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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight,

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O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer.

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Amen.

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Today on All Saints Sunday, we read some of the most famous words that ever came out of

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Jesus' mouth, often called the B attitudes.

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These words are the introduction to his sermon on the mount.

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In these blessings, we hear the counter-cultural message of the gospel.

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In what world are the poor, the sorrowful, the hungry, blessed?

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In what world do we celebrate the merciful, the peacemakers, the pure in heart?

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In what world are the persecuted and the hated lifted up in a positive way?

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The answer is simple.

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The world Jesus is creating through his life, death and resurrection, the kingdom of heaven.

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The kingdom of heaven is populated by the poor, the sorrowful, the hungry, the meek, and those

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who come to their aid, who we call the merciful, the peacemakers, and the pure in heart, and

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the people who come to the aid of these, of the least and the last and the lost, do so

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without considering the circumstances, without considering the consequences.

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They do so in the face of persecution and the possibility of ill-repute.

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The kingdom of heaven is a world that is set in stark contrast to the world we often find

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ourselves living in today.

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The Beatitudes of the world that we often live in sound and look quite different than

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the world that Jesus wants us to be a part of.

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With the help of a book entitled, Death by Suburb, How to Keep the Suburbs from Killing

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Your Soul, I'd like to offer the Beatitudes of the world that most of us live in today.

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Blessed are those who are in control of their life, for they don't have to rely on the help

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of others.

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Blessed are those who find their value in the sum of what they do and what they have,

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because they own or control their own identity.

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Blessed are those who keep up with the Joneses, for they always fit in.

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Blessed are those who make life easier, for they don't have to do anything hard.

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Blessed are those who make their mark in this world, for they will be immortalized.

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Blessed are those who are always right, no matter what, for they are never wrong.

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Blessed are those who seek friendships with those who can help their social standing,

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for they can rise to the top.

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And my favorite, blessed are those who are busy, for they are very important.

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I probably am most guilty of the last one.

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In the before mentioned book, the author quotes a sociologist who says, the space around us

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sets up patterns that condition our behavior.

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The book's author goes on to say that the living patterns of the good life, the suburban

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life, affect me more than I know.

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Yet that same environmental factor that numbs me to God also holds out great promise.

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I don't need to escape the suburbs.

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I simply need to find Jesus here, which is what we're trying to do today, right?

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Even the most faithful among us have a hard time escaping the torrid currents of the suburban

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life.

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And I have no exception.

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Most weeks I feel flooded by all there is to do.

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And when we do have free time, when we do have a free morning, when we do have a free

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evening, dragging our children or ourselves to church might be the last thing we want

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to do.

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Even though we know it might be the best thing we can do for our soul, in his book, Goats,

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the name of the author, Dave Goats I believe, suggests that the pattern of suburban life

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often leaves its residents bloated.

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In my words, we are prone to consume too many cheap carbs, put too much salt in our diet,

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which constricts our arteries and makes our hearts weak for God.

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Much of the self we do looks good on the outside, tastes good, but leaves us empty, ultimately

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leaving us lethargic sluggish.

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Now, if you look at the biographies of the saints that the church has canonized, you

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will find that a lot of them simply didn't out the material possessions of this world.

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They found a place in the desert and set up a monastery, which sometimes sounds kind of

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nice.

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Some of the most notable to do this are St. Francis, St. Clair of Assisi.

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You might have heard of Benedict, where we get the Benedictine rule of life.

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And while there's no doubt that their lives should be celebrated and lifted up, I say

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they took the easy way out, at least in terms of finding God in an environment that is conducive

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to finding Jesus.

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Now, it might be harder to find Jesus in the suburbs, in the hustle and bustle of life,

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but it's not impossible.

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In his book, Goats suggests several disciplines, which are inspired by the saints, to help

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us stay spiritually grounded in a world that is draining us for all we're worth.

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And don't worry, we are going to study this book as a parish, but it will be in Lent.

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So you have some time to read.

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But generally speaking, the best way that I found to stay spiritually grounded in this

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chaotic world is to find myself rooted in a Christian community.

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This Christian community offers an oasis in a world that is often spiritually barren.

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This Christian community offers grace in a world that is, offers grace that is so often

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missing from our other communities.

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And don't get me wrong, the church has certainly withheld grace too often, and for that we

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should repent.

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While I certainly find inspiration and encouragement from the saints that are on the official calendar

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of our church, the people who have inspired me most are the imperfect people that God

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has put in my life that have in some way or another encouraged me to be a part of the

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community that God is creating in Christ.

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The saints in my life are the ones who have helped me find peace amidst the storm through

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Christian community.

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One of my first youth ministers, Chris White, invited me to a mission trip that ultimately

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led me to my first conversion experience.

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One of my peers, Tori Bowman, would not take no for an answer and literally dragged me

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to diocesan convention for youth, and the rest is history.

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Chris Greer, a deacon in the church, opened me up to the healing power of God through

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a worship service.

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During high school when my home life was a mess, I found refuge in my spiritual family

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through the church.

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My college chaplain Ken Fields encouraged me to use the gifts and talents that I didn't

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even know I had, where I was too scared to admit that I had.

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So I wonder, who are the people who have invited you to experience the way of living,

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a way of living that's helped you stay grounded in this chaotic world?

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Who are the people who have called you to know life in the kingdom of heaven?

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What saints has Jesus raised up in your life?

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And today of all days, I hope you give thanks for those people, just like you might give

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thanks for them every day.

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And now that you know who has encouraged you, who might God be calling you to encourage

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to be a part of the kingdom?

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Who in your sphere of being might be drowning in the torrid rapids of suburban life?

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Who in your life needs to know their blessing?

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Who needs to know that even when their life seems to be spinning out of control, God and

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Christ is holding them fast with a love that will never let them go?

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Who needs to know that their inherent worth isn't the sum of who they are or what they

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do, but simply a divine gift from a God who loves them?

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Who needs to know that they don't need to be like anyone else?

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Because the kingdom of heaven is populated by a diverse group of people, which reflects

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the richness of God.

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Who needs to know that a path to a full life isn't found by taking shortcuts, but by taking

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up the cross, the way that leads to peace?

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Who needs to know that true greatness is found when we lose ourselves in service to others?

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Who needs to know that only by returning to a God who is good and merciful can we be

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made right?

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Who needs to know that true friends are the ones who are there for you when everything

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else in your world has fallen apart?

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When you have nothing left to give them?

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Who needs to know that their true identity is found when they find their rest in God?

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While living a saint-like life in the suburbs probably won't get you persecuted, it might

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affect your social standing.

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It might change how you approach your work, how you approach family life.

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It might change how you spend your free time or how you use your money.

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And I hope it will make you feel less bloated.

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As we continue our annual giving campaign or conclude our annual giving campaign, all

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things come to thee, time, talent, treasure, I'd like to give thanks for this community

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that God continues to form and raise up through ascension.

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Through ascension, God is creating a space where people can start to let go of the worldly

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beatitudes and start to embrace the beatitudes of Jesus and his kingdom.

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Through ascension, God is changing how we see and engage the world around us.

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Our eyes are being opened to a God who is creating evidence through Jesus and his kingdom

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that a richer life, a deeper life, exists beyond the one we currently know.

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And that richer, deeper life isn't only reserved for the saints in light, but for those of

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us who are faithfully trying to embrace our calling as saints of God.

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So on this All Saints Sunday, I pray that you may embrace more and more your citizenship

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in the kingdom of heaven so that you and the whole world may be transformed by the life-giving

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ways of Jesus, our Lord and our Savior.

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Amen.

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Now we proclaim this faith with the words of the Nicene Creed.

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We believe in one God.