Who are the most popular saints you know? If you are like me the list would be pretty short. There is jolly old St. Nick. There is the lovable saint of romance, Saint Valentine. Maybe you are familiar with some of the more distinguished saints of the Roman Catholic Church, saints like Christopher, the patron saint of travel, or St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. Throughout history the Roman Catholic Church has promoted these saints like representatives to congress, people whom God gives a special ear to in order to help out those who are still living.

However the Biblical view of the saints is much different. Today, we celebrate All Saints' Day. We remember the saints who have gone before us and treasure their gifts from God that have benefited the Church. But not only do we remember those saints who have gone before, we also thank God for making people saints. That includes us, Christians whom God has forgiven and called to be his people.

As we remember and give thanks we will realize that God has blessed the saints, but not as the world would have us blessed. Jesus turns the idea of being blessed completely upside down with the opening to the Sermon on the Mount. We call this opening to the great sermon "The Beatitudes." The word "beatitude" means blessing. Jesus spoke eight blessings to the saints that day and Matthew has recorded them his Gospel. As we dwell on these beatitudes today, consider our theme "Blessed are the Saints." Blessed are the saints who repent and blessed are the saints who are comforted.

In the gospel of Matthew, the chapter before our lesson for today, we are told that Jesus recently had moved. He had left Nazareth and made Capernaum his home station for his ministry. At this time, Jesus was at the height of his popularity with the people. In fact the crowds became so large that we see in the gospels that Jesus would frequently sneak away to a quiet place and pray. It was also at these times that Jesus would give private instructions to his disciples. The Sermon on the Mount was one of these times. Jesus spoke this famous sermon to his disciples, who were believers and saints.

He began the sermon with "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Who are these "poor in spirit?" The Greek word for "poor" denotes someone who destitute with nothing to offer. Jesus is not referring to those who are poor according to the world's standards, but rather he is describing a person who is poor as he stands before the Almighty God. Those who are in God's kingdom realize that they cannot offer God anything, except sin. Therefore they come before God as beggars, crushed by their sins. They beg for God's mercy and grace.

A good of example of this is the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The Pharisee stood before the people with arms outstretched, shouting and making a spectacle of himself as he prayed how great he was. This is not the picture of the poor in spirit that Jesus was talking about here. Rather the image of the tax collector that Jesus draws is the proper image. The tax collector had been burdened by the guilt of his sin. He slunk down in the corner and begged for God's mercy. He pleaded with God concerning his transgressions. This is the "poor in spirit" that Jesus was referring to.

But that picture does not sound like the ideal of someone who would be blessed. In human terms, it sounds like someone to be pitied. Yet Jesus turns it upside down and says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Blessed are those who repent of their sins. And Jesus continues with the promise, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." That is how they would be blessed, not with earthly riches and honor like the Pharisee wanted, but rather with the greatest reward, eternal life in heaven. And you will notice that Jesus does not say that the reward "will be" theirs, but that it "is" theirs already.

Jesus promised this blessing because he was well aware of the price he would pay for the sins of these people. He knew how he would suffer bitterly on the wooden cross. He knew that he would the full weight of God's wrath on his shoulders on Good Friday. But he also knew that when he spoke the simple phrase, "It is finished," the salvation of the world would be won. He knew these things and so he confidently told those believers there on the mountainside, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

And so let us heed the words of Scripture spoke by John the Baptist, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near." Let us fall on our knees daily as God's people and repent. We have all, every one us, sinned against the Almighty God and the punishment of our creator. Let us consider our sins carefully and beg God for his forgiveness. Let us also remember that repenting of our sins is not just saying, "I am sorry." But it also entails getting that sin out of our lives and putting God and his word in its place.

As we all do this every day of our lives, we can hold firmly to the promise that Jesus gives to the saints here on earth, Blessed are the saints who repent, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. We have the full assurance that Jesus has won our forgiveness on the cross. Be filled with joy and live. We are saints because Jesus has redeemed us from our slavery. And we praise the Savior for his love and mercy.

Jesus then continues the beatitudes with "blessed are those who mourn." As we consider this blessing, let us consider what we often mourn in this life. We mourn over relationships that have fallen apart. We mourn over a bad money investment. We mourn that our favorite football team is terrible and can't seem to win a game. We mourn that we aren't at the next stage of our lives. We mourn over such petty things in this life when we consider what Jesus is talking about here in the Gospel of Matthew. Many read this blessing as mourning over earthly hardships, but when you consider what Jesus said in the verse before, it is clear that Jesus is talking about mourning over our sin first and foremost.

But we have to realize that all the hardships in this life are the result of sin. In a perfect world without sin, there would be no hardships. Everyone would follow along with God's will and there would absolute peace and harmony. But when Adam and Eve gave into temptation, that peace and harmony was shattered in so many ways. We are all born with sin. Not one of us could escape being sinful from birth. Then we proceeded throughout our lives defying God and living for ourselves. This sin and our actions have brought about the hardships in our lives. This is not what God wanted, but we made it this way. God does not want sin or the results of sin. He does not want the child to feel the pain when parents get divorced. God does not want the young girl to feel the guilt and heartache after an abortion. He does not want anyone to feel the shame after the drunken binge. God never intended us to mourn in the beginning.

But God hopes that we will mourn over our sin. In fact, He promises to bless us if we do feel sorrow over sin. In verse four Jesus tells the saints, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Can you imagine anything better than God's comfort? There is nothing better than being forgiven unconditionally. And that is what God promised to do. Because the Savior defeated sin, death and devil, we have real comfort and that comfort comes through the peace of forgiveness. Consider that comfort when you receive the body and blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. He blesses the saints with the comfort of knowing that their sins have been cast away, never to be held against them. You are free saints. When we stand up here at the beginning of the service and announce God's forgiveness, feel that comfort, dear saints. Jesus the one who blesses the saints has removed your guilt forever.

Jesus has really blessed the saints, those that have gone on to their eternal reward and those poor in spirit who are mourning here on earth now. As we consider this message and promise from God's Son, our Lord, remember that these blessed ones are not the ones the world would consider to be blessed. The "poor in spirit," "those who mourn," "the meek," "those who hunger and thirst," "the persecuted." The world says that those people aren't blessed, but rather they ought to be pitied.

However we know that the saints are blessed, not because they are ambassadors in heaven for those still alive, and not because they do such marvelous good deeds on earth. The saints are blessed because they have repented and mourn for their sins. Remember the saints as we celebrate All Saints Day. Give thanks to God that he has called so many to their eternal reward in heaven. But also remember to praise God that he has made you a Saint and has made you blessed, granting you citizenship in his kingdom and giving you comfort.