Feast of All Saints, 2002
Revelation 7:1-14

If you didn't notice, the Anaheim Angels won the World Series last week. The victory parade began at the Pond and ended in a rally at Edison Field. My children and I attended. We parked about a mile away and walked down State College Boulevard to Edison Field with thousands of others. What a celebratory mood! This year's team accomplished something truly amazing. The crowd at the rally was enormous. One newspaper estimated 100,000 spectators; another paper said up to 300,000. The actual number was probably somewhere in between. With most fans dressed in red, the mass looked like a sea of red. In fact that is what the headlines called it -- a "Red Sea Stroll." Such a massive gathering can be rousing.

While the crowd at the Angel's rally was red, the gathering described in our epistle lesson is white. The Revelation passage for the Feast of All Saints offers us one of the most exalted portrayals of Heaven. It depicts the gathering of all saints in Heaven after the general resurrection of the Body and the Great White Throne Judgment. The scene has inspired Christians of all ages. The Holy Spirit carried St. John up to glory in order to view the heavenly liturgy.

Let us read about John's vision in Revelation 7:9-13. [Read them.]

The great throng is pictured as standing before the throne and the Lamb. Everything revolves around God and the Lord Jesus. The multitude of the redeemed is so vast that to count them would be impossible. In every direction they stretch out as far as the eye can see. The attendance of all nations, races, and languages links the large company to the great commission. Christ commanded the Church, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the [Trinity]." What John sees is the fulfillment of that commission. Why are the robes of the redeemed white? They have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. What about the palm branches? Waving palms is a sign of victory, and a symbol of Eden restored. How do the saints respond to God's presence? They fall on their faces in awe and reverence, and they worship.

In the fifth century the Church added a phrase to the Apostles' Creed somewhat related to this heavenly scene: the Communion of Saints. We recite the Apostles' Creed in Morning and Evening Prayer. You can find it on page 15 of your Prayer Book. The last paragraph declares, "I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church; the Communion of saints; The forgiveness of sins," and so on.

What does the communion of saints mean? How should we understand it? What exactly are saints, and in what sense do we have communion with them? Let's now explore these questions.

When we speak of the saints we are not talking about an elite corps of Christian heroes who have been canonized by the Church. The early Church celebrated the anniversaries of great men and women who had died in the faith, much like the way we commemorate George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. But that formal system of publicly listing certain believers on a catalogue of saints, venerating their relics, and in prayer asking them for protection and deliverance are later inventions totally foreign to the early Church (before A.D. 350).

What is a saint? In the Bible the term "saint" is tied to sanctification. Those who have separated themselves ethically from the world and dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ are saints. They have been chosen by God and born again by the Holy Spirit in baptism. If you have been baptized into Christ's Church, and are striving to love and serve the Lord, you are a saint. This doesn't mean that you are no longer plagued by faults and failings. Every saint on earth fights sin on a daily basis.

The communion of saints therefore refers to the fellowship we have among each other. Our life together is marked by mutual help and encouragement. We lovingly and sacrificially share in the daily needs of others. Some of you know about Deacon Greg Hoffberg, his wife Sally, and their six children. About a year ago the mold and mildew in their mobile home had gotten so bad that it was making him and his children sick. Deacon Greg was unable to work and their situation was becoming desperate. Church of the Apostles raised funds to buy the family a new mobile home. Saint Luke's helped a little bit, too. These are the sacrifices that stamp the communion of saints (Acts 2:44-45; 4:34-37; 11:27-30; 1 Cor. 12:25-26).

Can we understand the communion of saints in another sense? Yes. The Greek word hagion can be either masculine or neuter. If masculine, it is translated the communion of "holy men," or "saints." If neuter, it comes out to be the communion of "holy things." What is the communion of holy things? It refers to our sharing in the things of the altar, our joint participation in the Holy Communion. The mystery of the communion of saints is concentrated in this sacrament. Together we come forward to kneel at the rail; we join with angels and archangels, we approach the banquet table of King Jesus, and together we partake of the one loaf and drink of the one cup: the body and blood of Christ. Our fellowship is not merely with one another, it is with God. The communion of saints is thus our sacramental fellowship with the Lord.

So far, we have seen that the communion of saints concerns our fellowship with one another, and our participation in the Lord's Supper. Nicetas, one of the fathers of the fifth century offers the traditional interpretation. He writes as follows: "What is the Church but the congregation of all saints? Patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, all the just who have been, are, or shall be, are one Church, because sanctified by one faith and life, marked by one Spirit, they constitute one body. Believe, then, that in this one Church you will attain the communion of saints."

This definition dovetails with our epistle passage. The communion of saints includes every member of the body of Christ. It is the fellowship of those in this world, those who have passed on to the world beyond, and those yet to come. The communion of saints hence encompasses the Church Militant on earth, the Church Expectant in Paradise, and the countless elect souls not yet born. After the Last Judgment all of us will gain entrance into the Church Triumphant in Heaven. That is the final stage that our text from Revelation prophesies. It foresees the day when the complete number of Christians will gather around the throne to thank and worship the Lamb of God.

It is sometimes recommended that we prayerfully seek assistance from Mary and others who have passed away. Since the saints on earth pray for one another, and the Bible exhorts us to pray for one another (Hebrews 13:18; James 5:16), why not beseech the saints in Paradise to pray for us as well? Wouldn't that be to our advantage? Isn't the invocation of the saints a natural outgrowth of the communion of saints? Aren't the dead closer to God than we are? Not quite. That idea has several problems.

Granted, the living and the dead share the same faith, hope and love in our Savior Jesus Christ. And we are all members of the mystical Body of Christ. However, those of us on earth have bodies, while those in Paradise do not. In other words, we do not separate the Body of Christ, but we do place a distinction between the living and the dead. Precision is important. Consider the doctrine of the Trinity. Though it is incorrect to place a separation between the Persons of the Trinity, a distinction between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary. A distinction in the Body of Christ between the living and the dead is also appropriate.

Moreover, we cannot be confident that our departed friends can hear us. The Church father Tertullian was certain they could not. About the year 200 he wrote, "We speak of Paradise, the place of divine bliss appointed to receive the spirits of the saints. There, the saints are cut off from the knowledge of this world by that fiery zone, as by a sort of enclosure" (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, page 52). Lactantius, the Christian apologist and historian, states the same thing in even stronger language. He wrote the following around A.D. 310: "It is clear that those who make prayers to the dead do not act as becomes men. They will suffer punishment for their impiety and guilt. Rebelling against God, the Father of the human race, they have undertaken unforgivable rites. They have violated every sacred law" (ANF, Vol. 7, page 67). It seems that there is not one Church Father before A.D. 350 who approved of prayers to the saints or the veneration of images. From every shred of evidence we possess of the early Church it is evident that they rejected such practice.

Scripture teaches the same. On those occasions when men attempt to venerate a man or angel, they are reproved. Saint John himself was scolded when he fell at the feet of his angel guide. Revelation 19:10 tells us, "And I fell at [the angel's] feet to worship him. But he said to me, 'See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!' " [Other relevant passages include Acts 10:25-26, 14:14-15, Col. 2:18, Matt. 4:9-10, 1 Tim. 2:5.]

How does the communion of saints benefit us? The vision of St. John is especially helpful. The Lamb on the throne is a cosmic vision. Earth's history moves toward that exalted goal. All saints surround the Lamb because there is salvation in no other. Those who are absent up above in the place of joy and bliss are present down below in the place of eternal punishment.

The priority of King Jesus ruling in Heaven suggests that Christianity must take center stage in the heart of each and every saint, in the life of every family, and in the public square. By their worship the saints acknowledge that the Triune God sovereignly governs Heaven and earth. Therefore, a Christ-centered worldview informs the conversation of the saints, their decisions, their voting; a Christian worldview underpins the laws of the nations, indeed, every department of life. Just because you encounter a diversity of lifestyles and worldviews in your daily walk is no excuse to abandon the exclusive, all-encompassing claims of Christ's kingdom. It is no excuse to hide your faith under a bushel. Nor is it an excuse to privatize your faith. Christ rules. He is Truth, and there is no other Truth. [I am indebted to Dr. Bruce's views on secularization here.]

The privatization of religion is tempting because it helps avoid contention with those of different religions. Taoists, Muslims, New Agers, atheists, and non-religious secularists exist around you. When you make contact with them, it is natural to try to avoid conflict by shrinking Christ's claims. But the little bit of peace you gain in less friction with non-Christians, you lose in much bigger ways. Limiting Christian faith to a private sphere creates relativism. The saints should never think, "what is true for me and binding on me is not necessarily true for others and binding on them." Or, "My own truth and what works for me, is not necessarily your truth and what works for you." Once you start to accept those concepts you have lost the idea that there can be one single truth. You lose the cosmic scope of Christianity. That puts you on a slippery slope. You are now less willing to transmit the faith to others because you are not quite convinced of it. That is what a private faith does. Over time, the consequences become increasingly harmful. You have a hard time passing your faith on to your children because you fear to indoctrinate them. You no longer do the hard things that God tells you to do. You lose the desire to worship and glorify God. In the end, the combination of private faith and religious relativism stifle public impact and the societal role of the Church. Isn't this a big reason why our culture is in decline? Didn't Jesus condemn moral relativism and the privatization of faith when He proclaimed, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men" (Matt. 5:13)?

On this Feast of All Saints, God help us to follow in the steps of those who have gone before. In the Prayer for the Church Militant we pray, "And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom" (p. 58) How do we follow the saints? Not with relativism. They set their eyes on Christ and Him alone. In Him alone is the way, the truth and the life. That has always been the basis for Christianity's transforming power.

Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." O God, make Heaven our goal. You sent your Son to save the world. Inspire us to holy lives and holy things. For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, forever and ever.

Return to Sermons