“Saints Past, Present, and Yet to Come”

Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths. Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation. The sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God. But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel their sin.

Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong! Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money; yet they lean upon the LORD and say, “Surely the LORD is with us! No harm shall come upon us.” Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

            Today is All Saints Day. It's a day in which we remember those in the faith that have died. We Protestants don’t use the word “saints” in many other contexts, so it can seem a bit strange to use it today. It’s a day when we remember, as the Apostle’s Creed names it, the Communion of Saints. Today, we remember that the Body of Christ reaches beyond those who currently living. There is a spiritual bond with the ancestors of the faith who have died. In a holy, mysterious way, the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us are with us still. It’s a day for remembering those who died far too early, and it’s always too early to lose someone you love. It’s a day of remembering that we did not receive the gift of faith on our own. It was handed down to us, generation by generation from the hands of Christ himself.

            Who are your saints? Who are the beloved people who passed faith down to you? I love how Gay Amos often tells her testimony, “I was loved into being a Christian.” Gay didn’t convert and wasn’t convinced to be a Christian. She was simply loved into being one. Those saints who loved Gay into her faith are all now gone, and Gay is the one loving the next generations so that they may know Christ’s love.

            Did someone love you into being a Christian? Your story might not be the same as Gay’s but there was someone, or some community, that gave you a glimpse of God’s love in a way that you couldn’t walk away from. It could have been a family member or a neighbor or even the story of someone you never met but whose life made you know that God is real. When I think of All Saints Day, I think of the women throughout history who have quietly and faithfully shared the gospel. From the first preachers of the gospel on Easter morning to the countless unnamed mothers, sisters, and daughters who had neither power nor authority, but they saw their dignity and worth reflected in the holy scriptures. I will never know their individual stories or names, but I know that our faith exists today because of the women who passed down the richness of the gospel from one generation to the next.

            When asked to think of the saints, you probably thought of those you loved. Of parents, grandparents, or Sunday School teachers who showed you what it means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 

 But then, there were people who you didn't remember. Whose names will never be remembered along with the words “love” and “faith.” They lived their lives in a way that brought harm instead of hope. They had only one precious life to live and they lived it just for themselves.

            As I’ve been preparing for All Saints Day, I’ve been thinking about not just the legacies of those who died before us, but also about our legacies. I'm thinking about how there will be All Saints Day in the future after we have died. When we have joined that great multitude from every nation, singing, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” And on that day, our loved ones will add our photos to a slideshow. Or maybe they won't. Maybe they won't remember us as saints who loved them in a way that made them want to know first-hand the love of Christ Jesus. It all depends on how we choose to live our lives and share our love today. We cannot take for granted that the next generation will remember us as loving and kind. We must make choices—sometimes the small daily choices, sometimes the life-changing difficult choices, to pass down the faith and a world that is more just than the one we inherited.

            We come to these Bible passages today, keenly aware of our place in history. We hear the words of Revelation and we imagine a future in Heaven with all the saints. And then we read Micah and we remember the history of those who came before us. We remember that we too are a part of making history. We remember that history that will be made on Tuesday when the election is finally over. Because of course, All Saints Day is also the last Sunday before the US election. This is an election that has been called, by both parties, "the most important election of our lifetime." It's an election that has been filled with questions of legacy and of leadership. What kind of leader will we choose? Does our faith have anything to do with the kind of leaders we support? It's no accident that the lectionary text for the Sunday before the election is Micah 3:5-12. It's a passage that is all about leaders. Because you see, while the Bible is not partisan it is certainly political. The Bible makes no claims of you should vote for and neither will I from this pulpit. What the Bible does claim is accountability and critique for people in positions of power and authority. And those words ring true today.

            Micah begins just there—a critique of leaders who lead people in the wrong direction. He says they cry, “peace” when they are well fed but attack those who are hungry. I find it odd that peace is the contrast to hunger. The prophet Jeremiah says, “woe to those who cry, ‘peace’ when there is no peace.” But Micah is first concerned with empty bellies. Our humanity begins in our bodies. When we are hungry, calls of peace mean very little. On God’s behalf, Micah is furious to see the political leaders who proclaim peace and then “declare war on those who put nothing into their mouths.” That line has stuck with me for weeks. Some might call it declaring a war on poverty. Micah is so furious that he says Israel’s prophets will experience a time without revelation from God. An utter darkness. The sun shall go down upon them. For a people who relied on God’s divine revelation for guidance, this was the ultimate fear. When the Lord removes blessing from Saul, the King’s prayers and questions to God went unanswered. Silence was the punishment. One of the most reassuring parts of our faith is the knowledge that God hears our prayers and responds. That there is nowhere we can go from God’s presence. And yet, the punishment for the abuse and ridicule of the poor is silence from God. Woah.

            Micah speaks with a righteous fury that doesn’t hold back. He says, “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel their sin.” I can’t imagine that made him very popular. No one, especially not an entire country, likes to have their sins pointed out to them. We know that we do the wrong thing over and over again, but we still, somehow want other people not to notice. Certainly not to call us out. 

            As Micah continues, he addresses three specific kinds of leaders– politicians, pastors, and prophets. First, he critiques politicians who give judgment for a bribe. He’s critiquing leaders without integrity. Leaders who are more than willing to give a different kind of justice for their friends than for those they deem unseemly. We all know what it’s like to feel like there are two different sets of rules. When it seems like the rich keep tax cuts they don’t need while working-class folks keep working and yet see no gains. When we see footage of a terrible, unjustified shooting and then watch the police officer get off scot-free. When fossil fuel companies would rather pay fines that don’t even impact their bottom line rather than take responsibility for cleaning up the air we breathe. When a celebrity gets a slap on the wrist for cheating to get their kid into USC but a woman in Texas gets 5 years in prison for unknowingly violating her parole by voting. We see leaders who apply “justice” unequally all the time. 

            But then, Micah addresses priests who teach for a price. He’s talking about pastors whose teachings are influenced by who is paying their bills. Now let’s be clear about who this is holding accountable today. It’s people like me— pastors who are paid for their work. The question is, does our pay influence what we say? It’s a concern that I think about often in my calling. Am I just preaching what people want to hear or am I preaching what I believe the Spirit saying? What if the Spirit of God calls to preach something you don’t want to hear? Will you feel like you’re not getting your money’s worth out of me? Would it just be easier to play it safe? It's a dangerous line to get close to, isn't it? Money’s corrupting influence is at the root of the critiques of all three kinds of leaders. 

            His last critique is of prophets who give oracles for money. He’s calling out people for using religion as a mask to acquire ill-gotten gains. He’s calling out pastors or politicians or businessmen who’ve learned that all they need to do is put a Christian sheen over what serves their own interests and people will fall in line. They often succeed because their misconduct is cloaked as virtuous and just, even loving. Pastor Tom Tate compares it to Christians in nineteenth-century America who used scripture passages over and over again to justify their complicity in the evils of slavery. They declared that slavery was for the slaves’ own good and ordained by God. They would never admit they were only interested in their own financial gain at the expense of the humanity of enslaved Africans. Like the corrupt prophets in Micah, they said, “Surely the Lord is with us!” But, of course, we know that God was not with them in oppression and dehumanization. God was and is with the oppressed and the hurting.

            Micah’s role as a prophet was to call the leaders to account for their hypocrisy and corruption or face the consequences. In the case of Israel, that meant that “Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.” It’s a difficult passage to hear. We are far more comfortable with the God who promises to never leave or forsake us. Consequences and silence from God are not what we want to hear. But we cannot confuse God’s compassion and forgiveness with a lack of consequences. God takes it seriously when we harm others, or when we are complicit in following leaders who do. God’s justice means that there are punishments for those who harm and oppress the poor, the marginalized, and the immigrant. Christ’s sacrificial love and death on the cross makes us more accountable for loving our neighbor as ourselves, not less. These words spoken to the leaders of Israel—rulers, priests, and prophets—are reminders that someday our life stories will be told. So what will the story be? 

            You might be thinking, “I’m not a ruler or a pastor. I’m not a leader so these criticisms don’t apply to me.” But there isn’t a person out there that doesn’t have a sphere of influence. Influence in your family, in your friendships, at book club or your work, and even in your own life. So, what kind of leader have you chosen to be? You have the choice to lead people closer to God’s love or not. You have the choice to lead people deeper into vulnerability and trust and integrity. 

            People of God, you have only one wild and precious life to lead. You have only this time in history. No one knows how many days on Earth we get to live. No one knows how long it will be until that day when, as Revelation says, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. If you knew that today was your All Saints Day, how would you want to spend the next year?  Who would you forgive? Who would you tell truth to? Whose voices would you listen to? What leaders would you follow? How would you spend your time? 

            Today we remember those who have died. We remember that someday we too will breathe our last breath. We remember that we have an obligation to those yet to come. For this world’s story does not end with us and so we must live with compassion and integrity, and seek justice for the marginalized. As we hold on to the hope of joining that great multitude in Heaven, where Christ will guide us to the springs of the water of life, may we live in such a way that Christ will great us saying, “well done, good and faithful servant.”