Posted on 11/19/2005 5:49:26 PM PST by sionnsar
From the Rev. William Klock of Christ Church REC in Oregon, we have the fine sermon, Our Heavenly Hope, which is an exposition of Revelation 7:2-17. As Rev. Klock notes, this sermon complements the prior sermon, Heavenly Colonists, quite well:
This week’s lesson from the Revelation of St. John dovetails very nicely with last week’s lessons – it completes the picture. Where last week we were given the hard task of following Christ here on earth, this week we see the future hope that we’re waiting for. The feast of All Saints goes back to at least the Fourth Century – a time when persecution was still fresh in the minds of many Christians – and was originally the day that the Church remembered all those who had been martyred for their faith. In the Ninth Century Gregory IV changed the commemoration of All Martyrs’ Day to All Saints’ Day as we know it – a day for the Church to remember all the faithful whom the Lord has removed from death and transferred to the Church Triumphant in heaven. And so this week our Epistle is a portion of the vision of heaven that was given to St. John.I found this sermon to be an exemplary discussion of the relationship between the Church Militant (those of us in this life, striving to live for our King in this world) and the Church Triumphant (those who have gone ahead of us and now serve Him in heaven.) Indeed, Rev. Klock has a good perspective on "the communion of the saints":
The saints stand before the throne and the Lamb, praising God for their salvation. The angels join in the song of heaven in the Holy Eucharist, and we acknowledge with them: “It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God. Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify they glorious name.” Then we sing the great hymn in praise of the holiness of God from Isaiah’s vision: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, Heaven and earth are full of thy Glory.” It’s not just us singing this, but the angels and archangels and the entire company of heaven with our blessed brothers and sisters in Christ.May we indeed join our brothers and sisters in the Church Triumphant and the Church Militant in praising Him, rejoicing in our salvation given to us by so great a King.
They stand before God with palm branches in their hands singing, “Salvation belongs to our God.” So today we sing with them as he comes to us in the Sacrament, just as the people of Jerusalem did when he came to them: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosannah! Salvation belongs to our God!”
The saints are arrayed in white garments. Because they washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, they stand in God’s presence. We come rejoicing and wash our own robes in the blood of the Lamb. When we eat and drink here at his Table we declare: He gave his Body for me and he shed his Blood for me. My sins are forgiven and now I am arrayed in Christ’s righteousness and can one day stand in God’s presence, before his throne and before the Lamb. Just as the saints in our lesson give honour to God for their salvation, we also declare by our coming to the Holy Communion: I am one redeemed by his suffering and death. All my hope is built on this, that he gave his Body and shed his Blood for me.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
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