Taught Sainthood Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord, and Savior, Jesus Christ. Revelation 7:9-17 1 John 3:1-3 Matthew 5:1-12 All Saints Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them Bridge Three years ago (to the day, almost) I got to teach at the place where Jesus taught His disciples (as recorded in Matthew, chapter 5). At the place beginning every bit of teaching that He would do, I got to lead devotions for our travel group. On the place still called the Mount of the Beatitudes, Jesus introduced the reality of discipleship and sainthood. From that introduction, brand-new disciples would begin to learn of it, especially what it s based-upon in His death and resurrection (what they d watch from that time forward: Him becoming meek so as to shed blood sinners could get washed in becoming, that way, saints with every benefit that comes from being one). Text The readings, for today, are directed at a particular audience. John (the disciple) is a good example of that group as he s the common thread throughout these readings: one just chosen and sat down quickly to be taught like we find from Matthew 5, reflecting-back, then, 60 years later in his letter (1 st John), getting to see, then, and write about the fullness of that sainthood in Revelation. What Jesus had suggested to John and the others (right after He d called them to follow ) was the poetic opening-remarks about the status-change that calling was.
And that message is for everyone who s accepting God s call. Our readings don t address people about doing things to help themselves in some little way, they address people, rather, receiving what completely changes everything (being made saints to become disciples by God). See, only saints can read the three texts that we have and see words that are written about them. Outside of that group, people can, only wonder about who these readings describe they wouldn t know. For the lost, Revelation is, just, science fiction, 1st John is a foreign language that they don t know, and, while Matthew s words sound pretty, there s no father on earth (who doesn t know Heaven) that d teach his children such nonsense as meekness and mourning and the cherishing of persecution. Who are these of which these readings speak? The non-redeemed world can, only, wonder about that (not really knowing). Saints, though, come to know that these words speak of the group they re in: the ones coming out of the great tribulation, having their robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, the blessed who get, often, persecuted for the particular reason of being God s, though glorified in a kingdom that s not seen by human eyes. Sainthood is what s getting taught in these lessons what it is. Brand-new (chosen) disciples were sat down by Jesus so that He could begin to teach them what He d forever, then, teach them, and John and the rest probably didn t have too much of idea, yet, what these Beatitudes meant when they first heard them. Pentecost and 60 years of having lived sainted, John got enough seasoned in it to write of it in his epistle and know of himself, also, among that great multitude he described in Revelation. The problem these readings imply, though, is that there are people who are not included in that message. Since there s blessed are s, there, tragically, must be blessed are not s and Revelation makes that most-clear (graphic even as chapter 7 is only one chapter among many, most talking specifically about people who are, either, clothed with white robes or not named by God
or not marked by God or bearing, instead, a mark as the property of Satan). Two groups (not 3 or 4 or some larger number) inhabit earth and the heavenly realms, either/or, decidedly in or out of a kingdom blessed, the rest inhabit, really, a kingdom that s, ultimately, doomed, with the confusing part on earth (the reason faith is necessary to being part of the blessed ) that the kingdom doomed may not feel doomed during its earthly time, while the blessed ones may feel huge suffering here, so looks and feelings here deceive the lost and challenge the saved the fact, though, is that the two groups head in diametrically-opposite directions. And it s of that fact that Jesus began to teach. The Beatitudes introduced the beatified (people who God makes and grows). It would have been nice had God given John the clear vision of Revelation before He taught about it in the Beatitudes that would have cleared up the Beatitudes. We, though, have it in context. Had John seen the (night-and-day) difference in discipleship / sainthood first, that poetic almost-riddle would have made sense where it, probably, hadn t much yet. We, though, have it without the delay of time (something John, finally, had, for perspective). Christians rightly love the Beatitudes now and we do so (like John) because we know it through the context of the Gospel, explicitly-beneficial as Revelation 7 and 1st John, chapter 3 tells us. And we re in the saintly realm by baptism and faith ( He who believes and is baptized shall be saved ). We re washed-in and continuing to be cleansed in that washing as Jesus teaching-of-it grows it in us, purifying us like John says. And how saints get into that kingdom Revelation 7 reminds us about: being taken out of the great tribulation (that kingdom of the damned), with robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb. If you know anyone of whom these readings do not speak, then this washing and bloodshedding Savior is how they, also, can be brought into sainthood eternal life, ultimately paradise and Heaven and the complete wiping-away of tears (if not entered into in this life) gets lost, also, for
the next. The first, and biggest, message of sainthood or not is that there s a different reality for the Heavenly then the Hellish (Revelation, everywhere, is quite clear there). Defined are two groups in terms of different destinies and, even, looks (to the eyes of principalities): one growing into a forever bliss (that s what beatification means) and the other settling for an, eventual, torment and punishment that s the Revelation and that s, ultimately, the big deal here but it s not the only deal here (as if that weren t enough). Jesus began to teach, in Beatitudes, what He s continued-to from there. That there are, in fact, saints (and not, just, future ones but, also, ones who are sainted while yet here on earth). John reminded us that Blessed are means now children of God now while, yet, we re able to be persecuted by evil. He said: see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are now, even while the world doesn t know us that way yet. Everything that John sees, then, in his Revelation is, also, of the still embattled saints-on-earth joined with the perfected ones in Heaven. God wipes, also, tears from our eyes. We have an explanation for hope that strengthens and comforts. We can define joy that makes no earthly sense because we are before God (with the Lamb in our midst as Shepherd). He, we know, guides us and feeds us. We are in that context, worshiping and serving along-side of every one who d faithfully come before us. We saints (with Heaven s) get and do all those things that are described and all at the same time. Jesus began teaching (in the Beatitudes) that a non-saint becomes a saint by washing, and a particular literal washing, one of the content and elements from the Divine sacrifice Jesus made and washing is, both, an event as well as an ongoing process of purifying and growth.
Jesus began teaching (in the Beatitudes) that saints are totally-different than non-saints Holy means different, or distinct, as much as it means anything else. As much gray as the world would like us to believe in, God talks, only, of two totally different kingdoms. Black or white describes the difference, being in or out, almost-entirely counter-cultural, sainthood is a gifted situation: an existence that s counter to the rest that s opposite it. Jesus began teaching (in the Beatitudes) that the worst this world could give to a saint, God calls blessing. Persecution and evil heaped upon believers for righteousness sake just unites us to the noteworthy saints from history and great is the reward in Heaven for those getting persecuted for God. Jesus said the persecuted (for God) are blessed, and that s-so while even in the struggles earth provides. Application We remember, today, all that God s made His people to be because the more we know about the sainthood that we re in, the more we re going to act like what we are. Knowing how available this sainthood is to anyone (through baptism and faith), we can, even, help add to the group by bringing people not there toward those means. So may the sainthood we have be contagious (in each one of us). May our communion with those now in Heaven be noticeable. And may the Lord continue to teach us sainthood may we learn it really well. In +Jesus name. Amen.