individualistic!
This personal relationship with our Creator happens within Creation, within the Church, within humanity; in relation to other Christians, other religions, other people.
God knows each and every one of us, as children; God knows us personally and individually, but we're still part of a larger family, a larger whole.
This doesn't mean that as God's children we can do or get up to whatever we like or please.
It doesn't mean that we were given a license to live sinful and wasteful lives.
God doesn't remember our sins, God doesn't hold our sins against us, God doesn't turn around to say 'Remember that time when I forgave you?!'.
No, but it doesn't mean that this God-given forgiveness and freedom can be abused.
Being free, being part of a greater whole as individuals entails responsibility.
Lutheran Christians have a responsibility towards Creation and the Body of Christ in particular.
This isn't always easy; if we're completely honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we're all capable of horrendous things, but -!- by God's grace we're also capable of extreme compassion and kindness.
This seeming contradiction, this tension Lutherans call 'saint and sinner', and it's another way in which we try to contribute to the understanding of living in the Covenant.
However, 'saint and sinner' isn't an excuse for complacency, for taking the free gifts of grace and faith for granted.
True, salvation comes from above. True, we can't buy or work or bargain or swindle our way into heaven.
But it's exactly because we're set free, free indeed, that we're able to indeed serve our neighbour as ourselves.
Free to serve; God has taken care of our life eternal, so that we can gratefully act as God's co-workers in the here and now. Good works may not justify us, but good works should ideally flow from justification!
This justification by faith means that if we no longer have to worry how we'll get 'up there' so to speak, we're free to spend time and energy worrying about and taking care of Creation around us with all that that includes.
We're all called to this care, each and every one of us, each in our own vocation.
And no vocation is more or higher than the next. We all may have different jobs to do, different calls to answer, and that's perfectly alright, but before God there's no difference in love and forgiveness.
Obviously there's variety between people, but for God that doesn't matter, in fact God has no qualms with it at all. After all, the Creator knows His own Creation.
But this variety doesn't exclude unity, and for Lutheran Christians this unity doesn't mean complete uniformity.
That's not the point, that's not the ultimate goal because humanity is varied and so human traditions vary as well. And from a Lutheran standpoint it's just as true for Church traditions. (AC, art. 7)
What matters is the Good News.
What matters is the restored relationship between a God who actually cares and actually loves, and Creation in all its splendour and complications and tensions.
Reformation Day should remind Christians of the Lutheran tradition that they have a vocation to point at this Gospel message within the wider Church, the Body of Christ, proudly... but not too proud!
And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
ALL SAINTS/SOULS and REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY
[Gen. 50:15-21; II Thes. 3:1-5; Mt. 18:15-20]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
So, nature is slowly preparing for its winter hibernation, be it in a milder way this year than on average.
Nature is preparing its winter sleep, while society on the other hand is revving up for two to three months of shopping, celebrating, parties, gifts, visits, loads of food and drink, etc...
Christ's Church too is preparing, with Advent starting at the end of this month and then Christmas.
But first we have a time of remembering.
First, before we start putting out the Advent candles and wreaths, before we start digging out the decorations or start rehearsing Christmas Carols, before all that we are invited to stand still, breath in and remember.
For some it's a bit of a boring time, they can't wait for the real rush to begin; for others it's a very emotional time, a time they truly need to go through and feel, even if they rather wouldn't.
Often this time of the Church calendar is called Kingdom Season, and during this season we're invited to think about the things to come beyond our own time, beyond our own space, without losing sight of course of our own lives.
During this time -before all the humdrum of the weeks ahead- we're invited to stand still, breath and reflect on the Kingdom of God.
This Kingdom of God isn't just about the Eternal Kingdom in heaven, it's also about the Kingdom already established here on earth.
It seems like a contradiction though, doesn't it: we speak about an eternal kingdom, a life-here-and-now and a life-after-life, while at the same time we honour the fallen, remember the dead and commemorate the saints of centuries ago.
How do we speak about a kingdom for the living, while we perhaps lay wreaths, hold ceremonies, visit graves, light candles and name those we love but see no more?
Maybe it helps to be reminded that God encompasses everything, holds everything in His hand. Maybe it helps to be reminded that in Jesus as God Incarnate, God too is beyond time and space and yet very much part of the here and now.
Then perhaps death and life are no longer contradictory but complimentary. Then perhaps the Kingdom of God could be a little closer in our lives; no longer 'there v. here' or 'then v. now', but much bigger, much more connected.
Because if we only think about the Kingdom as something far-off, many light years away, then we might just run the risk of thinking about the Kingdom as something we need to strive for, wait for, work for ourselves, as something we need to earn.
And that's not right as the Kingdom has already been given.
And if we only think about this far-off Kingdom as a place where only the blessed saints in light reside, then another question poses itself: what constitutes a saint? Who's saintly enough to dwell in God's Kingdom?
Is there an exam we could take?
Is there a form to fill in?
A list of boxes to tick?
Is it enough to commit to the points our Readings this morning seem to be making: forgiveness, perseverance, reassurance, confidence, prayer, absolution? Are those the qualities to strive for?
If we're looking for answers that way, we might just be running the risk of setting ourselves up for certain failure.
Because none of us tick all the boxes, do we? Some of us perhaps tick more boxes than others; we probably all of us tick different boxes.
And there's nothing wrong with wanting to better ourselves, to learn from our mistakes or to work hard; there's nothing wrong with holding on to the faith, with forgiving others, with praying for our neighbours just as much as for ourselves! In fact, we're very much called and encouraged to do exactly that!
However,
We'll never tick all the boxes, and that's not meant to be fatalistic or pessimistic, but realistic.
Those blessed saints in light didn't tick all the boxes, they weren't perfect, because if we think that perfection will get us the Kingdom, we've already failed.
Those saints were just as human as we are, just as fallible, even if their commemorations serve us as good examples for holy, faithful lives.
Then how did these saints whose lives we celebrate today get to the Kingdom?
They didn't!
The Kingdom of God came to them, just as it comes to us all.
So who's a saint, ready for the Kingdom?
Congratulations, you've all passed the exam!
"Thy Kingdom come.", we say in the Lord's Prayer; not because we work for it or earn it, but because God promised it and gives it to us, especially in Baptism and Communion.
The Kingdom of God isn't just far-off and hidden, but also close-by and revealed.
This Kingdom isn't just given to the select and holy few, but to all of us, fallible and failing though we may be.
God's Kingdom isn't just after death, but also in life, connected, encompassed by God's great love and compassion.
And that too is very important to remember!
And the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.