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Both are wonderful affirmations, but both DO have negative
connotations. Just as we noted last week that the "holy catholic
church" often looks very Unholy, the "communion of saints" is
often not very saintly.
There is an ancient tale(1) of a young rabbi who found a
serious problem in his new congregation. During the Friday service, half the congregation stood for the prayers and half
remained seated, and each side shouted at the other, insisting
that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the rabbi said or
did moved toward solving the impasse. Finally, in desperation,
the young rabbi sought out the synagogue's 99-year-old founder.
He met the old rabbi in the nursing home and poured out his
troubles. "So tell me," he pleaded, "was it the tradition for the
congregation to stand during the prayers?"
"No," answered the old rabbi.
"Ah," responded the younger man, "then it was the tradition
to sit during the prayers."
"No," answered the old rabbi.
"Well," the young rabbi responded, "what we have is complete
chaos! Half the people stand and shout, and the other half sit
and scream."
"Ah," said the old man, "that was the tradition."
Sound familiar? I hate to imagine how many congregations
that could describe. Years ago, I briefly served a church where
the officers were divided into what may as well have been two
armed camps - the deacons versus the elders. For years these two
groups had squabbled about anything and everything. Pastors
would accept the call to that pulpit, arrive in town, quickly see
the problem, then get in between the two groups to try to make
peace. Pity the poor pastor. Like the fellow who did not want
to take sides in the War between the States and advertised his
neutrality by wearing a blue coat and gray pants - the rebels
shot him in the coat and the yankees shot him in the pants! The
pastors would get it from both sides and the result in that
congregation was, in 140 years of history, they had gone through
35 preachers, 29 of whom lasted three years or less. Sing it
children: "And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our
love; And they'll know we are Christians by our love." Ah, yes,
the communion of saints, indeed!
A word here about our terms. Communion. If I asked you
about it, I suspect that what would jump to mind first is the
Lord's Supper. That is fine, as far as it goes. However, for
the purpose of our affirmation we should understand communion, as
one commentator suggests, as FELLOWSHIP-PLUS. "It is more than
the good time that people have when kindred spirits get together.
It is rather the comradeship of those who know and enjoy the
knowledge that they share the same heritage, the same values, and
the same destiny."(2)
What do we in the church share? Sainthood...at least in the
biblical sense if not the popular. If you asked most folks what
a saint is you might get definitions like "someone who is
particularly good or godly," or perhaps "some special person who
has been designated for veneration by the church." But
biblically, we in the church are ALL saints - the word comes from
the same root as our word "holy" which we learned last week does
not mean pious or pure but rather "set apart." Look at the
Apostle Paul's writings; the salutations on his letters say, "To
all God's beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints," or "To
the church of God which is at Corinth...called to be saints..."
or "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi..."
Saints every one. Were these folks particularly pious or pure?
Of course not. No more than we are. But the designation stands.
We in the church are set apart - "saints" - because of our
relationship with Jesus Christ, even though there are times when
our behavior is not very saintly.
Would you like some help in that regard? Paul has some
wonderful suggestions in our lesson from Romans 12.
Start by remembering who you are and WHOSE you are. If we
saints are God's people, our day-to-day activities - the office,
the factory, the school, the store - become offerings. God's
priorities become OUR priorities.
Paul continues. "I say to everyone among you not to think
of yourself more highly than you ought to think." Good advice,
and particularly to church folks who sometimes think they have a
corner on "the truth."
Paul goes on to describe our work together and uses that
metaphor he enjoys so much describing the church as a BODY. Just
as different parts of the human body have different tasks, the
same is true in the church. Paul says take a look at what task
you are suited for, then do it.
"Let love be genuine..." Agapé love, the love that is only
interested in the welfare of the beloved, no matter what. "Hate
what is evil, hold fast to what is good..." No compromises with
sin.
This one is special: "Love one another with mutual
affection; outdo one another in showing honor." What a wonderful
church it is when that is the rule of behavior. Genuine caring,
genuine gratitude.
"Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord."
Barclay writes, "There is a certain intensity in the Christian
life; there is no room for lethargy in it. The Christian cannot
take things in an easy-going way, for the world is always a
battleground between good and evil, the time is short, and life
is a preparation for eternity. The Christian may burn out, but
[the Christian] must not rust out."(3)
Paul's list continues: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in
suffering..." We DO have hope and we CAN be patient when things
are awful, because way, way down, in the very depths of our
being, we know how the story ends, and we know who wins.
"Persevere in prayer." Prayer - the oil that makes the machinery
of life work. "Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend
hospitality to strangers." Open hearts, open hands. God's
people are generous people. "Bless those who persecute you;
bless and do not curse them." The same instruction Jesus gave
concerning the way to deal with enemies.
Here is one that is incredibly important. "Rejoice with
those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." Who of those in
our lives mean the most to us? Those who are truly happy at our
successes, whose words of congratulation are genuine. Those who,
in times of hurt, instead of giving solutions or cures, choose
rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and
tender hand. The one who can be silent with us in a moment of
despair, who can stay with us in an hour of grief, who does not
try to force-feed us some cure, who is content to simply BE
there, that one is truly a friend.
Paul's advice continues. "Live in harmony with one
another." That makes sense. Churches that are OUT of harmony
rarely accomplish much. "Do not be haughty, but associate with
the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are." An emphasis
on perspective again. Get your nose out of the air. And
remember, conceit is UGLY. "Do not repay anyone evil for evil,
but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all." Or,
more clearly, "Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of
everybody (NIV)." Your behavior must not only BE good, it should
LOOK good as well, and especially to those on the outside looking
in.
One more bit of apostolic advice: "If it is possible, so far
as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." What can we say
other than AMEN and AMEN! Any congregation that can pattern
itself after such a model is one I would be proud to be a part
of. You too? Absolutely! "I believe in the communion of
saints."
In John Killinger's wonderful little book on the Apostles'
Creed, he writes,
Too bad.
"I believe in the communion of saints." And, of course, we
continue to insist, as we believe, so we behave. Lila Craig
believes. You can tell. A Nashville newspaper carried a
tongue-in-cheek story about Lila who has not missed attending
church in 1,040 Sundays although she is in her eighties. The
editor commented, "It makes one wonder, what's the matter with
Mrs. Craig? Doesn't it ever rain or snow in her town on Sunday?
Doesn't she ever have unexpected company? How is it that she
never goes anywhere on Saturday night so that she's too tired to
attend the worship service the next morning? Doesn't she ever
'beg off' to attend picnics or family reunions, or have
headaches, colds, nervous spells, or tired feelings? Doesn't she
ever oversleep or need time to read her Sunday newspaper? Hasn't
she ever become angry at the minister or had her feelings hurt by
someone and felt justified in staying home to hear a good sermon
on the radio or TV? WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH MRS. CRAIG ANYWAY?(5)
I will tell you what the matter is - she believes in the
communion of saints. Do you?
There is a wonderful passage near the end of the book of
Hebrews which many of you know fondly as "Faith's Hall of Fame."
The writer offers a long list of great men and women of God from
the days of pre-history on down. Famous names - Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Moses - plus some others not so famous but equally
important - Rahab, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, and on and on and on.
Why such a list? The author offers them as an encouragement to
us in our own faith journey. They are called a "great cloud of
witnesses." We cannot say positively if the writer intends to
convey that these faithful men and women who have gone before
actually see us and cheer us on as we run our own daily race, or
whether the word "witness" is simply to be understood as one who
has proclaimed God's truth to the world, just as when we speak of
a witness on the stand in a court of law? We do not know. But
if the Word does not say specifically that those faithful folk
can see us, it does not say that they cannot either. What a
thought! That we run our race in front of all history and
heaven.
Yonder they are. There is the gallery of the prophets:
Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah. And over there, the gallery of the
apostles: Peter, James, John and Paul. The Reformers: Luther,
Calvin, Knox. Over there, the gallery of the great evangelists:
Wesley, Whitefield and Spurgeon. The missionaries: David
Brainard, Hudson Taylor and David Livingstone. And over here, a
gallery that perhaps means more to you and me than all the
others, the one where sit our own fathers and mothers, brothers
and sisters, dear friends whose own race is now done, those who
gave us a solid foundation for our beliefs, a solid footing for
our faith. They are the witnesses who surround us, watching our
conflicts and rejoicing in our victories. And above them...and
watching with them...the one who died that they and we might
live, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. "I believe in the
communion of saints."
A few minutes ago, I mentioned popular conceptions of
"sainthood." Years ago I read of a little boy who was asked if
he knew what a saint was. The lad thought for a moment,
remembered the stained glass windows in his church and replied,
"The saints are the ones the light shines through." Truer words
were never spoken.
"Lord, I want to be in that number." Do you?
"I believe in the communion of saints."
Amen!
1. Told in its most recent iteration by Barbara Lemmel, "Makeshift Communities,"
Christian Century, 1/6-13/99, p. 15 2. B. Clayton Bell, Moorings in a World Adrift: Answers for Christians Who Dare to Ask
Why, (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990) p. 92 3. William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, CD-ROM edition (Liguori, MO: Liguori
Faithware, 1996) used by permission of Westminster/John Knox Press 4. John Killinger, You are What You Believe: The Apostles' Creed for Today, (Nashville:
Abingdon, 1990), p 103 5. Paul Kabo, via Ecunet, "Sermonshop Sermons," #1379, 4/16/99
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so
that you may discern what is the will of God--what is
good and acceptable and perfect.
I used to wonder why the creed does not say anything
about love. Love is so important in the Christian's
life. Paul described it in his letter to the
Corinthians as the crowning glory of our existence, the
single quality that outranks and outlasts all others.
Yet the creed is mysteriously silent about it. Then
one day I was praying and thinking about the saints in
heaven--especially my mother--who were praying for me,
and I realized, "Love is there! It is in the community
of saints! That's what the communion of saints is all
about! It's why Jesus, at the last supper, talked
about abiding in him and loving one another at the same
time. They belong together--being in him and loving."
That's the real meaning of the communion of saints, and
most of the time we forget it and neglect to draw our
strength from it.(4)
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