Welcome to the Banquet

--We hear God's promises in the sacrament of Holy Communion, promises that are not just general but become very specific: The body of Christ, given for you.

--We are reminded of Holy Baptism, how we got into this whole event called “church”, as we welcome Evan into our catechetical study group today.

--There are so many stories told in the stained glass windows, stories that we do not just hear once but to which we can return repeatedly with profit.

--In two weeks we will be celebrating All Saints Day and display the banners with the names of saints near and dear to us across the past 16 years.

These are all things that do not happen elsewhere.

They are things which are determined to shape us in a particular way; we are changed by being here, together.

Part II:

And this is leading us to the second part of the definition phrase of what it means to be holy, or set apart for God's special purposes.

God's special purposes...

It begins, continues, and ends with worship.

1. There was Holy Baptism and all of the events leading up to it.

It happens in the context of worship, praising God for all of his gifts from the beginning and extending all the way to each of us.

2. No matter what are the twists and turns of life, we check in here together each week.

This too is part of God's special purposes.

3. And there is worship at the end of everything.

The vision of Revelation is that heaven is one continuous communion service,

one which never gets boring,

one in which we each have a part, with angels and all the company of heaven,

one where the feast continues joyfully

Worship is our first, and continuing, and final work in holiness.

And we join in worship even on those days when we don't “feel like it.”

On those occasions it is the voice of our fellow believers that can carry us along until we are ready to take up the song ourselves again.

I had to remind a despairing friend about that just a few days ago.

Even when we don't feel like it, we are bid to come together anyway so that the voice and the prayers of the rest of the assembly can carry us along with them.

Too often we are tempted to stay away from the assembly.

It might be too hot or too cold, or too inconvenient, too much bother, or we are annoyed with another person or annoyed with the pastor, or whatever....

Each day the reasons become easier to justify to ourselves.

Each day that happens, Satan smiles; he thinks that he is winning.

When Satan hears You shall be holy as I the Lord your God am holy, Satan fumes and tries to come up with another way to subvert that proclamation.

And the easiest way to do that is to help us find reasons for not being with our fellow believers somewhere in the body of Christ.

One of those puny sign-board messages is nonetheless true:

Seven days without worship makes one weak.

And the weaker we are, the more Satan is pleased, for then he can work his plans much more easily upon us.

It works for pastors as much as for anyone else.

A few days ago I was able to spend some time with several pastoral colleagues, and we were able to encourage each other.

When one of us could not see a way through a specific situation, another provided an insight and encouragement through God's word and prayer.

We did that for each other; we are much stronger together than each of us working or praying alone.

So worship is the first thing that being holy involves, but there is more.

The verses that follow the one we have quoted from Leviticus talk about some very practical ways in which this holiness is to be worked out.

--unjust judgments are to be avoided.

--one does not favor the rich or the poor.

--slander is murder by word; don't do it.

--hate is murder contemplated, don't do it.

--pointing out a neighbor's word or deed that is wrong is an important thing to do.

--letting anger fester inside oneself is self-destructive.

And so on....

Holiness involves the avoiding of some words and actions and also the pursuit of other words and actions.

Luther's Small Catechism is of great help here.

each of his explanations of the Ten Commandments has both a negative and a positive part.

We are to fear and love God, each of them begins,

...so that we do not murder...steal...lie, etc....

And then comes the corresponding positive part:

...but instead help your neighbor in his every need...help him maintain his means of making a living...speak well of him, etc.

All of these words and actions are part of holiness, Leviticus reminds us.

Part III:

But there is still one more thing to hear about this passage.

...as I the Lord your God am holy.

What does that mean?

What is the holiness of God?

1. It involves separateness.

God is holy in that he is of a different nature than anything in creation.

That is not quantifiable by the scientists who spend so much time trying to say how much like animals we are.

2. It involves wholeness.

God is holy in that he includes everything, every place, and every time within his own care and concern.

That is different than we who are mostly concerned about ourselves

3. It involves purpose.

God is holy in that he intends to reveal himself, his separateness and his wholeness, to the world through his chosen people.

But to this one may say... So what?

You are to be holy as I the Lord your God am holy.

Perhaps it means that God's separateness, and wholeness, and purpose are to be revealed through us, in how we treat our neighbor as the Lord has treated us.

Any separateness and wholeness and purpose that we exhibit is to reveal those qualities of God to our neighbor.

We are called to holiness, but not isolationism.

Holiness is to regulate our daily lives.

It is to be the spirit in which we fulfill the obligations of life in its simplest and commonest details.

As the prophet Amos says, this happens when we do justly, love mercifully, and walk humbly with our God.

And much of that is not a mystery to us.

Each of us needs to discern every day in our many relationships how to work out justice and mercy in humility before God.

It is important how we will interact with spouse, children, neighbors, co-workers, shoppers, clerks, government officials,

nasty people, nice people and every sort in between.

It is holy work.

Yes, Lord, we know you're working on it in side us, as you desire:

You shall be holy, even as I the Lord your God am holy.

Wonderful, simply wonderful!

Let all the people say gladly, Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.