My Sheep Know Me

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus was walking in Solomon's Portico in the Temple, and the Jews came to Him and asked Him to declare plainly to them whether He was the Christ. Their souls were in suspense. They were waiting with baited breath – among other things. Would Jesus just please come out with it – Are you the Christ, or not?

And what would have been the benefit if Jesus had declared Himself openly, as they sought? The Jews were anxious, nearly beside themselves with anticipation of Him doing anything, saying anything at all that might make Him liable for judgment, so that they could get Him out of their way, by hook or by crook. They knew who and what Jesus was, for they had been following Him throughout His ministry. They had heard the reports and the testimonies of the crowds. They had seen the signs He had performed.

Seeing the Vision

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What Our Lord describes on the Mountain, St. John sees in his vision. He sees a great multitude of the poor in spirit made rich in the grace of Jesus Christ. Theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. He sees those who were persecuted like the prophets. They have come to their reward. They have left behind all mourning, meekness, hunger, and thirst. Day and night they serve the Lord in His Temple. They are satisfied. St. John sees the saints of God purified and gathered about the Lamb who has freed them by the outpouring of His Blood.

And notice this: he sees no stars, no celebrities. He does not name the apostles, martyrs, or prophets. He does not name kings or reformers or saints commemorated by the Church. They are there, to be sure. But he does not see them or notice them. All he sees are saints. They are all loved and honored by God. It is not so much that they are nondescript. He does notice that they are from every tribe and nation. But his attention is firmly fixed not upon them but upon the Lamb. In this he is like them. For he sees that all the saints and all the holy angels and the four living creature are adoring the Lamb.

The Endurance of the Saints

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Confession approves honors to the saints. For here a threefold honor is to be approved. The first is thanksgiving. For we ought to give thanks to God because He has shown examples of mercy; because He has shown that He wishes to save men; because He has given teachers or other gifts to the Church. And these gifts, as they are the greatest, should be amplified, and the saints themselves should be praised, who have faithfully used these gifts, just as Christ praises faithful business-men, (Matt. 25:21, 23). The second service is the strengthening of our faith; when we see the denial forgiven Peter, we also are encouraged to believe the more that grace truly superabounds over sin, (Rom. 5:20). The third honor is the imitation, first, of faith, then of the other virtues, which every one should imitate according to his calling.

Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Art. XXI:4-6

On this day, we honor the memory of the blessed saints who have gone before us in the faith. So, it is only fitting that we should consider in what manner we ought to remember them.

The Ones Coming out of the Great Tribulation

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Let us hear from the account of the martyrdom of St. Polycarp:

The church of God that sojourns at Smyrna to the church of God that sojourns at Philomelium, and to all those of the holy and catholic Church who sojourn in every place: may mercy, peace, and love be multiplied from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 We write you, brethren, the things concerning those who suffered martyrdom, especially the blessed Polycarp, who put an end to the persecution by sealing it, so to speak, through his own witness. For almost everything that led up to it happened in order that the Lord might show once again a martyrdom conformable to the gospel. The Passion of Christ is the pattern of that of his martyrs. ²For he waited to be betrayed, just as the Lord did, to the end that we also might be imitators of him, "not looking only to that which concerns ourselves, but also to that which concerns our neighbors.” For it is a mark of true and steadfast love for one not only to desire to be saved oneself, but all the brethren also.