Musings for All Saints Sunday

Sunday, November 7, 2010
All Saints Sunday

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Ann Patterson

INTRODUCTION
In holy baptism God makes saints out of sinners. In holy communion God forgives the sins of all the saints. In the assembly today we give thanks for all the saints "who from their labors rest," who have fought the good fight, who have gained the crown. In the same breath we petition our God for the strength to hear and to heed the admonitions of the Lord Jesus in today’s gospel. Recalling that we have been sealed by the Spirit and sustained by the Savior’s body and blood, we keep on keeping on as God gives us breath, to the praise of God’s glory.

John Christian Frederick Heyer, died 1873; Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, died 1719; Ludwig Nommensen, died 1918; missionaries
Heyer was the first missionary sent out by American Lutherans. After teaching at Gettysburg College and Seminary he was assigned to the Andhra region of India. A worker among the Tamil people on the southeast coast of India, Ziegenbalg was opposed both by local Hindus and by Danish authorities who favored a different missionary style. He was known for caring about the welfare of the whole person. Nommensen was born in northern Germany and was sent to Sumatra as a Lutheran missionary. Working among the Batak people, he translated the scriptures into their language, and honored their native culture.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

Almighty God, you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

First Reading

Daniel 7:1–3, 15–18

The book of Daniel was written in the second century B.C.E., when the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes was severely persecuting the Jews. Daniel's vision of the four beasts serves to proclaim the message that human kings will come and go, but the kingdom will ultimately belong to God and to God's people.

In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: ²I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, ³and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. ¹⁵As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. ¹⁶I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter: ¹⁷As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever — forever and ever."

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 149

Sing the Lord's praise in the assembly of the faithful. (Ps. 149:1)

¹Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD ^| a new song,

God's praise in the assembly ^| of the faithful.

²Let Israel rejoice ^| in their maker;

let the children of Zion be joyful ^| in their ruler.

³Let them praise their maker's ^| name with dancing;

let them sing praise with tambou- ^| rine and harp.

⁴For the LORD takes pleasure ^| in the people

and adorns the ^| poor with victory.

⁵Let the faithful re- ^| joice in triumph;

let them sing for joy ^| on their beds.

⁶Let the praises of God be ^| in their throat

and a two-edged sword ^| in their hand,

⁷to wreak vengeance ^| on the nations

and punishment ^| on the peoples,

⁸to bind their ^| kings in chains

and their nobles with ^| links of iron,

⁹to inflict on them the judg- ^| ment decreed;

this is glory for all God's faithful ones. ^| Hallelujah!

Second Reading

Ephesians 1:11–23

After giving thanks for the faith of the Ephesians, Paul prays that they might understand the wisdom, hope, and power of God that is embodied in Jesus Christ.

¹¹In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹²so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.
¹⁵I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason ¹⁶I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. ¹⁷I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, ¹⁸so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, ¹⁹and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. ²⁰God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. ²²And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Gospel

Luke 6:20–31

In echoes of the prophet Isaiah and Mary's song of praise, Jesus reveals surprising things about who enjoys blessing and who endures woe. He invites his disciples to shower radical love, blessing, forgiveness, generosity, and trust, even to enemies and outsiders.

²⁰Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹"Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
"Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
²²Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. ²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
²⁴"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
²⁵"Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
"Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
²⁶Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
²⁷But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

REFLECTION

At first reading, Mark 6:21-23 appears to be a listing of people whom God means to particularly bless. Those who are hungry will be filled. Those who grieve will be comforted, and those who are reviled on account of their faith will be rewarded in heaven. Conversely, misfortune will be visited upon those happen to be rich, well-nourished, or capable of enjoying a good laugh. Is this another example of Jesus rejecting the world's values? Is he just reaffirming that in the new upside-down kingdom of God, the first shall be last?

Perhaps another way to look at the passage is that God's grace is given freely to his children whatever their status, and whatever the degree to which their lives are in disarray. No matter how poor or despised or overwhelmed by sadness we are, we are welcome to share in the blessings of the Kingdom. Unlike the world the disciples inhabited, this new sphere does not belong to the rich and powerful. In Christ’s Kingdom, God’s blessings are available to all.

Jesus probably further unnerved his disciples when he revealed just how transformed this topsy-turvy Kingdom will be. Christians need to behave in a spirit of love even to their enemies. We're asked to turn the other cheek to those who would hurt us. If someone begs for our coat, we are to give our shirt as well. Change indeed.

LET US PRAY:

• For those who lack hope enough to answer God’s call
• For the sick, the dying, and the grief-stricken.
• For the hungry, the homeless, and the lost
• For caregivers all over the world

All people who are happy have God within them Paul Coelho