Saints, Children, and... ?

1 John 3:1-13

All Saints Day / November 6, 2011

There’s something about All Saints Day.  While every Sunday is a little Easter and every Sunday we glimpse eternity, on All Saints Day it feels like heaven and earth are brought so close that they almost touch. On All Saints Day we are drawn out of ordinary time, and for just a brief moment the past and the future and the present are all one.  On All Saints Day we are given a chance to see the world the way God sees it. In this astonishing moment we stand up and praise God: “Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty!” We cannot help but give thanks to God for all that God has done, is doing, and promises to do.

Just consider some of the things our God has done: Our God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. Our God heard our cry and delivered us from slavery. Our God led us through the wilderness to a land flowing with milk and honey. Our God sent us prophets and teachers when we strayed. And when we continued to turn away, our God gave us Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, the Son of God, we have been called children of God.

John writes: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are” (1 Jn 3:1).  We are not just called children of God; we are God’s children now.  On this day when heaven and earth almost touch, we are humbled and overwhelmed by this astonishing gift of love. We are God’s children, right here, right now, today.

Turn to your neighbor and tell him or her, “You are a beloved child of God.”

Now turn to your other neighbor and say, “I am a beloved child of God.”

Together, “We are beloved children of God!”

It’s one thing to say this, and another to believe it.  Notice that John writes that we are called children of God, then he clarifies that we are children of God, and then he drives the point home: “Beloved, we are God’s children now.”  John clearly wants to make sure the reader of this letter grasps just how amazing and unconditional God’s love is.  John wants us to embrace God’s love that is so freely given.  John wants us to realize that even in the midst of our sin and brokenness, we are God’s children now.

Many of us struggle to believe that we are God’s children now.  Shouldn’t children of God be more perfect? Better behaved than we are?  Shouldn’t children of God reflect God’s goodness and grace in all they do? Don’t we fall way short of God’s expectations of us?

Furthermore, aren’t we supposed to actually resemble our heavenly Father the way children resemble their parents? How can we resemble God when God is the creator and we are the created? How can we resemble God when God is without sin and we sin and fall away over and over again? We are vulnerable, we are weak, we rely on others – aren’t we unworthy to be called children of God?

And yet, John writes, “see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are!” Our heavenly Father wants to be a Father to us – to love us and teach us and protect us.  Our Father wants us to rely on Him for all things – placing God first and foremost in our lives. Our Father sent his Son that we might learn from him how to be faithful children of God. Our Father sent his Son that we might know that we are forgiven over and over again as we seek to grow into God’s likeness.

And God continues to send people into the world to show us how to be beloved children of God.  Just consider the saints throughout the ages who have set an example of how to live faithfully as children of God.  There are the saints who have been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church – to date there are over ten thousand named saints – people who have been recognized for their holiness and their love of God. Saints like Saint Peter, the first saint, the rock on which the church is founded – and Saint Patrick, who brought Christianity to the heathens in Ireland – and Saint Francis, the patron saint of animals – and Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children.  Saints who were not perfect; saints who were human, like you and me; saints who loved God and lived lives that reflected that love. Saints who embraced their identity as children of God.

Then there are the saints who have pushed us to be more faithful by their example.  Folks like John Wesley, the introvert who preached in town squares and gave people a “method” for growing in their discipleship.  Folks like Dorothy Day who worked for peace and social justice in New York City, modeling the importance of hospitality and community.  Folks like Rosa Parks who refused to sit at the back of the bus, and Martin Luther King, Jr., who believed all people – regardless of race or socio-economic status – deserved dignity and equality.  Folks like Mother Teresa who dedicated her life to serving the poor in Calcutta.  Ordinary folks who lived extraordinary lives because of their love of God.

Then there are the saints we have known and loved who have actually shown us the love of God in their lives. Marie Neese, who loved to paint and was an excellent story-teller. Seth Christy, who loved children – all children – unconditionally. Mary Braxton, who sent cards to people exactly when they needed one.  Peggy Dixon, who loved people and was a great cook.  And Jerry and Ben and Tippy and Hattie Mae so many others. Saints – ordinary people – beloved children of God – who have witnessed to the love of God in their lives in so many different ways.  We are truly blessed – we have seen the love the Father has given us through so many saints – ordinary people who truly loved God.

On this day when heaven and earth almost touch – on this day when the past and the future and the present are drawn together – we are called to embrace this truth: We, like the many saints who have gone before us, are beloved children of God.  In all our brokenness, God loves us unconditionally. When we fall down, God promises to pick us up. When we make mistakes, God forgives us. When we doubt, God sends us a saint to remind us of God’s love. We are beloved children of God now. This is not something we have to wait for. Yet, as we embrace this truth we are assured that the best is yet to come.

For “what we will be has not yet been revealed, but when he is revealed we will be like him” (1 Jn 3:2).  When the kingdom of God comes in all its glory we will see God face to face. No wonder John writes in Revelation that they all fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen!” (Rev 7:11-12).  What we will be has not yet been revealed but when he is revealed we will be like him. Amen!

There is no doubt that children resemble their parents – and we resemble our heavenly Father.  We do so imperfectly now – as Paul writes to the church at Corinth, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face” (1 Cor 13:12).  The day will come when we will see God face to face and then – when he has been revealed – then we will be like our heavenly Father who is pure, unbroken, without sin, and utterly faithful.

For today, we live in the promise of this future hope.  We learn from the saints on whose shoulders we stand – we learn from their example.  We embrace the truth that we are beloved children of God today – that God loves us unconditionally and boldly calls us His children, for that is what we are.  And in response we witness to the good news of Jesus Christ in all we do and share the love of God with others.  In response we seek to purify ourselves, anticipating a sure and certain future where we will see God face to face – a future where we will see God as he is and we will be like him.