Nov 1, 2015
Fr. Phil Eberhart
An Everlasting Covenant - A Great Cloud of Witnesses
Today is our celebration of All Saints - Yesterday was All Hallows Eve, that where the name "halloween" came from.
In Spanish La Dia de la Muerta - the day of the dead.
But the fact of the matter is, according to the Creator of the Universe, all that is not true! This is not a day to commemorate the dead, but to celebrate the living!
Do you remember how God introduced Himself to Moses at the Burning bush in Sinai? Exodus 3:5-6 God tells Moses to take the sandals off of his feet, because "this is holy ground." But he continues. Can someone read what He said to Moses?
I Am the God of your father; of Abraham, and of Isaac and of Jacob.
In his discourse with the Pharisees one time on the subject of resurrection, uses this piece of the historical writing of the Torah, to make his point about the resurrection of the dead:
This passage is in fact, covered in each of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke and they are virtually identical passages. And Jesus adds some commentary to the passage from Exodus. He quotes it and then adds:
"For God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
My point here this morning is that death, though it seems final to us, isn't to God. And furthermore, that all those we celebrate today are also celebrating, because they are in God's ETERNAL presence.
The Bible tells us that we are, in fact, surrounded by this company of saints who have gone before us. The picture there in Hebrews 12 is of a great stadium - like we will see on TV tonight as the Broncos play the Packers, (God bless em!)
Football has been described as 22 guys on a field desperately in need of a rest, surrounded by 70,000 desperately in need of exercise!
Friends we are the ones on the field today! And the 70,000 represent those who have moved from the field, up into the stands, to cheer us on! I'm not clear on what they can see or not see of the actions down here, but I can tell you that when we make a touchdown - when someone comes to faith in Jesus Christ - there is a party in the stands!!!
Think about that tonight as the touchdowns are scored. You won't see football the same ever again!
But I don't want to stop there. There are a couple more facets of this day that I want to explore:
What is the significance of the table (communion) on this day? The table of communion is significant every Sunday for us here at REZ. We are Anglicans and as such, we believe that we partake at the Table of the Lord, and so we do! But I want to bring this image, into the perspective that we have been talking about.
What we partake of here at this table is a foretaste of what we will partake of at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! We read about it in our OT lesson today:
Now I changed our backdrop this morning in order to be able to add some perspective to our view this morning. As we part the veil, just like the veil of the Temple was rent in two and parted by God at the time of Jesus death, we can see into the heavenly banquet table prepared for us and for all who die in the Lord!
There is a banquet that is waiting us when we die - when we move through the veil - up into the stands. And friends, I want to ask you, how does this perspective effect you?
Turn with me to Hebrews 12:1-3 (NLT)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;[c] then you won’t become weary and give up.
The Olympiad is in view here, another stadium with thousands upon thousands - we have seen the spectacle on our TV's as well ! So how do we live in view of these truths?
A. Get rid of what slows you down! Runners even weigh their shoes! They are obsessed with speed! and many will walk the course, the track before the race, to make sure they can see every step.
B. That there are no impediments - nothing to trip them up. The word in the Greek is only used in this one place in the NT! It means to be standing around so long that the grass and weeds grow up and surround your feet and legs! That's the way sin is pictured here; without vigilance, it grows to ensnare your feet from running the race!
What is the prescription - the antidote?
C. Look to Jesus! If we stay faithful to the image, He is both the starting line and the finish line! If you remember in the movie, Chariots of Fire, the extraordinary efforts that the runners took with trainers, working on their starting at the gun, and on the concentration of looking to the tape at the end and stretching into it as you cross the finish line.
Jesus is the starting gun and the finish line! He is the author and the perfecter of our faith! We learn how to run the race by looking at him - the writer continues!...
D. Keep the JOY in view! Olympians of every age will tell you that picturing the win is the first step to winning! Seeing yourself on that top stand, with the National Anthem playing; the gold medal placed around your neck. Thousands cheering and waving the flag!
Can you see up into heaven - that Great Cloud of Witnesses - all those who have gone before us, who have run the race and "finished the course."
Read these last verses of the Isaiah passage this morning with me again:
And he will destroy on this mountain
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[f] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[g] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Let us ...
... go right into the presence of God!
... hold tightly to the hope we affirm!
... think of ways to motivate one another!
... not neglect our meeting together, but
encourage one another.
Friends, what we are part of here is way bigger than we first thought. It's not about us, for sure! It is about finishing what God started!
On this All Saints Sunday, I invite you to remember the Covenant that God has made with us from the beginning and renewed in Jesus Christ! An everlasting covenant, that stretches back into the ages past and goes forward to its culmination at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb! We are part of this great sweep of God's History - HIS STORY is our story!
We are part of it. Will you commit to being a part again. Will you commit to this Table and this People of God?
I met a young lady the other day at the club, who has bought the story that our tolerant culture is selling, that there are many ways to God. She said her grandmother was a devout Christian, but she never went to church. For her the Church was kind of irrelevant - didn't need it to have a relationship with God. While I believe that is true on an individual level, I also believe that the Church is God's Plan A. There really isn't a plan B. And we are better together than we are individually! Amen? Look at someone close to you and say, "I'm better WITH you than WITHOUT you!"
And so we pray again as we did at the beginning of our service:
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
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