For All the Saints - Sermon for All Saint Sunday Year A (Narrative Lectionary 2)

For All the Saints

All Saints A – NL 2

November 5, 2023

Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN

1 Kings 18.17-39

It’s been about 50-60 years since last week’s events where the kingdom of Israel was split into after the death of King Solomon. The 10 Northern tribes of Israel (not to be confused with the whole country) remain separate and in contention with the two Southern tribes collectively known as Judah. Our reading today concerns the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Although not all of the northern kings are Jeroboam’s direct descendants, they all are “spiritual descendents” who have “walked in the way of Jeroboam and have done what is evil in the sight of the Lord.”

Thus enters the prophet Elijah who challenges the behavior of the evil king Ahab. Ahab has not only married a foreign woman, Jezebel (yes that Jezebel!) but has gone after her gods, Baal and Asherah. There is a drought in the land with an accompanying famine. The drought and famine are ostensibly the Lord’s way of getting their attention for worshiping false gods. It is in this situation that the Lord’s prophet Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a contest. In one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible, Elijah stands up for the Lard against the false gods.

Every advantage is given to the prophets of Baal. They are on their own turf and thus have the “homefield edge.” There are 450 of them and only one of Elijah (who stretches the truth about that a bit). They get the choice of bulls, their typical sacrifice. And they get more than enough time to get Baal’s attention, all under the taunting of Elijah. When it is his turn, Elijah takes the leftover bull and rebuilds the altar of the Lord with 12 stones. He digs a trench around the altar and pours 12 jars of water over it. After all of this Elijah utters a simple prayer to the Lord. In the prayer and all the actions Elijah reminds the people of Israel of their history, of who they are and whose they are. They belong to the one true God, the Lord.

St. Elijah stands up for the Lord. Now I want to tell you about another saint who did so in a different way, my Grandpa Johnson. Grandpa was born and raised in Rice Lake, WI where he owned a milk can re-tinning business. He turned the re-tinning business into a truck body business that grew tremendously during World War II. Grandpa Johnson was so busy he brought his two brothers into the business. After a while, the two brothers started to force Grandpa out of the business. I don’t know all of the details, but Grandpa Johnson, who was a very strong Christian, decided that rather than fighting his brothers he would move the family westward and start a new life. That would be him, my grandma, and eight of their nine children, excluding the eldest, my mother.

Grandpa would have gone all the way to the Pacific Ocean but instead they settled in Spokane WA. It was a compromise with my grandma who said, “This far and no farther.” There Grandpa Johnson turned what had been a hobby, building boats, into a business. (He was one of the first, if not the first, to use fiberglass rather than wood to build his boats. Grandpa was a very creative man.) I don’t know if I could do what Grandpa Johnson did, and I know that he wasn’t perfect, but he is still an inspiration to me even though he has been gone a long time.  And I do know that he prayed for his children and grandchildren every day until the day he died; (BTW, Johnson Truck Body still exists in Rice Lake, though it is owned by a German company. It does all of the Schwan’s trucks, which have little plaques on the side that say “Johnson Truck Body.”)

Today we celebrate the Festival of All Saints, when we remember those who have died in the past year. All Saints was originally designed to commemorate those who died as martyrs for the faith. (Martyr literally means witness.) We tend to think of a saint as someone who is extra-especially good, and that’s true, but a saint is also those who have been claimed by Jesus through baptism, who are redeemed by his blood. That includes you, me, all who have come before us, all around the world, and all who come after.

In a few minutes, we are going to experience that mysterious “great cloud of witnesses” as we come forward for Communion. This is where God comes down in a dramatic way, giving God’s very self to us. As you do so and light a candle to remember your beloved, also do so for those like Elijah and Grandpa Johnson who by their example by standing up for God and inspire us to do likewise. So, let us give thanks to God who strengthens us to do so as well by giving us God’s self through Jesus. Thanks be to God. Amen.

My sermons don't always preach as they are written. For video of the sermon with the entire service, click here.