November 6, 2011-All Saint's Sunday: Sermon based on meditation of Rev. Burnell Eckhardt. Revelation 7:2-17, Psalm 149, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12

“And he said to me, ‘These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’” Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Blessed is Christ, the One poor in spirit, who so earned for His own the kingdom of heaven. He is the One who mourned, unto Calvary’s cross, for He was comforted when He arose and ascended on high, having conquered sin and death by His deep humility. He was also the meek One, for He inherited the earth for His own, and promises them a new world without end. He also hungered and thirsted for righteousness, until He was satisfied that He had earned all righteousness by His atoning sacrifice. And He is the merciful One, for He obtained mercy for His own. He is the One pure in heart, for by His purity He earned for His own the promise that they shall see God. He is the Peacemaker, who made peace between God and man, for He shall evermore be called the Son of God. And He was the One persecuted, who suffered and was buried, in order that His gift of righteousness might rest now upon His own redeemed. –Rev. Burnell Eckhardt, Jr, from “Every Day Will I Bless Thee-Meditations for the Daily Office, 2nd Ed.” (Sussex: Concordia Catechetical Academy, 2002)

So, blessed, now, are you His saints, when you follow this Blessed One through the many trials and tribulations that this world reviles, persecutes and utters all kind of evil against you. For what greater enemies can one have, because there is never a time you are safe from the tests and temptations that the devil, the world and even your sinful flesh seek to afflict upon you with. That because of them, sickness, sorrow and death is forever creeping at our door, seeking you to lose hope, to lose trust, to lose faith. That you are forever under the temptation to begin to believe that because of the tribulations we encounter and endure in this life, there is truly nothing beyond this life; that you are tempted to believe that this, with all of the trials and tears it brings, is all one receive for a life lived.
Thus-even though one is greatly enticed to believe that there is nothing beyond this life-those who have been sealed, as John heard in his vision, by the blood of the Lamb, are not left with seeking answers for our prayers or searching for a glimmer of hope in the midst of the darkness of our sickness and sorrows. For the 144,000 John witnessed was representative of all the people of God yesterday, today and forever; all those who know that hope will not be found here-in this world or in us-but only in the Blessed One who overcame this old world. That the multitude from every nation, tribes, peoples and languages are the very saints of God-those who know that there is nothing or no one that gives you life, mercy and grace other than which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ gives to those who believe Him for salvation.
And we, with those saints of Christ who have already fallen asleep in their Savior, now sing forth with them the mystery of our faith-singing that new song of the Psalmist, knowing that we have been redeemed and wash our sinful robes white in the blood of the Blessed who blesses the people of His pleasure. We go forth, knowing in faith even as those who have died now know by sight, that our enemies have already been defeated and we are now pure as He Himself is pure. And we live forth, trusting not in what we can see or hold or feel in our bodies, but clinging solely upon the Word of the Savior who blesses those of His own salvation with the same blessedness He holds today in and with His victory over sin, death and the grave. Amen.