PSALM 34:1-8, JOHN 3:1, REVELATIONS 7:9-17, MATTHEW 5:1-12
Rev. Dr. David Breeden, Minister
Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Focusing Scripture: (text: New Revised Standard Version)
Psalm 34:1-8
I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
1 John 3:1
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.
Revelation 7:9-17
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.
They will hunger no more,
and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
for the Lamb
at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them
to springs of the water of life,
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.
Matthew 5:1-12
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will
be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Meditation:
Refuge. Salvation. Love. Hope. In our heady and abstract age the exclamation of the Psalmist is almost comical: “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Almost. Yet isn’t our hope a very concrete, an experienced hope? That experience is what the readings for this All Saints Day offer: “Look at him and be radiant.” Children of God: “that is what we are.” Even the panoramic vision of judgment offered in Revelation returns to the concrete language of the Psalmist in its vision of eternity:
They will hunger no more,
and thirst no more;
the sun will not strike them,
nor any scorching heat;
. . .
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.
Concrete, embodied hope. And imagine how good the news was to the oppressed peasant followers of Jesus as they gathered on the mountain that day and heard, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .” No, this is not an abstract or future hope but a chance to survive, here and now, the hunger, thirst, poverty, suffering, and fear:
I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
Yes, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” On this All Saints Day may we remember to use of the term “saints” as it is used in Acts: all believers are saints, joining with the Psalmist in saying: “O taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Prayer: