For ALL the Saints
This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on All Saints' Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018. The text is John 11:32-44. Today we celebrate all the saints. We remember loved ones who are laid to rest. Though they have died, yet they live. And though their work is ended, yet their dream of God’s love for the world is also still alive. We identify with the grief of Mary, Martha and Jesus. We know the reality of death that lies so close, that at any moment the phone call or text could come with news we dread. I felt that way when my daughter Sarah was in the emergency room with blood clots in her lungs. We live forever in the shadow of death. But the thing is, All Saints means all. Being a saint comes as a gift from God. We are saints because of our contact with the Holy God and because the Holy God has come in contact with us. Look around the sanctuary. You are looking at the living saints of God who are also part of All Saints. We celebrate each of you as well....