For All the Saints

November 7, 2004 (Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost -- Proper 27)

By The Very Rev. Terry White, Dean

- Ecclesiasticus 44:1-10,13-14
- Psalm 149
- Revelation 7:2-4,9-17
- Matthew 5:1-12

(From The Lectionary Page)

A little old lady gets onto a crowded bus and stands in front of a much, much younger girl who is seated. Holding her hand to her chest, the old woman says to the girl, "If you knew what I have, you would give me your seat." The girl stands up and gives her seat to the old lady.

It is hot. The girl then takes out a fan and starts fanning herself. The old lady looks up from her seat and says, "If you knew what I have, you would give me that fan." The girl gives her the fan, too.

Fifteen minutes later the woman gets up and says to the bus driver, "Stop, I want to get off here." The bus driver tells her he has to drop her at the next corner, not in the middle of the block. With her hand across her chest, she tells the driver, "If you knew what I have, you would let me off the bus right here."

The bus driver pulls over and opens the door to let her out. As she's walking out of the bus, he asks, "Madam, what is it you have?"

The old woman looks at him and nonchalantly replies, "I have chutzpah."

Chutzpah, when translated politely, can mean "what nerve!" I'd like to propose a new definition for a saint. A saint has chutzpah, a saint has the nerve, the nerve to live in the Cross, such a nerve to live into the culturally subversive teachings of Christ who said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, and the meek. Blessed are the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the merciful, and those who are persecuted for believing in me, says Jesus.  [idea from Bp John Thornton's homily on Sept 14, 2003, St. Barnabas, Scottsdale, AZ]

To summarize the Beatitudes: blessed are those who have the nerve.

In St. Matthew's version of this hillside sermon, Jesus is not setting out a universal code of conduct. Instead, he is outlining the way the Church is to behave, and how, when opportunities present themselves, we are to act. This is rooted in the premise that once a person is baptized into the kingdom, one will always have the blessing of God no matter else what comes.

These benedictions, these blessings, are sacred pronouncements; they are not conditions. We misread the Beatitudes if we hear Jesus saying, "If you are poor in spirit, then you will receive the kingdom of heaven." Rather, the beatitudes are intended to assure us that amidst disheartening situations, and the most dire of circumstances, God's blessing is upon us and will see us through our commitment to be Christ-like.

"Are you in mourning? Is your heart breaking at the death of a loved one? Are you grieved by senseless death in all its forms? Be assured that God loves you for your compassion.

And the same is true if you hungering for justice, and are supremely frustrated at corruption. As you fight the temptation to give up, know that God will never leave you.

Likewise, you who try to make peace and are betrayed by broken promises, and you who are persecuted for speaking the name of my only Son -- all of you are blessed with a place in the kingdom," says God.

It takes nerve to be a saint. It always has.

___________

In Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, stands The Church of the Holy Communion, a year round Episcopal parish that triples in size during the summer months. In the church is a brass plaque commemorating the ministry of a 19th century rector. The plaque describes the priest this way:

He was:
In charity - broad.
In courage - dauntless.
In honor - spotless.
In spirit - catholic

Upon visiting that parish a year ago October, a few months following the General Convention of 2003, our Presiding Bishop, in a letter to the clergy, reflected on those words. He wrote:

As I stood there I found myself praying that indeed our charity might be broad, particularly in a season of polarization; that our courage may be dauntless as we live through these challenging days; that our honor may be spotless as we minister with care to those of varying opinions; and that our spirit may be catholic, [all embracing] and able to make room for all things that God embraces in the fullness of fierce and unbounded compassion. [The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, Letter of Oct 30, 2003]

A year ago, Bishop Griswold was writing about our Church. Today, those words still apply to the Church, and to our city and nation as well.

The Beatitudes form the very heart of the Gospel and describe a lifelong journey into openness, receptivity, and humility. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the peacemakers. In each case, Jesus describes a condition in which we are made aware of our neediness, aware of our dependence on God's grace, and aware that the crucible of painful experience may well be the path forward. [Prof. Ron Miller, in Witness, Church of the Holy Spirit, Lake Forest, IL].

When you and I, together as the Church, enter into the most painful of circumstances, we live up to witness of the saints. The community that Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount is broad and deep and wide -- as is God's love for all of us. May we be tireless in finding room for all of God's children.

When a concertgoer spontaneously expresses appreciation by shouting, "Bravo," the literal translation is "How bold!" or "What nerve!"

My sisters and brothers: We were made saints in baptism, and enrolled into God's family. And as we emerged from the font, the company of heaven shouted, "Bravo! Be bold! Have the nerve!"

May all of us who are marked as Christ's own forever, live as saints: as people totally dependent upon God, and as people who have the nerve to live in the cross: with broad charity, dauntless courage, spotless honor, and catholic spirit which boldly embraces everything that God embraces.

Let us show some chutzpah for Jesus' sake! And for our sake, and for the sake of a hurting world: through us, let this cathedral have the nerve!