This is an adapted form of the sermon I preached on All Saints Sunday, November 5, 2023. The gospel text was Matthew 5:1-12. I also referred to the First Reading from Revelation 7:9-17.

This is a day of good news. Truly, every Sunday is a day of good news. Every Sunday we hear again the story that Jesus Christ has come into our world, that he was crucified and died, and that he was raised from the dead. Every Sunday we hear the good news that he brings to us through his death and resurrection.

And today, All Saints Sunday, perhaps even more than most Sundays. Today is a day of very, very good news.

During Story Time today, I invited you to join with the kids, and close your eyes, and listen to a vision that was given to John the Divine, the author of the Book of Revelation. (The story was Revelation 7:9-17.) A vision that many people have interpreted as a sign of what the afterlife is like, what we will encounter after our death. I invited you to consider what you saw when you heard those words.

I don’t know what you saw, but when I hear those words, I see light and comfort. Hope and joy. Relief, release, renewal, and resurrection. In a word, good. And that’s what I often say to people when they ask me about what comes after this life. I tell them that it’s not clear. The Bible has many images of the afterlife, many images of heaven. But what is clear is that it’s good.

Images like this can be comforting for us, especially days like today, when we ponder death. When we ponder our own death, or the death of someone we love. We hear in this passage hope that there is goodness to come, comfort that death is never the end. That all of our struggles and difficulties will end, and there still is a future awaiting us without them.

We cling to words like these in the face of death. This is indeed one part of the good news that Christ brings to us. But it is not the only good news. There is also good news for us today.

And we see that good news in today’s gospel. There we hear that God’s promises are not only for after we die. There we hear that there are blessings for us today, even in the midst of the sufferings of our lives. We hear this:

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Those who feel unloved, unworthy. Those who feel lonely, empty. Blessed are you. God loves you, exactly as you are.

Blessed are those who mourn. You will be comforted, Jesus says. Some of us know that from experience, that an unexpected comfort, a subtle and sublime comfort, has come to us even after mourning. Some of us are in the depths of grief at this very moment, and for you I can only repeat Jesus’ promise: God is with you. You are blessed. You will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek. Those who avoid conflict. Those who look at the suffering around them and say, “I can’t take any more.” Those who see so much worry and anxiety all around them, and say, “I am overwhelmed.” Blessed are you. You will inherit the earth. God is in you, and you will endure.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those who so desperately want to be better than they are. Who desperately want the world around them to be better than it is. Who see the suffering and say, “Fix this, Lord!” Blessed are you. You will be filled. You will see and experience the righteousness you crave. God will come to you.

This is good news. This means that the kingdom of God is not only in the by-and-by, but in the here-and-now as well.

And there is even more. Those first four blessings were for those who suffer in various ways. Then Jesus promises four more blessings, these for those who are his disciples. That means us. Jesus promises this:

Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers. And blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. These are blessings on those who strive to do what is right, no matter the cost, no matter the situation. And this means us, here, in this room. Those of us who have been called together in this place, who have received the gift and promise of Holy Baptism, who share in the gift and promise of Holy Communion, who bear the name and cross of Christ on our foreheads. We who have received the promise and the good news of the resurrection at our death. We who have received the promise and the good news of the Beatitudes for this life. Our third piece of good news is that we are part of the way God accomplishes this.

Jesus promises that your mercy, your purity, your peacemaking, even your persecution, will be blessed. So go and do it. Go out and bear this good news to the world. Where there are people who are poor in spirit, go and tell them that they are blessed. Show them that they have God’s love.

Where there are people who are mourning, go and tell them that they will be comforted. Reach out to them and show them comfort.

Where there are people who are meek, go and tell them that they are blessed. Show them they are not ignored. Be with them, show them that they are important.

Where there are people who hunger and thirst for righteousness, go and tell them that they are blessed. Be the righteousness they seek. Show them that there is good in the world by being that good.

In this world that knows suffering so deeply, there is good news. There is good news for you. God loves you so much that this life is not the end. God loves you so much that there is hope even in this life. And God loves you so much that God trusts you to share that love with the world around you.

You are blessed. Rejoice, and be glad.