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November 4, 2007
Scripture: Ephesians 1: 11-23
Title: “The Pledge of Our Inheritance”

I think it is safe to assume that we just aren’t sure what to do when people use the term “saints.” It really isn’t a part of our vocabulary. We don’t talk about them. We know that on some basic level, that certain people were given sainthood because there was something special about them. They may have done some amazing miracles in the church. They may have been great leaders. We just know that if you are given the name Saint, that you must have been a pretty amazing man or woman.

We also think that there must be something that separates us from the Saints and we believe that we will never be able to achieve sainthood. So really why bother?

In the church, people have been selected and have been given the title of Saint. And in that process: we “ordinary folk” have set up an us/them dichotomy: us down here, them up in heaven. Ordinary people and Saints. The split of God’s Kingdom.

Last year, when Mike and I were trying to sell our house, someone suggested that I bury a St. Joseph’s statue in our yard. My friend continues to say: “I’ve known people who have done this and their house sold within a week of burying the statue in their yard. Saint Joseph is the patron saint of the home.”

Needless to say, I was doubtful. I don’t really know all the saints of the church and what their purpose was. And I don’t put too much hope into the icons of the church that I can buy for one simple payment of $9.99. So I listened politely and said I would keep her suggestion in mind. A few more weeks go by and not much movement on the house. I begin to wonder: Where can I by a Saint Joseph’s statue ? Does it need to be big? Does he come with instructions on what exactly to do? Would Saint Joseph really help a Protestant like me sell my house?

So I went out and purchased a Saint Joseph statue all for the low cost of $9.99. I followed the instructions. And then I waited. A few more weeks went by and still no movement on the house.

I would tell myself: Okay, I buried the Saint Joseph. In a few days, our house is going to sell. Nothing. I began to question if I did it right. Did I bury the stature too deep? Did I say the prayer wrong?

I buried the Saint Joseph. Why isn’t our house selling?
Logically, I knew that the housing market had taken a turn for the worse. Logically I knew that nothing was selling in our area.

What I didn’t realize is that I had set up an us/them situation: ordinary people/ sainst. I had given special powers to the depiction of St. Joseph because he was a saint of the church. And thought that I was helpless in my quest without this saint. That I as an ordinary person would not be able to do anything while this Saint could perform miracles.

After a few weeks, I realized that my saint had really worked a miracle in my life. The miracle happened when I came to realization of who the person Joseph really was in our church tradition. He was an ordinary man who became part of God’s plan. Joseph was a simple carpenter who put his trust in God, who put his faith in God. And that is why he is a saint in the Church. Joseph showed faithfulness when he followed God’s call to protect an innocent young baby. He showed faithfulness when he created a home for this young baby to grow up in safety to become a great teacher and leader.

It is his faithfulness that we admire as members of the Christian community. It is his trust in God’s plan that gives us hope as members of the community of faith. It was his ordinary holiness that makes him a saint for us as members of the Universal Church.

An ordinary man who figured out how to make his life an offering to God. A true saint.

And that is what our Scripture is about today. Who are the saints of the church? And we find the answer in a letter written to the community at Ephesus. This community is divided on its answer to this question and they have set up an us/them dichotomy within their community: ordinary people and saints. Separating on who really is entitled to the promise of inheriting God’s kingdom that comes along with redemption: Those who have been there as part of the Jewish community who have now become Christian or those who were Gentiles and now have become Christians.

And the author says: Well, you both are entitled to the promise of God’s Kingdom. Actually, all believers of Jesus Christ are entitled to the promise of this inheritance. You were made holy when you first believed. You have been redeemed through Jesus Christ. You have an inheritance that is waiting for you in heaven: an inheritance of healing, of wholeness, of salvation. God has set you apart and has sanctified you through the act of redemption. And that entitles you to the special title of saint. You have been made holy and that is what it means to be a saint. You are a believer in Jesus Christ.

Now don’t let that go to your head. Don’t think that just because you are a saint in the church that you don’t have to do any work here on here. God has given you a pledge of your inheritance, a little down payment so that you understand what the Kingdom of God is really like. Through Jesus Christ, you have experienced peace. Through Jesus Christ, you have experienced unconditional love. Through Jesus Christ, you have experienced the dependable grace of God.

And now as saints of the church, you are called to share your inheritance here on earth. You are called to figure out how to make your life a living offering to God. You realize that it is not your power but the power of God within that brings wholeness and healing to the world. You are to live out your calling as a saint, as one made holy by God, taking the promise of redemption to all of God’s people.

Let your faithfulness inspire people. Let your trust in God encourage people along their journey. Let your ordinary holiness be an offering to God and may it give comfort to those people you meet along the way.

Ordinary people who are living out their calling as God’s people, redeemed by God’s grace, made holy by God’s promises. You are part of the communion of saints: past, present, and future through your relationship with Jesus Christ. True Saints.

You are True Saints! Just as you are who are gathered here today.

When we hear that we are the saints of the Church, many of us say, “Well, surely you are not talking about us. There is nothing special about us. That title is reserved for the men and women of our church who deserve it. They have been great leaders. They have done some amazing miracles in our church through their work with the youth program, through the dinners they served, through their hard work for the church.

We think that we are just ordinary people and all those other people who did or are continuing to do to change the world are the saints. We set up an us/them situation without any hope of us ever achieving entrance into this holy place of saints. Ordinary people here on earth. Saints in heaven.

And our lesson today tells us no. We are all saints in the church because we have been redeemed by God’s grace. All of us are made holy because God made us that way. All of us are saints because we have experienced God’s call in our lives.

There is no an us/them separation of the saints as some sort of exclusive club. That is not what the communion of saints is all about.

What the communion of saints is really all about is a connection that is forged in the body of Christ, that transcends time and space, and is important for the present time.

The communion of saints is a calling for all of us who claim to be Christian to be faithful and to remember our connection among Christians.

“When the church confesses its faith in the ‘communion of saints’, it acknowledges this profound connection among Christians of all generations, forged by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

We have had a taste of our inheritance as our lives have been touched by those among our community who found a way to offer their imperfect wholeness to God as a gift on the altar of faithful living. These saints among us have shown us what it means to truly live a life of faith and to claim our calling as God’s people.

We lift them up as saints because there is something amazing about them that inspires our faith, that encourages hope in the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

And they in turn call back to us and remind us that they are connected to us. They have given us a taste of God’s Kingdom and tell us that we have these gifts, these same gifts to take our inheritance and share it with all of God’s children.

Our saints remind us that we are made holy. That we are redeemed. That we are believers of Jesus Christ.

Our saints remind us that we are called to work here on earth as the saints of the church, connected to the saints of the past, the present, and the future.

We are Ordinary people who have figured out how to make our lives an offering to God. Ordinary people who have offered up our lives as a gift on the altar of faith living to God. Ordinary people who inspire faith in others and hope in the Gospel message. True Saints of the church.

WE are True Saints of the Church, connected to all the saints, past, present and future.

May we live out our callings as God’s redeemed people, sharing our inheritance with the whole as saints of the church. Amen.

Rev. Heather McColl
Midway Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

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