Legacy of love
November 6, 2011
During his life, Jesus gave us many spiritual treasures:
calling the disciples, individuals with varied personalities .... his teachings .... the Lord's Prayer .... the Sermon on the Mount .... parables .... commandments to love God and one another .... the example of his compassion and acceptance of women and children .... his journey to the cross, including the Last Supper .... the promise of God's holy spirit to guide and strengthen us .... the wonder of his resurrection appearances .... and the hope of eternal life within God's care ..... truly his is a legacy of love.
Today, the focus of worship is All Saints Sunday. The lives of saints inspire and challenge us – and intercede for us. The Christian church, and particularly the Roman Catholic church, name outstanding women and men as saints. Saints shine with the light of Christ, because they have been faithful and courageous, often sacrificing and risking their health and their lives. They have continued the legacy of Jesus' love. We think of the people of the Bible and of early church martyrs, and favourite saints. We remember St Valentine and St Nicholas every year. Saints have been a positive faith influence for millions of people.
Another meaning of the word, saints, is when we think of those people who have kept the faith and have dared to dream of a better world. We remember those who have died before us: the communion of saints who are the cloud of witnesses. They are still a part of us.
As believing people of God, we are called to be saints. But because we are human and fall short of what and who we might be, we are both saints and sinners at one and the same time.
People we would call saints are really ordinary people who have dedicated their lives to serving God and their neighbour with a spirit of love. We would say they have an extra measure of courage and conviction and sense of adventure. I would like to suggest some characteristics of saints:
- eagerness to profess and witness to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord
- an awareness of the unseen world all around, sensing the guidance of God's spirit
- valuing of life, seeing life as a journey to be welcomed and embraced
- humility; intensity of faith; belief in the power of prayer
- confidence that their life and work in God's name is blessed and will make a difference
- seeing every person as a child of God; sister or brother of the risen Christ.
Saints have come to terms with the own mortality and do not fear death, believing that the visible and invisible world, earth and heaven, are like a continuum. The gospel calls each of us to see our life as an adventure blessed by God, because our lives do make a difference when we strive to serve God and our neighbour with a spirit if love.
Our gospel reading today (Matthew 25: 1-13) is a well known parable, one of the best known of all the parables .... perhaps actually told by Jesus, perhaps created by the early church as being somewhat similar to a story that Jesus had told.
Five of the maidens were prepared with oil enough for their lamps when the bridegroom came. The foolish maidens were not ready when the great moment finally arrived; they had insufficient oil and could not buy any because the hour was late; they were delayed in their travel to the wedding banquet; the gate had been closed, and therefore they were barred from the feast.
The bridegroom represents the Christ. The parable was seen as a warning to be ready while waiting for him; there is no concern for resting while waiting, for all the maidens slept. There is criticism for being unprepared. Many in Matthew's time believed that the second coming of Christ was imminent, and might occur during their lifetime. It is a call for readiness in the face of the uncertain time.
The parable of the wise and foolish maidens had great influence in the Middle Ages, in art, sculpture, drama and music and the architecture of cathedrals built in France and Germany. Even in our time, there is the camp song, “Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning, keep me burning till the break of day”, and the gospel song by Dottie Peoples that has the same theme, “I want to be ready when Jesus comes”.
I think it is not particularly popular or usual within the church in this generation to be concerned about the second coming of Christ, and yet we can heed the warning too.
There are aspects of the parable which are more within the ethos of what we believe. “Oil” in the lamps cannot be shared. Each of us is called to have faith in the risen Christ and to live that with heart, soul, mind and strength. We need our own measure of faith - it cannot be borrowed from someone else. The maidens needed the lamp-light to see the way in the midnight darkness, so the foolish maidens missed the joy of the feast. The gospel names Jesus as the Light of the world and we are called to follow him; we too are called to be light for one another in times of darkness and despair. The Psalmist declares, “God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path”. (Psalm 119:105) Light guides our way. The gospel raises the hope and promise of living with passion and fullness .... in other words, enjoying the banquet of life. Within the biblical tradition of the time, “oil” was used as a symbol for good deeds. We are called to do responsible deeds of discipleship. The Sunday school hymn, “Jesus bids us shine with a pure, clear light”, reminds us that it is a matter of the heart to live with compassion and fairness. One small candle flame is a beacon of light in the dark. We want to be ready, prepared as the saints have been prepared, to see opportunities to love and serve God and others with love in Christ's name. There is another reality that comes to all of us. We do not know when, or if, we or one of our loved ones will become ill; we do not know the time of our death. We want to treasure and live each day to the full.
We inherit the legacy of love from Jesus the Christ and from the communion of saints. The Psalmist says that the whole sacred story is to be told to our children and grandchildren yet unborn, “mysteries from the past that we have heard and known”. (Psalm 78:3) Children and young people need to hear about the realities of human struggles and failures as well as to experience true community and forgiveness. And they deserve to be taught to have respect, courage and confidence.
The communion of saints are with us in so many ways They are in our thoughts and prayers and dreams. We may be named for them – perhaps our appearance and likes and dislikes are similar. Perhaps we have read some of their letters and seen photographs. They are not merely spectators of what we are doing, and of how we are living. They are witnesses with us to the faithfulness of God through the generations.
There is a real sense that saints, named and un-named, those known by many or known by only a few, continue to move in and out of our lives.
We give thanks and praise to God for the treasure and gift of the legacy of love.
Preached by Mary Beth Nicks Barbour
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan