Preparing for Worship - November 3, 2024

Many Lutheran churches will likely celebrate this Sunday as All Saints Sunday. Those are the readings I will make some comments on here. Remember that, in the Old Testament, a saint is a believer in the Lord, as God’s people trusted the Lord and His Word and plans, culminating in the coming of the Savior, our Lord Jesus. See, for example, the words in 2 Chronicles 6:40-42, and 7:3, when the temple was dedicated in Jerusalem. In the New Testament, saints are all those who believe in Christ as Savior (together, of course, with the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit). See, for example, Romans 1:1-7, especially v.6-7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, and 2 Corinthians 1:1-2.

The first reading on Sunday is Revelation 7:9-17, where John receives a vision of countless saints from every nation, in heaven, all who have lived and died, washed and purified in the forgiving blood of Christ, and then been taken to eternal life. They are with the angels and the Triune God, and the Lamb (God the Son, our Lord Jesus) is their Shepherd, providing for them in perfect joy, where there are no more tears. They, in turn, praise and honor and serve the Lord in thanks for all His blessings. (Watch for a sermon I will send out next week with more about this passage.)

The psalm is Psalm 149, where “the assembly of the godly,” God’s Old Testament believers, sing new songs of praise and gladness to the Lord. He, in turn, takes pleasure in His people, humble before Him, and provides them with salvation. They seek to serve Him, including battling the evil enemies of the Lord, as described in “judgments written” in the Scriptures. (See, for example, in 2 Kings, Chapters 22-23, how “the Book of the Law” was lost and ignored in Israel, until it was found again, and King Josiah made many reforms, battling against the promotion of false gods and evil practices among the people.) Ultimately, the Word of God is the two-edged sword through which the Lord defeats false ideas and teaching. See Hebrews 4:12. We can use that sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), in battling evil and pointing people to the knowledge of God and to Christ our Savior. See 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. All this glorifies our “Maker” and “King.”

The Gospel lesson is Matthew 5:1-12. This is a description of saints, of God’s people who know they are spiritually poor, and mourn over their sins, and hunger and thirst for the righteousness provided by Jesus, and seek to be merciful to others, as they have received mercy and peace from Him. They are not surprised when they are reviled and persecuted and spoken of in an evil way because of following Christ in this life. Great blessings follow, though, in heaven, earned by Christ our Savior.

The Epistle lesson is 1 John 3:1-3. John reminds us of the love of God the Father that has been given to us through Christ our Savior and His life, death, and resurrection to forgive all our sins and count us acceptable to Him through His gift of faith. We are “called children of God” and “so we actually are” through Christ. (See 1 John 5:10-13, where this is said so clearly. This includes the gift of eternal life, already ours.) We don’t know what that eternal life will be like, but we will be able to be in the presence of our Lord and see Him as He is. In the meantime, we seek to live faithful lives, not to earn anything, but in gratefulness for what God already has promised to us, in Christ. The Lord Himself continually purifies us, too, through His Word and Sacraments.