Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12. Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Transcription

1 Perpetual Worship All Saints Sunday 8:15 and 11:00 a.m. Sunday, November 2, 2014 The Reverend Dr. Jack M. Horner Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Camp Hill, Pennsylvania Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12 Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. This year a movie came out called Heaven is for Real. In the movie four year old Colton Burpo is rushed into the hospital for an operation for a burst appendix. After the almost fatal operation

2 was successful, he recounts with his father what he saw when he was on the operating table. He could recount where his father was in the hospital. How in the hospital chapel his father cried out in anger to God for all of the things that have been going on in his life culminating now in his son on the operating table. He could see where his mother was, the quiet confidence that she had that he would be okay. Colton tells his father that he had met Jesus. That Jesus had shown him around heaven, and there he had met family members including a great grandfather he never met before. His father is not quite sure what to make of all of this, but there are too many details on people and places that both confuse him and his family, but also give hope, both to his family, as well as the congregation that Colton s father pastors.

3 Have you ever wondered what heaven is like? John in his Apocalypse offers a picture of heaven. Those who are gathered there have gone through the Great Tribulation. They have suffered a persecution on behalf of the Romans. They suffered economically and socially and sometimes even physically with those numbers being put to death. The Roman emperor insisted that he was to be called My Lord and my God. These are the people who continued to be faithful to God, and now they are brought before the throne of God in heaven. Counter to the imperial claims of Rome they sing about the salvation, the blessing, the glory and the power that belongs only to God. John s revelation shows a picture of people of every nation, every tribe, every language gathered to worship the

4 Lamb of God. They are moved from the suffering they experienced in the great ordeal and the trials of their lives to now a place where they worship the Lamb of God. It is important for the church to hold onto this vision of John. For those who have lost a loved one, for those who have been stung by death, it s important for us to hold on in the power of the resurrection, for ourselves to move from sorrow to the knowledge of God s presence in our lives and also in the life of those who have died. One of my favorite German proverbs says this, Those who live in the Lord never see each for the last time. In our worship at the time of communion, right after the Great Thanksgiving, there is a prayer that the pastor can say, it s

5 called The Proper Preface I would like to read The Proper Preface for today. It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. By the witness of the saints you show us the hope of our calling and strengthen us to run the race set before us, that we may delight in your mercy and rejoice with them in glory. And so, with all of the saints, with the choir of angels and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn. Our own theology of the communion meal is such that there is a sense in which you and I join

6 in perpetual worship with the whole heavenly host, including those saints who have gone before us. Brothers and sisters we meet our loved ones at the table of the Lord. We move from being believers to serve as priests and in steadfast faith, we are worthy by the forgiveness of sins to enter into this wonderful celebration. We are able to enter into heavenly worship, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God, now and forever. Amen. You and I just don t attend worship. It s not just another thing that we do on a Sunday morning or another day. From the Ten Commandments in which the first commandment said, You shall

7 have no other Gods, we are called from our baptism into Christ through life through funeral and even beyond, to worship the Lamb at his heavenly throne. God s transformative power is at work in our lives and in the lives of all of God s people, beginning with you and me. This relationship with God is meant to last forever and forever, and we too sing a song like the psalmist I will bless the Lord at all times. Revelation says that the saints gathered at the throne worship day and night, (that s a lot longer than an hour and five minutes!) But, what we do on a Sunday morning is a foretaste of the feast to come. So brothers and sisters, just don t attend worship. Participate with all of the saints, preparing and confessing, with sight and song and sermon, with movement and hugging and

8 smiling, and crying and caring and loving and learning and watching and waiting and sitting and standing and praising and ringing, glorifying, eating, drinking and silence, forgiving, welcoming, inviting, and serving. Live out your Christian life as a faithful witness to the Lamb of God who takes away your sins and sustains us all. He, who gave his life for your world and my world, is worthy of our perpetual worship with all those who have gone before us. Let us join our voices with theirs and then join them at the altar of our God. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

9 Copyright 2014, Jack M. Horner. All rights reserved.