REVELATION 21:1-7 | SAINTS ALIVE X 2!

SAINTS ALIVE X 2!
REVELATION 21:1-7
NOVEMBER 1, 2015

YEARS AGO ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS CALLED ME EARLY ONE MORNING TO TELL ME THAT HIS MOTHER WAS VERY CLOSE TO DYING. “I’LL BE RIGHT THERE,” I TOLD HIM.

MY FRIEND GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL AT THE AGE OF SEVENTEEN AND ALMOST IMMEDIATELY WENT TO WORK FOR THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY WHERE HE CONTINUED TO BE EMPLOYED FOR MOST OF HIS ADULT LIFE.

WHAT WAS EVEN MORE REMARKABLE IS THAT FOR ALL THAT TIME, SOME 30 PLUS YEARS, HE ALSO CONTINUED TO LIVE AT HOME AND TOOK CARE OF HIS MOTHER WHO WAS TOTALLY BLIND, AND WHO, FOR MANY YEARS HAD BEEN QUITE DISABLED IN OTHER WAYS AS WELL.

IT WAS ONLY IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS OF HER LIFE THAT HE WAS FORCED TO PLACE HER IN A NURSING HOME, A GUT-WRENCHING DECISION FOR HIM, SO THAT SHE COULD BE CARED FOR AT A LEVEL HE COULD NO LONGER PROVIDE.

WHEN I ARRIVED AT HER ROOM HE WAS STANDING BY HER BED. WE SPOKE QUIETLY TO EACH OTHER, AND TO HER, BUT MOSTLY WE WATCHED HER BREATHE – VERY SHALLOW, VERY SPORADIC, LONG PAUSES BETWEEN BREATHS.

WE EACH TOOK ONE OF HER HANDS, THEN EACH OTHER’S, AND I PRAYED:

THANKING GOD FOR HER LIFE AND WITNESS, FOR THE LOVE OF A MOTHER AND HER SON, FOR GOD’S GOOD GRACES IN HER LIFE, AND THAT GOD WOULD RECEIVE HER NOW INTO HIS ETERNAL CARE.

WHEN WE FINISHED OUR PRAYER, WE WATCHED FOR A FEW MORE MINUTES, UNTIL WE WATCHED HER TAKE HER VERY LAST BREATH; AND WITH THAT LAST BREATH, SHE PASSED FROM THIS LIFE INTO LIFE ETERNAL.

“WE BELIEVE… IN THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THE LIFE EVERLASTING. AMEN.”

THAT’S WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE IN THE APOSTLES’ CREED.

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER I USED TO BE JEALOUS OF MY ROMAN CATHOLIC FRIENDS AND THEIR COLLECTION OF SAINTS. IT SEEMS THEY HAD A SAINT FOR EVERYTHING AND ONE FOR EVERY DAY.

THEY HAD STATUES OF ST. FRANCIS OR ST. FIACRE AT THEIR FRONT DOORS OR IN THEIR YARDS.

SOME OF THEM CARRIED ST. CHRISTOPHER MEDALS, THE PATRON SAINT OF TRAVEL, IN THEIR POCKETS, OR THEIR PARENTS HAD THEM SWINGING FROM THE REARVIEW MIRRORS IN THEIR CARS, TO PROTECT THEM WHEREVER THEY WENT.

A FEW OF THEM ALSO HAD SMALL STATUES OF CHRIST OR THE VIRGIN MARY ON THEIR DASHBOARDS IN THE BELIEF THAT THEY WOULD KEEP THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES SAFE WHILE DRIVING. AND WHO’S TO SAY IT DOESN’T WORK?

I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT I LAUGHED OUT LOUD YEARS LATER WHEN I HEARD THE JOKE ABOUT HOW IF I WERE THEM I WOULD HAVE HAD THE STATUES FACING OUTSIDE RATHER THAN INSIDE THE CAR TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR TRAFFIC.

SOME OF MY ROMAN CATHOLIC FRIENDS EVEN BURIED STATUES OF ST. JOSEPH IN THEIR BACKYARDS FOR PROTECTION OF HOME AND FAMILY.

I’M STILL A BIT JEALOUS, YET DEEPLY MOVED AT TIMES AT THE DEVOTION OF THOSE WHO PRAY TO THEIR PATRON SAINTS; OR INVOKE THEIR NAMES IN TIMES OF NEED.

RECENTLY I VISITED IN A HOME THAT WAS SOMETHING OF THE REVERSE OF WHAT I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING – IN THIS CASE IT WAS AN AGING MOTHER CARING FOR HER ADULT SON WHO WAS DYING.

IN A CORNER OF THE KITCHEN WAS A SMALL SHRINE, HER PLACE OF PRAYER.

IT CONSISTED OF SEVERAL SMALL STATUES, A NUMBER OF LIT CANDLES, HER ROSARY, AND HER BIBLE; AND SHE DESCRIBED TO ME HOW THIS WAS WHERE SHE SPENT TIME PRAYING FOR HER SON – AT FIRST, THAT HE WOULD GET WELL; BUT NOW, THAT ALL WOULD BE WELL WITH HIS SOUL IN HIS PASSING.

THERE’S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR THE PRACTICE OF SAINTHOOD WITHIN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC, EPISCOPAL, AND ORTHODOX TRADITIONS – MAYBE SOMETHING WE PROTESTANTS HAVE MISSED ALONG THE WAY.

WE PROTESTANTS HAVE TENDED TO FOCUS ONLY ON JESUS CHRIST AS OUR INTERMEDIARY; THE ONE TO WHOM, AND THROUGH WHOM WE ARE TO CONFESS, PRAY, BELIEVE, AND LIVE OUT OUR FAITH.

BUT THERE’S ALSO SOMETHING VERY POWERFUL ABOUT OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS WHICH WE HAVEN’T EVER REALLY COMPLETELY ACCEPTED, OR MADE USE OF IN MANY OF THE WAYS WE MIGHT.
YOU SEE, WHEN WE READ SCRIPTURE, AND IN PARTICULAR THE NEW OR CHRISTIAN TESTAMENT, SAINTS ARE ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN GOD.

THE EARLY CHURCH IS REFERRED TO AS SAINTS; INDIVIDUAL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED SAINTS; GROUPS OF CHRISTIANS IN CERTAIN AREAS ARE REFERRED TO BY THE WRITERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS AS THE SAINTS GATHERED HERE OR THERE.

SAINTS ARE SIMPLY THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN GOD, AND IN HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.

NO CRITERIA FOR PERFORMING MIRACLES; NO ELEVATED STATUS WITHIN THE CHURCH; NO FEASTS OR FASTS; NO SPECIAL DAYS OR BEING THE WATCH CARE OVER TRAVELERS, TRADESMEN, OR HOMES.

I AM A SAINT, YOU ARE A SAINT, ALL GOD’S CHILDREN ARE SAINTS.

IF YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE A SAINT IS SOMEONE SPECIAL, PERHAPS SOMEONE SET APART FOR A SPECIAL PURPOSE, THEN YOU MIGHT LIKE FREDERICK BEUCHNER’S DESCRIPTION OF SAINTS:

“IN HIS HOLY FLIRTATION WITH THE WORLD, GOD OCCASIONALLY DROPS A HANDKERCHIEF. THESE HANDKERCHIEFS ARE CALLED SAINTS.”

BUT AGAIN, BIBLICALLY SPEAKING, ALL BELIEVERS MAKE UP ALL SAINTS’ DAY;

AND THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS IN WHICH WE BELIEVE, ARE THE SAINTS ABOVE AND THE SAINTS BELOW; THOSE IN HEAVEN AND THOSE ON EARTH.

OUR LOVED ONES GONE TO BE WITH GOD, AND THE LOVED ONES SITTING IN THE PEW BESIDE US THIS MORNING, THEY ARE ALL SAINTS; THOSE CLOSE TO US AND THOSE FAR AWAY.

AND THAT SHOULD BE A SOURCE OF COMFORT TO US ALL.

RECENTLY I WAS SPEAKING WITH AN OLDER WOMAN – WELL INTO HER 80’S WHO FOR MOST OF HER LIFE HAS HAD THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD AND THE WEIGHT OF HER FAMILY SQUARELY ON HER SHOULDERS.

WERE IT NOT FOR HER, HER FAMILY WOULD HAVE BEEN BLOWN APART YEARS AGO. SHE IS TRULY ONE OF GOD’S HANDKERCHIEFS.

AT THE TIME I WAS TALKING WITH HER SHE WAS FACING SOME MAJOR QUESTIONS ABOUT HER OWN HEALTH; THE WELFARE OF HER SPOUSE AND FAMILY; AND A MYRIAD OF OTHER TROUBLING THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS.

AT ONE POINT SHE TURNED TO ME AND QUIETLY SAID: “I WISH MY MOTHER WAS HERE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO; SHE JUST ALWAYS SEEMED TO KNOW THE RIGHT THING TO DO.”

“SHE IS,” I FOUND MYSELF INSTINCTIVELY BLURTING OUT. “SHE’S PART OF THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS.”

EVEN AS I SAID THE WORDS, ANOTHER PART OF MY BRAIN WAS SAYING, “WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?”

“YOU KNOW,” I SAID, “HOW AT THE END OF THE APOSTLES’ CREED WE SAY “WE BELIEVE IN THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS”? WELL, SHE’S A PART OF THAT, AND SO ARE YOU.

TALK TO HER; TELL HER WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND; ASK QUESTIONS; LISTEN FOR ANSWERS; PRAY TO GOD THROUGH HER;” I SAID.

EVEN AS MY LIPS WERE SAYING THE WORDS, MY EARS COULDN’T QUITE BELIEVE THAT IT WAS I WHO WAS SAYING THEM. I CONTINUED:

“I KNOW LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO PRAY TO THEIR LOVED ONES WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY; OR PRAY TO THEIR GUARDIAN ANGELS AND PATRON SAINTS.”

“SOME OF THEM BELIEVE GOD IS SIMPLY TOO BUSY WITH THE BIG QUESTIONS OF LIFE TO BE BOTHERED WITH THEIR LITTLE LIVES – SO THEY PRAY TO THEIR INTERMEDIARIES;” I TOLD HER.

“TALK TO YOUR MOTHER; TELL HER WHAT YOU’RE GOING THROUGH; I BELIEVE SHE’LL HEAR YOU; THEN LISTEN TO SEE WHAT INSIGHTS COME TO YOU.”

I’VE SEEN IT MANY TIMES IN MY WORK WITH THOSE WHO ARE DYING, AND WITH THEIR FAMILIES.

THE PATIENTS THEMSELVES, OR THEIR FAMILIES WILL TELL ME ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING; THINGS THAT THEIR LOVED ONES SAY OR DO, THAT LETS ME KNOW THEY HAVE ONE FOOT IN HEAVEN AND THE OTHER ON EARTH.

IT IS WHAT WE CALL TRANSITIONING – THAT PERIOD OF TIME WHERE A PERSON IS MOVING FROM LIFE INTO DEATH, FROM THIS WORLD INTO THE NEXT.

IN THIS PERIOD OF TIME PEOPLE WILL SOMETIMES SEE OR HEAR FROM THEIR LOVED ONES WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY;

THEY WILL TALK ABOUT THEIR PARENTS AND OTHER LOVED ONES WAITING FOR THEM ON THE OTHER SIDE; THEY’LL EVEN TALK TO THEM.

OFTEN YOU WILL SEE PEOPLE STARING OFF INTO SPACE AS IF THEY ARE SEEING SOMETHING WE CANNOT SEE; SOMETIMES THEY WILL DESCRIBE SOMEONE ELSE BEING IN THE ROOM WITH THEM;

OR THEY WILL BE REACHING OUT FOR SOMETHING THEY ARE CLEARLY EXPERIENCING; FOR SOMETHING THAT APPEARS TO BE JUST BEYOND THEIR GRASP.

THEN THERE ARE THOSE TIMES WHEN THEY WILL SAY CRYPTIC THINGS, THINGS HAVING TO DO WITH A JOURNEY;

LIKE THE WOMAN WHO KEPT ASKING ME TO OPEN THE GATE BECAUSE IT WAS TIME FOR HER TO GO;

OR PEOPLE WHO SPEAK OF “PACKING THEIR BAGS” AS IF GOING ON A TRIP;

OR THE MAN WHO ASKED ME TO TIE HIS SHOES (HE WASN’T WEARING ANY SHOES, OF COURSE) BECAUSE HE NEEDED TO GET GOING;

LIFE-LONG SAILORS HAVE SPOKEN OF THE TIDES OR WINDS BEING RIGHT TO SET SAIL;

AN OLD SOLDIER WHO WAS FADING AWAY SPENT THE BETTER PART OF TWO DAYS SLOWLY SALUTING (WHOMEVER);

AND A FARMER ONCE TOOK ME ON ONE LAST TRIP AROUND HIS FAMILY FARM.

SOME PEOPLE PASS THESE THINGS OFF AS THE EFFECTS OF THE MEDICINES THEIR LOVED ONES ARE TAKING; OR AS MEANINGLESS HALLUCINATIONS.

OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS WILL OFTEN TRY TO TALK PEOPLE OUT OF WHAT THEY ARE SEEING, THAT IT’S NOT REAL; (I TRY TO DISCOURAGE THIS.)

BECAUSE FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN, AND EXPERIENCED WITH THESE PEOPLE, IT ALWAYS APPEARS TO BE VERY REAL TO THEM, AND I PREFER TO BELIEVE THAT IT IS THAT FINE LINE BETWEEN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT THAT THEY ARE EXPERIENCING.

AND THAT’S THE OTHER THING ABOUT THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS – IT’S NOT AS FAR AWAY AS WE MIGHT THINK.

THE AUTHOR OF THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS RIGHTLY DESCRIBES IT I BELIEVE WHEN HE SAYS: WE ARE “SURROUNDED BY SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES…”

THE SAINTS ABOVE AND THE SAINTS BELOW; HEAVEN AND EARTH SEPARATED BY A THIN LINE; BY A SINGLE BREATH.

ONE LAST BREATH IN THIS LIFE – BREATHE – ONE FIRST BREATH IN LIFE ETERNAL.

FOR ME, IT’S NICE TO KNOW THAT OUR FELLOW SAINTS OF THE LORD ARE CLOSE BY;

THE PEOPLE WE LOVE AND PEOPLE WHO LOVED US ONLY A THOUGHT AWAY;

OUR GUIDES, COUNSELORS, AND INTERMEDIARIES JUST A PRAYER FROM BEING WITH US;

THE FOLKS IN HEAVEN AWAITING OUR ARRIVAL;

THOSE PEOPLE ON EARTH WHO WE LOVE, AND WHO WE WILL MISS TERRIBLY, AND FOR WHOM WE WANT THE VERY BEST, BUT A MOMENT AWAY FROM PASSING INTO THE ETERNAL;

AND ALL OF US CONTINUING TO MAKE OUR JOURNEYS THROUGH THIS LIFE AND IN THIS WORLD;

THIS IS THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS – “SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES SURROUNDING US” ALWAYS AND FOREVERMORE. AMEN.