Winthrop Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
No matter who you are. No matter where you are on life's journey. You are welcome here.
 Luke 20:27-38 The Resurrection and Marriage (New International Version) Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” I had never met the pastor who officiated my brother’s memorial service, so I didn’t know what to expect when he began. I hadn’t actually known my brother particularly well. We hadn’t grown up together and had only spent a little time together as adults. His death was unexpected and pretty traumatic for our family. I was grateful to have financial support from the conference to get a last-minute ticket to be able to attend his service to support our relatives who knew him well and loved him dearly.
My brother had come to know the pastor because he had been a part of a recovery ministry that the pastor’s church ran. It made sense that they asked him to preside. I say this from experience: it is challenging to preside at a service when someone has died young and unexpectedly, especially if you don’t have an on-going pastoral relationship with the family, which this pastor did not. He knew that he could really only count on having this service to offer a word of care to the people who loved Randy most. As both a pastor and a family member, I had some worries going in. I know that some pastors use funerals as a time to try to what I would generously describe as “increase their flock.” I would less generously describe as manipulating grieving people into faith confessions. While I know this can happen anywhere (when I’ve officiated services for community members I don’t know in Maine, I’ve had families express concern that I would do the same), it is particularly common where I grew up. And, I’ve heard people try to explain away deaths that seem especially tragic by saying things like, “God needed an angel.” I really didn’t think either of those things would help our family. You might imagine my relief when the pastor shared something both kind and wise. He noted that my brother had a son he loved dearly and said out right, “God did not take Randy from his son.” He went on to say, “Our God is the God of the living.” And, in his mind, the God of the living does not take people from the ones they love. Instead, God is there in support of those who mourn, grieving alongside them. I imagine this statement of faith was hard won for pastor who’d spent a lot of his career serving people struggling with addiction. I am grateful that he shared this assurance with the people gathered to mourn Randy. I imagine that many of them had not heard that sentiment from a pulpit before. And, at least some of them really needed to hear it that day. When I read today’s scripture where Jesus is answering questions about family, death, and faith, I remembered this pastor. I can see why he drew from the language of this text to address my grieving family. Since well before the time of Christ, faithful people have been sorting out issues around death and relationships among family members. Jesus’ own community had developed cultural, religious practices around marriage to widows with no children. The practice, levirate marriage, is described in full in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. Practically, levirate marriage helped settle questions of inheritance and financial support for survivors in a family. Personally, I’d imagine it was complicated. And, theologically, for those who believe in some kind of resurrection, they might have some questions about how the family would be composed in the world to come. One important difference between how my family approached the pastor in the story I told as compared to how to the Sadducees approached Jesus is that my family was acting in good faith. Multiple scholars I read while writing this sermon suggested that the Sadducees did not. In his commentary on the text, Kyle Brooks suggests that the question is fanciful and designed primarily to force Jesus into a theological corner. Fred Craddock, in his commentary on Luke, argues that the question obviously isn’t in good faith because it is a question about the state of renewed like after resurrection being asked by people who fundamentally didn’t believe in the resurrection. He believes the questioners are asking this for argument’s sake. Kendra Mohn, in her commentary, even suggests that the Sadducees are asking Jesus this question in hope that his answer will allow them to “expose how ludicrous the idea of resurrection is.” Lest we think all ancient or even all current Jewish people all believe the exact same thing, it is good to be reminded of some differences in belief between the Sadducees and Jesus’ more regular conversation partners, the Pharisees. The Pharisees, devout religious scholars, believed in bodily resurrection and held up the Torah, the writings of the Prophets, and the oral traditions of interpretation as authoritative. The argument for Resurrection comes from those traditions. The Sadducees were a priestly class, many of whom were wealthy and from aristocratic families. They were pretty conservative theologically and also only held the first five books of Moses to be authoritative scripture. Cultural practices and interpretations that were not found in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy were not justified to them. Therefore, they did not believe in the resurrection. This would have cause conflict between them and the Pharissees (and those who followed Pharasaic interpretation) and between them and Jesus. While Craddock and Brooks especially ultimately believe the Sadducees do not ask the question in good faith, Jesus answers in earnestly. First, Jesus says that the question misses the point because life in this age is different from the life to come. As Mohn notes in her commentary, “Here, with the limitations of time, space, and human sin, we rely on practices to keep things orderly.” Levitate marriage had a purpose within the strictures of life as they knew it. The life that is to come will be different and cannot be understood within the same boundaries as life as we now understand it. It will be so very different that one thing that seems certain now, that is death, will no longer have the power to end it. Pointing to the story of Moses and the burning bush, and the practice of speaking of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Because God is God of the living, these three are not dead but alive. There is an on-goingness of relationship between God and these figures but also between these figures and present believers. It is much like the communion of saints and cloud of witnesses that I spoke of last week. The connection to those who have gone before is not gone, but is on-going, though changed. Mohn argues that Jesus’ comments on life and death are actually intended to shape how a believer lives. How might our lives change if we understand that the life God intends for us will be categorically different the bounded one we can imagine right now? How might we live differently if we were to understand that the practices and systems and institutions that give us form to survive this moment were not everlasting? What if that which seems inevitable, even as inevitable as death, were ultimately overcome? Mohn says, “Jesus is calling us to imagine what it is like to live without the fear of death so that we can approach our lives differently.” How brave might we be if we understand ourselves to be ever-connected to those who came before us and deeply rooted for those who will come after us? There are those who seek power over life and death for their own gain. Our disconnection from one another, our fear of losing our standing, our relationships, our security, is useful for those who seek this kind of power. The Apostle Paul once wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus Our Lord.” He is ultimately talking about the power of a God of the Living who can remind us that there is a world possible that we have not yet imagined. We must therefore reject those who tell us that this is the way the world must be. We know that is not true. Let us live like we are sure that there is a new life to come. And, that we can be part of building it. Resources consulted while writing this sermon: Kendra Mohn: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32-3/commentary-on-luke-2027-38-6 Kyle Brooks: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32-3/commentary-on-luke-2027-38-5 Bernard Levinson's notes on Deuteronomy in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) Marion Lloyd Soards' notes on Luke in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) Fred Craddock, Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).
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Isaiah 25:1, 4,6-10a Praise to the Lord (New International Version) 25 Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago. You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall. On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. Before I begin, let’s all turn to our bulletins. Look at the two songs we are singing together today. What word is in the title of both songs? Saint! Can anyone tell me what a saint is? There are so many ways to talk about saints! In some churches, when they talk about “saints,” it’s kind of like they are talking about churchy super heroes... people who were devout in their faith, who loved Jesus and their neighbor so much that the church believes they deserve a fancy, special title. These saints can continue to help people, even after they’ve been gone from this earth a long time. St. Michael, St. Catherine, St. Jude, St. Nicholas, and St. Francis Xavier are some of this kind of saint.
Not all Christians use the word “saint” that specifically, though. There is someone named Carolyn Brown who’s job it was before she retired to develop Sunday School programs. She says that “Saints are people through whom God shines. Each saint shows us a different part of God.” I read another pastor who said, “A saint is someone who loves and follows Jesus.” And, this doesn’t just have to be people in stories in the Bible or famous people. Every day, regular people who try hard to love God and love their neighbors are saints, too. We might think of saints as people like Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a pastor who fought for civil rights as a saint. Or, Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, one of the first women ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church and a civil rights lawyer, as saints. But, according to the Bible, the people who are sitting right next to you in the pews can be saints. In this room are the saints that break down boxes at the food pantry, and the saints that make brownies for the church fair, and the saints who write cards to people who are sick and the saints who call their congress people and fight for people who don’t have enough food. There are saints here that keep track of my receipts and teach Sunday School and make music and clean up flower beds. The apostle Paul talked about Christians who are “called to belong to Christ” as also being “called to be saints.” We are all, then, called to be saints. I’m talking about saints because today we are celebrating a special day in the church year called All Saints Day. This is a day in the church calendar where we remember the saints of the church and give thanks for them. I read someone described the saints as Christians who have come before us and are with us now as “cheering (for us) and encouraging us on” as we develop our relationship with God and neighbor. At a recent gathering of clergy that I went to, I described what it’s like to go rock-climbing at the gym at Colby. When I am there, I have someone called a belayer who is connected to me by a rope. They keep me from falling to the ground if I slip. They also help me figure how to climb higher if I get stuck. Other people who are waiting to climb cheer and help, too. The saints feel like that are doing those things for us while we are maturing in our faith and service. Sometimes when we talk about saints, we’re talking especially about people who have taught us about the faith and served with us at church who have also died. I read something by someone named Joe Iovino who said, “From the early days of Christianity, there is a sense that the Church consists of not only all living believers, but also all who have gone before us.” We believe that as Christians, we are all part of one community, not just with those in our church, but with people from all places and times. In book called Hebrews, which is really an ancient Christian sermon, the author tells us we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” who help us persevere. This means people who have come before us, even when they aren’t alive anymore, are watching over us and encouraging us as we try to be good people and be faithful to God. One activity we might do on All Saints Day is offer up a prayer of thanksgiving and remembrance for those who are no longer here with us in the body, but who have joined the great cloud of witnesses. We might lift up the names of Jack Everett, Martha Payne, Lee Gilman, and Kate Goodspeed as the saints who have gone from our side to God’s arms this year. You may have others you want to make sure to remember. As you came into church, you were handed a leaf. I invite you to write on that leaf the names of some of the saints that you’d like to remember and give thanks for today. There will come a point in the service where I will invite you to come forward and add them to this memory tree. If you are online, you can add the names of your saints to the chat. Today, we also remember that, even though we can’t see them, the people we love and all the saints who have come before us are still with us. Today’s scripture reading is from the prophet Isaiah, speaking about how they know that God intends good things for creation. God is a trustworthy refuge to the poor and to those who are in distress. Isaiah calls God “a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.” They understand that God will provide for everyone’s needs, and will ultimately even conquer death, wiping away the tears from every face and the shame that people feel. This is an image of God whose power is mostly clearly seen in compassion, in a meal shared by everyone who wants and needs to eat. We’re going to have communion today, too. As we eat this simple meal together, let us give thanks to God who gave us the saints who have helped God offer mercy and care to those who need it. Death, while still real, does not fully separate us from the saints who have come before. Let us hear and know that God will offer care for all who mourn and for all nations. And, let us come together to praise God for the saints who are still showing us the way to Christ. Resources consulted while writing this sermon: Illustrated Ministry's Sunday School lesson on All Saints: https://store.illustratedministry.com/products/childrens-bundle-all-saints-day?variant=29568207519842 Carolyn Brown: https://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2014/10/year-all-saints-day-saturday-november-1.html A couple helpful resource from the United Methodist Church:
Stephen B. Reid: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-28/commentary-on-isaiah-251-9 |
AuthorPastor Chrissy is a native of East Tennessee. She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. Archives
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Photos from Anton Vakulenko, dno1967b
