In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

What usually comes into your mind when you hear the word "saint"? Perhaps you think of New Testament apostles such as St. Paul or St. John or St. Peter. Or maybe you think of certain especially devout Christians who lived in centuries long ago. Possibly, the word "saint" brings to mind the superstitious practice of actually praying to and calling upon such holy people in heaven for help or guidance. But regardless of what comes to your mind, it is clear that we usually use the word "saint" to apply to people in the distant past--certainly to people who have died and are no longer living among us.

However, on this All Saints' Sunday, we are going to see that saints are not only Christians of the past but also of the present; they are not only believers who have died, but also who are still living. And as we rejoice in that truth, we will find comfort and security in knowing that the Lord provides for and protects and saves His saints.

The Psalm begins with a command: "Fear the Lord!" What does it mean to "fear the Lord"? Well, there are two aspects to it. As the word suggests, "fearing" God partly means to be afraid of His wrath, to recognize, as the Scriptures say, that He is the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. I must say that there is a tendency today, even among Christians, to discount the wrath of God and not take it very seriously. We often trivialize and rationalize our sin and say to ourselves, "God's not going to condemn me eternally!" This attitude is also shown in those who say they believe in God but who despise His preaching and His Supper by never showing up for them. What sort of faith is that? In reality, many people don't even believe a place of everlasting torment called "hell" exists; or if it does, they say it's only a temporary place of punishment. So let us remember and keep clearly in mind what the Scriptures say: God is not wishy-washy about sin. He despises it; He punishes it eternally. Hell is real.

Fearing the Lord, however, involves far more than that. In the truest sense of the word, and especially in this passage, to fear God means to hold Him in the highest honor, to revere Him, to respect Him, to stand in awe of Him, to say from your heart, "What a God who made this awesome universe! What a God who cares even for me!" Fearing the Lord means knowing that He is real, that He's not just some cliched being up there in the heavens, but that He is truly active in every day of our lives. Fearing the Lord means relying on His mercy, trusting that He'll be gracious to us sinners, as He has promised. It is all of this and more that the Psalmist is saying when He gives the command, "Fear the Lord!"

And note carefully to whom this command is given. He says, "Fear the Lord, you His saints!" The Psalmist calls the people of God, all Christians, saints (!), folks who are still alive and living on the earth. And that means He is calling you and me saints! Now how could that possibly be? We know ourselves a little too well to really think that. Imagine one of us having our likeness depicted in stained glass at some church. How is it possible that we could be saints?

Well, before we dismiss this as a gracious overstatement by God, let's take a look at what the word "saint" means. It is defined as "a holy one". A saint is a holy one of God, someone who is holy in God's sight. And that is exactly what the Scriptures say that God has declared us to be--not because we're so wonderful, but because of His wonderful mercy, shown to us in His Son, Jesus Christ. Through faith in what He has done for us, we are truly, holy, saints.

In John chapter 6, Simon Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." Another way of translating that last phrase is that Jesus is "the Saint of God." He's the only real Saint. He is the One who lived a holy and sinless life. He is the One who submitted to His heavenly Father's holy will and suffered and died for our sins on the cross. He is the One who by the power of the Holy Spirit was raised from the dead on the third day in victory for us all over the grave. Jesus is the Saint, the Holy One of God.

Therefore, when we are joined to Him by faith, we ourselves are counted as saints. Having been made a member of the body of Christ in Holy Baptism, being sustained and nourished in the body now through the Holy Scriptures and Holy Communion, we are truly the holy ones of God., ones through whom He is working to lead holy lives. I'm sure that if the Apostle Paul were to send a letter to us today, He would address us in the same way He did other churches in the first century: "To the saints at Mt. Zion. . ." "To the people at Mt. Zion who have been made holy by the Holy Son of God."

So then, we can see from all of this how foolish it is to pray to saints in heaven, or to call upon any Christian who has died. Praying to them is no more useful than praying to each other would be, saints on earth. Not St. Paul, not the mother of Jesus, not a single saint in heaven has the power to answer our prayers. Only God can hear and grant our prayers. Besides, prayer is a form of worship, and the Bible clearly says, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." We, therefore, pray only in the name of Jesus, the Saint of God, who the Scriptures reveal is the only mediator between God and men. He alone speaks on our behalf before the heavenly Father.

However, it should be pointed out that the saints in heaven do have a proper place in the life of the church and in the piety of individual Christians on earth. One of our Reformation Lutheran Confessions of faith, says this: "We approve of giving honor to the saints. This honor is threefold. The first is thanksgiving: we should thank God for showing examples of His mercy, revealing His will to save men, and giving teachers and other gifts to the church. . . We should also praise the saints themselves for using these gifts . . . The second honor is the strengthening of our faith: when we see Peter forgiven after his denial, we are encouraged to believe that grace does indeed abound more than sin (Romans 5:20). The third honor is the imitation, first of their faith, and then of their other virtues, which each should imitate in accord with his calling." So then, it is good and right for us to observe saints' days, such as those in the front part of our own hymnal, and use them as special opportunities for worship and the strengthening of our faith and life in Christ.

The Psalm continues, "Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing." When we honor God, when we revere and respect Him above all things, He provides for all our needs, in both body and soul. As the Scriptures say, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." And again, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." God provides for His saints. Those who trust in Him lack no good thing.

Now, that is not to say that the life of God's people will be all ease and comfort and success. For the Psalm goes on to say, "A righteous man may have many troubles . . ." Just because we have been made to be God's saints in Christ doesn't mean that our lives will be all smooth sailing. In fact Jesus said in the Gospel that sometimes we'll experience hardship and trouble precisely because we are God's saints. He spoke of persecution and insults and slander for the people of God, those who trust in Him and follow in His ways. Likewise, we may experience many other sorts of trouble--with our health or our family or our work. Ultimately, we'll all face the very troubling prospect of death. But it is important to remember that for us who have been declared to be holy, these troubles are not the judgment of an angry God. Let us take as our example the life of our Lord Jesus. He once said, "A servant is not above his master." And yet, Jesus, the Master, Himself suffered trouble and persecution and even death. Now, if the beloved Son of God experienced those things, then certainly we who are His servants will face difficult times and still be deeply loved and cared for by God. If the holy and sinless Jesus had to go through all that He did, then certainly we who have been made to be members of His body should not expect our lives to be any different.

However, the good news for us is that the story doesn't end at the cross, with the suffering. The Psalm concludes, "A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." Some of you, I'm sure, are recalling on this All Saints' Sunday loved ones who have recently passed away. Perhaps you have in mind some of the difficulties and pains that they were experiencing in their final days. But what we rejoice in today is that if they had a living faith in Christ-one that was being nourished by the hearing of His saving Word and by the eating and drinking of His life-giving body and blood-the Lord has indeed delivered them from their troubles into His glorious presence in heaven. Because of Christ God protects and saves and rescues His saints, not only from earthly trials and predicaments, but even from death itself. Those who have gone before us are now joining their voices with the angel chorus in eternal praise to God. Theirs is perfect happiness. The hymn we sang put it well: "O blest communion, fellowship divine, We feebly struggle, they in glory shine."

What we also rejoice in, then, today is that our destiny in Christ will be the same as theirs. We are not an isolated organization of people but saints in a long and majestic procession that stretches from the beginning to the very end of time. Having been given the eternal perspective of the eyes of faith, we can see that when our final day comes, we will by God's grace join the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven in unending joy.

And that's not all! There's still more! For we have not yet mentioned Christ's second coming and the resurrection. In the Old Testament lesson, the prophet Isaiah spoke of this Last Day. He said, first of all, to God, "Your dead will live; their bodies will rise." And then to the departed saints He said, "You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy!" God does not only save our souls but also our bodies. Because Christ conquered death on Easter morning, at His second coming our bodies will be raised new and immortal and imperishable, to be rejoined with our redeemed souls. We will then live in the fantastic beauty of God's new creation forever. Truly, how blessed we are to have been made to be the saints of God in Christ.

Therefore, fellow saints, fellow holy ones, as we await the fulfillment of God's awesome promises to us, let us set our hearts on remembering and heeding the words of the Psalmist: "Fear the Lord, you His saints; for those who fear Him lack nothing. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all."

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit