All Saints Day – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Matthew 5:1-12 “The Kingdom of Heaven”
November 1, 2026 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
+ + +
O almighty and everlasting God, through Your only-begotten and beloved Son, Jesus Christ, You will sanctify all Your elect and beloved: Give us grace to follow their faith, hope, and love, that we together with all Your saints may obtain eternal life; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 165-166)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 5th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who knows you as His saint, and will call you to be with all His saints forever and ever, dear fellow redeemed:
A great day of celebration is here. Not only did we have beautiful Reformation Services this past week with one yesterday and Reformation falling on its true day of All Hallows Eve, here we are on Sunday worshiping on this festival of All Hallows Day. In the world today, this day is being overshadowed by the All Hallows Eve celebrations of watching little ones run around in their costumes asking for candy at our doors. With this fun, we know that not all of the decorations that people put out are so nice to look at. A lot of people associate this day with horror. This is the festival where we can teach our children, that there is no fear and there is no horror found in a cemetery. What is looked at as a scary place by the unbelievers is a place that will be a festival on the last day. A day where those who died, those who were buried and gone down into the earth, they will rise from their slumber. Here is our All Saints Day celebration, the day we remember those whom we love and those who we will be with forever in the kingdom of heaven.
And we know we are in this glorious kingdom with them because here we are believers, all hearing the message that brings us eternal life. And we are not the first or only group that has gathered. Our gathering resembles the first gathering that heard this message up on the mountain top. Believers were gathered and they heard a message of repentance from the very source of eternal life. All of those who have gone before us, have gone before us because of this message. Because of all the blessings given to His people, what will be the next part of the message is how those who follow Him ought to live. And when Jesus teaches this, He does not teach it in a way that gives us a laugh or a joke or a trick. Jesus teaches God’s Word solemnly, and like that day with these believers on the mountain top, you are hearing that solemn Word of God too.
Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. On the surface, these people look to be hearing a message about being happy, but the word “blessed,” is more than happy, It is possible to be blessed and not be happy, because being blessed is a believer who receives God’s gracious gifts and blessings, and for some, the blessing that will be received will be a blessing in the future. With today being All Saints Day, I’m sure you can figure out what that blessing is. In this message, we see that there will be people who will struggle, but they will see their triumphs found in these blessings. Those who are “poor in spirit,” are believers who realize that they are completely dependent on God. They feel their deep spiritual need and seek God’s help and salvation. “Those who mourn” are mourning because they grieve their sins and repent of them. It is easy to see with these first two blessings for when we pray we only go to God as the Psalmist prays, O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked up on you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory (Psalm 63:1-2).
To gaze into the kingdom of heaven, to see His power and glory, God has laid out one, easy way for us to do it. We just have to listen to His solemn voice. O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend (Psalm 15:1-3). Like all of the Saints of old, we hear and know what God asks of us, and we know that we are not blameless in His sight. We can try to trick and joke our way around what God asks but it will only get us so far. It might get us notoriety and fame, but in the end, we know following God’s laws means giving up our earthly wants and that we will fall into these categories. In our minds, we hear they are blessed, but they do not sound like a fun and happy kind of blessed.
These “blessed” ways are not new to God’s saints. The Psalmist also writes, Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob (Psalm 24:3-6). God’s people, believers, have heard this message, sung this message, and have openly and privately struggled with following it. The troubles of life look to take away our hope that we will see our loved ones again in the kingdom of heaven. As we have heard from our Savior, we are already in His kingdom. And as these beatitudes provide the Gospel promises that provide the foundation for observing the law, but we must remember, our observance isn’t what saves us.
The saints of old are truly saints as they put their faith and observance into the work of their Savior. They had watched as many of their neighbors would put on costumes and in the end deny and not follow what God asks of them. A remnant would continue to gather through the centuries and as they all had their struggles, this group sees their struggles they will face and Jesus telling them they are blessed, because He is the one who endured every single one. He was poor, mourned, neglected, and persecuted to death on the cross. In all of these blessings, they see Christ. They would then call upon Him to be good and do good. For the kingdom of heaven is where God does His work faithfully, and in faithfulness, blessings are received by those who believe. And with that faith, these blessings could feel treacherous and dangerous and they are still blessings because eternal life is the end of each blessing.
Though the final outcome will be us living forever, our strength continues to be found in these blessings. Because we know our shortcomings, as Paul describes, these blessings do not mean we become perfect in our work. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin (Romans 7:21-25). Here we are on all Saints Day seeing ourselves at the same time, saint and sinner. Like the saints who have gone before us and for the saints on earth, like Paul we all confess, The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost (1 Timothy 1:15).
When we feel empty and weak because of the hardships pressed around us in this life, this is where we are restored. The blessings won for you are witnessed here. These blessings are a liturgy form found in Scripture. From the first Psalm of David, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1) to the last book of Scripture, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb,” (Revelation 19:9b) what joy for you Saints to see these blessings come alive in the Means of Grace. Every trial of life, found with a blessing because of the blessed work of Christ death on the cross that makes you this saint forever. All blessings found in this promise that He has died for you. All blessings culminate in eternal life and found in the message given to you at the pulpit, font, and altar.
With these blessings, you see you are a saint in the kingdom of heaven. Through these means, you are united with the saints that have gone before you. And though you are a saint, though you are blessed, you know these blessings are not yours because of your own works. As the law forbids you to enter, the Gospel draws you near. And because works are thrown out, the unbelievers are in terror. But the ghouls and goblins were only out last night. The saints are here today. And united with the saints that have gone before you, you are a light in the darkness and your light shares with those around you the blessings you have, the blessings of eternal life. There will be hardship associated with these blessings, but because of the cross of victory that won forgiveness for all people, what joy you have, knowing the saints you hold dear to your hearts, you will see them again and be with them forever. Even when you have days you aren’t happy, Jesus tells you, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Joy you will have forever and ever. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
+ + +