Rev 7: 9-17 - All Saints Day!

I may have been 20 years ago, but I still remember that robe. The white robes with the high collars that were assigned to the younger choir. It didn’t have a fancy name back then – it was simply the children in elementary school who attended the church and wanted to sing. You had to be at least five years old to join. Oh how my friends and I anticipated joining choir. Our chance to just sing – or at least make a joyful noise considering it was more screaming then singing at that age. My robe was too big. Since I was young I tended to be shorter then the rest of my classmates. For the longest time, my white robe dragged on the floor when I went up to the front steps of the sanctuary to sing. The hem would continue to drag until I graduated to the green robe, and then the gold robe, as I got older. But of course those hems dragged as well. We also had these gold painted crosses, with long chains, that sparkled against the clean color of the robe.

I can still remember the first song we ever learned. A curly haired, elderly woman, named Mrs. Webster gathered us each week to learn a song. She had a patience that passes all understanding in my mind, since we were the largest group of kindergartners to go through the church is quite some time. Yet, she ushered us all into a classroom with a piano and taught us a song with hand motions. It went something like this, “The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple. The church is not a resting place. The church is the people. I am the church. You are the church. We are the church together. All who follow Jesus, all around the world, yes, were the church together.” It took us several weeks to learn the song and to get our little hands coordinated with the motions. But when we did, we dawned on the white robes, fresh from the dry cleaners, and sang. What a beautiful moment.

As I consider today’s scripture passage, this early memory from my life came to mind as an example of the beauty of what it will be like to worship the Lord in Heaven. As I’ve grown older, I’ve attended many different churches, and have had many different people tell me that this passage scares them, because they believe that it will be boring to stand before the throne, in white robes, waving palm branches and singing to God. For many of the people making such comments, their ideas of what such worship would look like is directly related to their experience of worship on Sundays. Perhaps they were told to be quiet as a small child. Or don’t find worship stimulating as an adult. Maybe they disagree with the formal nature of robes or really don’t enjoy singing. But I think the chief reason there is resistance to the idea of worshiping God through all eternity is because when approach worship on Sunday morning with a “what about me” attitude. In other words, I have come to get something or needing to feel a certain way before I can truly be in worship. And the laundry list of things that people need for worship to be meaningful goes on and on: the right music, the right tempo, a person to pray a certain way, the pastor to give a message that engages them, but doesn’t challenge them. When we approach worship is such a manner it becomes about being entertained, so it is no wonder that there is hesitancy about worshiping God throughout eternity – because it might not be entertaining to you.

But when we shift our viewpoint and realize that we come to worship to gather together and worship God, our attitude can change. When we see worship as the opportunity to be fully present to the Almighty, even for one hour each week, we can become excited about the idea of being in God’s presence all the time when our life on this earth ends.

What makes this passage even more beautiful is the realization that the worship that John is describing in the book of Revelations is revolutionary. He is writing at a time of severe persecution, where the very act of worshiping the Divine and pledging allegiance to Jesus could get one killed by the Roman Empire. Yet, people worshiped zealously anyway, even to the point of being killed. Because worship mattered to them. Gathering together was with other Believers was central to the very being. Declaring praises to the God who deserved everything that they had. And they were truly put through a “great ordeal” to the point of being martyrs for the faith. But they believed that God would take care of them, and was worthy of their praises. And because they believed in the God whom they yearned to be in the presence of, “they will hunger no more and thirst no more. The sun with not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be there shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of water of life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Those whom John pictures before the throne of grace, gave up their very lives to worship God, not because it was entertaining or it was their religious duty to worship the Holy One, but because they believe that the God whom they worshiped was the God of all, and they were simply lucky enough to realize who this God, even if it was only a glimpse, while they were still alive.

Today we are celebrating All Saints Day. This is generally celebrated the last Sunday of October or first Sunday in November, but due to our guest speaker last week, we are celebrating it today. This is the time to honor those saints, both whom we know and those whom we don’t, who have left this life of great ordeal and have joined those who are in God’s presence, worshipping daily. As Methodists we believe that all Christians are “saints”, not simply martyrs or forefathers and mothers of the faith. So today we celebrate all those who are deceased, and honor their memory. We honor those whom we know. We grieve our loses. We celebrate the lives they lived. We strive to embrace what they have taught us, so we can pass on the lessons of the faith.

Today we speak aloud the names of those who have impacted our lives as well as pray for those whom we never met, but are still part of the beautiful gathering worshiping at God’s throne. Today I want to honor the memory of one of my classmates from seminary, Esquire Holland. Esquire was a woman of great faith, who even in her short time on this earth worshipped God with her entire being. She made a laughter that echoed and a smile that was contagious. She sang in the gospel choir at school, ushering others into God’s presence through her voice and love for God. Esquire knew who she was and fully lived into her identity as a child of God. Even though we did not always see eye to eye, and could rub each other the wrong way from time to time, I miss her.

Brothers and sisters, who do you miss this day? Whose memory do you want to uphold and recognize as being a blessing in your life and the lives of others? They do not have to be someone who has passed this year, for often our grief cannot be contained by human time frames. Who do you both want to mourn and celebrate?

Last week we had an All Saints Service for the students at the Wesley Foundation at Penn State, many of whom had never celebrated this day in the church before. One of the young men got up, with tears glistening, and lit a candle for a loved one whom was still alive, but who had died to his old habits that separated him from the love of Christ. Friends, do you have anyone whom you want to lift up in prayer today, celebrating that they have come one step closer to recognizing the grace and love of Christ? Lit a candle for them as well.

As we prepare to celebrate the lives of those whom we love, a few final thoughts. First, everyone is a child of God, some people just have the blessing of recognizing that in this life. We do not just celebrate Christians today, we celebrate all of God’s children who have passed on. Second, this is but one hour during one week of the year. There are 176 other hours that we have lived this week, many of which I believe have been hard on us in the Penn State community. This is also our time to grieve. I truly believe that not all of our worship in heaven will be happy all the time, because God grieves some of the things his children on this earth go through. And surely if we are fully in the presence of God, even in heaven, we will lament in our worship as well. During this time of great ordeal for our community, may we turn to Christ in worship, the one who Shepherds us and promises to wipe every tear from our eye. Do not let this moment pass if you need to lament together, while being assured that we are still in the presence of God, no matter what the situation.

Brothers and sisters may we now prepare to honor those whom we love, knowing that whatever the circumstances are, this, the first day of the week, and particularly this day, as we celebrate All Saints Day, we have gathered to worship a God who has conquered the grave and has had victory over death. Though we may have come to worship today with weary and heavy hearts, we have a hope in Jesus that cannot be contained. A hope that has lead those whom have went before to sing to the one whom the love and the one whom calls them beloved, “Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb!” May we join in their song of praise in this act of worship to our great and mighty God. Amen.