JOB DESCRIPTION FOR SAINTS

Matthew 23: 1-12

One of the side benefits of having four days in Philadelphia this summer for our son’s wedding was the chance to see all that one of America’s earliest cities offers. The very first Presbyterian Church in America was once there, the building gone, but the oldest standing Presbyterian Church, the Old Pine Church, is there and is free for people to go in and explore. It is a functioning congregation still! As I went in, I read the names on plaques on the walls, silently thanking them for their part in lifting up Christ in that neighborhood. Although the Presbyterian Church did not have plaques on reserved pews, the Episcopal Church a block away did. That astounding church had pew boxes for families, with two pews in each box: one facing the front where the giant pulpit was, and one facing the back where the altar and communion ware was placed: an astounding decision of church architecture. The oldest continuously run hospital in the country is there, but going in to it one could tell it was completely modernized. The Presbyterian Historical Society, similar to the one that used to be in Montreat, is just another block away, containing achieves with names of faithful men and women who have served local congregations. And, of course, just two blocks away is where our nation was founded: Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross house, and other pieces of Americana. What an honor it was to look in to the roped off room where the Constitution was forged, with many original pieces of furniture still there! What a chill we got as we climbed the same stairs that Madison, Jefferson, Washington, and others climbed to see the upstairs meeting room. How generous it was to learn that the room where our early statesmen met was given over to them by the Pennsylvanian Congress, who gave up their meeting room so the nation could hammer out its founding papers. The great third President, Thomas Jefferson, had put his skillful writing to work on both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. But it was a visit to the humble rooming house where he actually wrote the Declaration of Independence that made him feel most human. Original drafts, later amended by the Continental Congress, were shown under archival light. Back at Independence Hall, seeing the worn chairs where he and others sat, using candles for lighting if they met at night, that humbled all of us who stared in to the preserved room. With imagination, and the help of an audiotape, we imagined the impassioned exchanges that went on in that hall. We learned of Jefferson’s dismay when his original Declaration did not get approved without changes and amendments. And we ate in the Tavern where those same Americans met after meetings for food and drink. In one respect, we were in awe; in another, we felt how human they all were, how they were elected to do their jobs, and they did so forging a nation out of work done in a single building in our country, a building that still stands, and is visited by thousands daily.

In March over forty people will join me in making a visit to the Holy Lands, to visit the Land where Moses grew up, to see the birthplace, hometown, and burial place of our Lord Jesus, to walk actually where he walked, and to walk also in towns still intact where the Apostle Paul walked. How enriching it is to see what our Bibles just describe in print! We will also be in Jerusalem, where Jesus called out some of the faithful of his day, Pharisees, the class to which Jesus most related. You see, rather than Jesus being diametrically opposed to the people he was describing in our text today, they were some of his own, the faithful, who had lost their way of humbleness, and had gotten their heads filled with their own importance and power. One thing we learned in Philadelphia was that some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were masterful contributors, and others just signers; only one was a clergymen, a Presbyterian named John Witherspoon who went on to become President of Princeton; and though John Hancock had the biggest signature, he did not write it; Jefferson did mostly, and his signature is obscurely towards the bottom of the document. In Jesus’ day, there were Pharisees who were less important than they’d like to think, and some who were wonderful and faithful, like the Apostle Paul, like Rabbis Hillel and Shammai, like the historian Josephus, and others. Jesus in today’s text was calling some of his own to step back into line, to not put on airs, and to move from acting like kings to acting like servants. His teaching was plain: you are called rabbi, but indeed you only have one teacher. You may call a man on earth your father, but the true Father of us all is in Heaven. You may have servants who call you “master” but you only have one master, who is a servant master called “Christ.” The greatest among you will be the servant of others; and whoever makes himself out to be great and powerful shall fall; and whoever serves others first will be lifted up. What a message for us about what is most important in life.

Today on this All Saint’s Sunday, we believe that we will go into communion with all the saints again in just a few minutes. A job description for saints would certainly include humble living, serving others, and honoring the Lord Jesus. Take a moment to think in your mind about the people who have gone before you: people of faith in the Bible, in the nation, in the world, and even in your family. Especially, think about your family. Today during the prayer, I will be giving you guided time to think about who you have chosen, but I encourage you to think about someone you knew who mentored you, or passed on good traits, or blessed you by their words or by their presence. Perhaps you’ll want to write a name or two down of those who, in your life, were saints. Saints are not perfect or unreachable, as I learned in Philadelphia and in Israel. Saints are people who set examples of faith, put their faith into action, and learn from mistakes. Who would that be in your life? Who has gone to be with God, who has blessed or influenced you today? Who is that person, or those persons, who have given you a part of your personality, your convictions, your work ethic, or your Christianity? Picture them; appreciate them; thank them. In a few minutes, we will be connected in “mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won.” Who will be there? Certainly Jesus, and Paul, and Mary, and the other Mary. But who among your ancestors will be sitting at this table with us as well? Think about them, appreciate them, and thank them. Take time to reflect today, beginning now. Take one minute to picture and remember your loved ones:

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Now let us sing a song of the saints of God.

Jeffrey A. Sumner November 2, 2008