FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Sermon by Dr. George Bryant Wirth

Palm/Passion Sunday

March 16, 2008

THE APOSTLES’ CREED:

I BELIEVE IN THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

Scripture: Mark 11:1-10

INTRODUCTION

We have come here on this Palm/Passion Sunday to remember, re-enact and celebrate what happened long ago in Jerusalem, when Jesus came through the gates and was surrounded on the street by the crowd who had been waiting to meet and to greet Him, shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Zechariah had prophesied hundreds of years before that it would happen that way (Zech. 9:3), and yet there were mixed emotions and a myriad of expectations among the people that day. The Roman authorities and the religious leaders were not glad to see Jesus arrive in Jerusalem, and some of them had already begun the plot to destroy Him. Others believed He was the Messiah they had been watching and praying for, and there were also those who hoped He was coming to take down the high and mighty and lift up the oppressed and the poor.

All of those emotions and expectations were circulating through the crowd like an electric current that day, and so it is with us in many ways. For we have come here to worship God and offer our praise to His Son, our Savior Jesus – searching for signs of His presence, praying to receive His promise of peace, and hoping to be transformed by the power of His Spirit which is alive and at work among us.

I think we are like them, like those people caught up in that processional in Jerusalem, watching for and wanting for something to happen. We are connected to them, standing in a long line as far as the eye can see, waiting together with those who have gone before us in this journey of faith.

And that leads us toward what it means to say in The Apostles’ Creed on this Palm/Passion Sunday: “I Believe in the Communion of Saints!”

I

Some years ago, I clipped an article from the newspaper entitled “Shortcut to Sainthood,” and this is what it said:

“Kirby J. Hensley, a one-time hobo who can’t read or write and runs a mail order church that makes millions by ordaining anyone who seeks a clergy title, says that he is no longer a laughing stock.

‘They used to treat me as a joke,’ he said, ‘but no more. I’m taking in $10,000 a week.’

In fact, his Universal Life Church with a staff of 20, mails out a tide of ecclesiastical credentials and titles, ranging from minister to archbishop to doctor of metaphysics. In one small town, Hardenburgh, New York, nearly everyone – 211 people in all – have been ordained by Hensley, and he said the requests keep rolling into headquarters in Modesto, California.

‘We’re as bona fide and legal as any church in the world’ he contended, reminding the reporter that the State of California has granted him tax exemption. ‘In the past twenty years, I have ordained about six million people’ Hensley said. ‘We’ll even make you a saint for $5.00. Just write in.’” (From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 14, 1978)

Well, I don’t know what’s become of Kirby Hensley and his mail order ministry, but I do know that it takes a lot more than $5.00 to become a saint!

The truth is, we Presbyterians are not as familiar or comfortable with the concept of sainthood as are our sisters and brothers in the other branches of the Christian family tree. Roman Catholics have been venerating men and women as saints for centuries, going all the way back to St. Peter and the first apostles, together with Mary the mother of Jesus. Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican-Episcopalian churches recognize and canonize persons as saints according to their exemplary lives, their courageous witness and their special service in the name of Jesus Christ.

But we Presbyterians, ever since the Reformation, have not affirmed the practice of elevating human beings to a “saintly status” in the same way. So how can we say in The Apostles’ Creed that “I believe in the communion of saints”?

II

The answer is found in the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, sainthood is referred to more than 80 times. In the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures, the word for holy is “kadosh” and the Greek word in the New Testament is “hagios,” which we talked about last week regarding the “holy catholic church.” Just these three examples ought to make it clear:

· In the 16^th Psalm, we read these words which God spoke to King David: As for the saints in the land, they are the noble (ones), in whom is all my delight (Psalm 16:3, RSV).

· Turning to Paul’s Letter to the Philippians in the New Testament, the apostle concludes with this Benediction: Greet every saint in Christ Jesus…All the saints greet you, especially those in the emperor’s household… (Philippians 4:21,22).

· And in the Book of Revelation, chapter 22, the very last verse in all of the Bible says this: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen (Revelation 22:21).

Now, either those Biblical words about the saints were meant only for Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Episcopalian Christians, or we Presbyterians need to re-explore what the original meaning of sainthood was and still is all about. The Hebrew word “kadosh,” the Greek word “hagios” and the Latin word “sanctus” from which our English word “saint” is derived – they all mean the same thing: “Holy, those who are set apart by and for God.” If we take that definition to heart, then the Bible, particularly the New Testament, describes all those who belong to God and believe in Jesus Christ as “saints.”

Obviously that does not mean we are perfect people, neither does it imply that we have been elevated to a God-like status. But if you have been prone to say “Well, as for me, I’m no saint,” then you had better think again. Because if you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and have opened your heart, mind and soul to His Spirit which makes us healthy and whole human beings, then even though you may have never thought so, you are a saint! Now look around at the other Christians sitting in this sanctuary with you, and recognize that they are saints too!

Therefore, when we say The Apostles’ Creed, affirming that “I believe in the communion of saints,” we are confessing, in part, that our hearts and lives are joined together in this community of faith called the church. You see, we Christians do not profess and practice a solo religion. To the contrary, we are bound together and we need one another as sisters and brothers in Christ’s family.

So look around once more, St. Connie, St. Allison, St. Chris, St. John, St. Craig, St. Charles, St. Caleb…and realize today that you and I believe in and belong to the communion of saints.

III

Yet with all of that being said and true, there is another dimension of what it means for me and for you to say “I believe in the communion of saints,” which takes us into the realm of spiritual mystery, a realm which John Bunyan described in Pilgrim’s Progress as “crossing over to the other side.” We’re talking now about the communion of saints who have gone before us in the faith, that “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) who have lived and died with Christ walking beside them, and will forever reside in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Can you see them, standing there in that long line that stretches from Genesis to Revelation in the Bible, and all those who have followed after them down through the ages of time? They are the ones, in each and every generation, who built the church upon the foundations laid by the apostles, with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone Who stands at the center and holds everything and everyone together.

Can you see them today, that long line of Christians who are now with the Lord in heaven? They are the communion of saints, and some of them, many of them have helped us along the way – mothers and fathers, family members and friends, preachers and Sunday school teachers, youth leaders and mentors in the faith – people who cared about us, who shared their lives with us, who reflected the love of Jesus Christ to us. Can you see them today? Then let’s take a moment to bow our heads and thank God for them, by name, one by one by one…(pause for prayer). My friends – we are surrounded today by the communion of saints!

CONCLUSION

In closing, I want to tell you a story and then point toward the final glory which has been promised to us by Jesus.

Several years ago a Presbyterian pastor and good friend of mine told me a story about Thomas J. O’Conlon from Grayfriars Garden down in Dunedin who died and found himself standing right there at the gates of heaven. He met the guardian at the gate and assuming it was St. Peter, he inquired if there might be a place reserved for him. He said “St. Peter, I have been a good man. I was faithful to my wife. I took good care of my children. I went to church almost every Sunday, and I usually paid my pledge on time.”

“But have you sinned, Tom?” asked the guardian at the gate. “Well,” said he, “I guess I did sin some, especially when I was young and foolish. I bet on the horses a few times, fibbed a few times to get out of tight spots, and drank a few times too much, more than I should have. Is that what you mean?”

“No,” said the gatekeeper, as he leafed through the big book that he was holding. “I’m thinking about more serious sins. Did you do anything else?”

Thomas J. O’Conlon thought for a moment, and then a worried look came over his face. “Well, yes St. Peter, there was one thing, and I have always felt the worse for it. Back in college, I played rugby for St. Anthony’s, and one year, when we came up against St. Swithin’s for the national championship, I was involved in a controversial call near the end of the match. One referee thought I had fumbled the ball, and the other one thought I had not. They took me aside and asked what had happened. I was on the spot. I really had fumbled, and the score was null and void. But I did not have the nerve to tell the truth.

So, I took the credit for the touchdown and St. Swithin’s lost the national championship on account of my lie. I have always felt guilty for that, but do you think it really matters now, St. Peter? Haven’t I been forgiven for my sin?”

“Well, I really don’t know” came the brusque reply. “You see, St. Peter is out to lunch. I am St. Swithin and you are in big trouble.” (Story from Dr. Richard Cromie, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)

As a former rugby player myself, I like that story and hope you enjoyed it too. But for all of the humorous stories we tell about St. Peter at the gates of heaven, or even St. Swithin, the real truth is that someday when we die, you and I are going to cross over to the other side.

Only God, our Father in heaven, knows exactly what that will be like. But His Son, our Savior Jesus, has already shown us the way, and this is His promise: In my Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am, you will be also (John 14:2-3).

Christian friends: that means we don’t have to be afraid! Because someday, when we cross over to the other side, Jesus will be there to guide us as we take our place in that long line, joining together with God’s great and eternal processional called the Communion of Saints.

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.