All Saints Sunday

November 3, 2024

Isaiah 25:6-9

Live Like You’ll Live Forever—

Live Knowing Life Only Gets Better!

6On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove the disgrace of his people
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.

9In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” (NIV1984)

Dear fellow saints of God,

A number of years ago I ran across an anecdote that ties in quite well with our sermon for today. Thankfully, through the magic of Google I was able to find it again! It’s a story about a woman who met with her pastor so that they could discuss the details of her funeral service. I have had a number of meetings like this over the course of my ministry. It’s not as dark or as depressing as one might think. It gives a child of God a wonderful opportunity to make one last confession of faith to everyone who gathers together for their funeral service.

This particular woman discussed with her pastor the portions of Scripture she wanted him to use and the hymns that she wanted the congregation to sing. Right when the pastor thought the meeting was over she said, “’There’s one more thing’ she said excitedly. ‘What’s that?’ came the pastor’s reply. ‘This is very important,’ the woman continued…I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.’ The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. ‘That surprises you doesn’t it?’ the woman asked. ‘Well, to be honest I am puzzled by the request,’ said the pastor. The woman explained, ‘In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, “Keep your fork.” It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming…like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, “What’s with the fork?” Then I want you to tell them, “Keep your fork…The best is yet to come!”’”

I have no idea if that anecdote is 100% true, but based on the things people have shared with me about what they want for their funeral service, it could very easily be true! Either way, that anecdote does indeed tie in very well with the goal of our sermon for today. As you and I gather together to celebrate All Saints Day— also known as Saints Triumphant Sunday— let’s see that Living Like You’ll Live Forever includes Live Knowing Life Only Gets Better!

Every time I read the book of Isaiah I am humbled by how often the Lord has His servant proclaim the powerful message of God’s holy Law. In Isaiah chapters thirteen to twenty-three God’s prophet proclaims a heavy message of judgment. God was going to pour out His justice on this world because of people’s sinful and rebellious ways. God’s judgment is proclaimed against Babylon (13), against Assyria and Philistia (14), against Moab (15), against Damascus (17), against Cush (18), against Egypt (19), against Edom and Arabia (21), and even against Jerusalem (22). Notice that God’s judgment on sin knows no borders. The steel grip of God’s judgment traps not only the solitary man fleeing in terror (24:18), but also all peoples of all generations, of all cities and nations, of every house— no matter where it is located. This is a judgment that will bring destruction and death. This is a judgment that leaves no one out.

In the chapters following our text Isaiah will once again take up the theme of judgment. In the form of a fivefold “Woe!” God’s servant will call attention to the impending disaster that is about to come upon God’s Chosen People. (28ff)

Our text for this morning is a part of a brief respite from the theme of judgment. In the midst of gloom and death our text reveals the bright ray of God’s mercy and faithfulness. Just as the Lord’s judgment will fill all the earth, so also the Lord’s salvation will encompass all nations.

That brings us to Isaiah chapter twenty-five. After a brief hymn of praise to God for His righteous judgment and perfect salvation (25:1-5) Isaiah points God’s faithful people to a description of God’s glorious Kingdom. This beautiful comforting description begins in the opening verse of our text. We read, “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all people, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.”

In order for us to appreciate the sheer magnitude of these words we need to remember that Isaiah had just revealed that the beloved city of Jerusalem would be surrounded, defeated and destroyed by her enemies. One of the worst parts of a siege is the fact that eventually the city runs out of food and water. Once that happens— famine sets in. That famine will bring misery and suffering and death the likes of which no one would ever want to experience!

Against that horrible reality Isaiah promises what the “LORD Almighty” was going to do for His people! The words “On this mountain” is a reference to Mt. Zion. Mt. Zion is where Jerusalem was built. Mt. Zion is where the Temple of the Lord stood. Mt. Zion is the place where the LORD God Almighty Himself would prepare a “feast” for all peoples— a “feast” that far surpasses anything that anyone could every possible prepare! Think about what that meant for God’s people in the days of Isaiah. Even in the midst of His judgment the Lord gives His people hope— hope that is based on God’s promise that His grace and His power would see to it that life will get better!

The way in which these words apply to us— God’s Chosen People today— becomes clear when we read in Hebrews 12:22-23, “But you have come to Mt. Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.”

Our Mt. Zion is the New Testament Christian Church! It is in this church— the church of which our congregation is a visible part— it is in our church that the Lord God Almighty prepares for us and serves to us a rich banquet of only the best spiritual food. The banquet that God has prepared for us, the banquet that God freely gives to us consists of His holy Word and His holy Sacraments. This is the spiritual food that God uses to create the gift of saving faith in the hearts of sinners like us. This is the spiritual food that God uses to strengthen our faith and to nourish our faith until it’s time for us to join Him in the most wonderful banquet of all— the wedding feast of the Lamb in heaven above! (See Revelation 19:6-9; Matthew 22:2-14)

This is what all the saints in heaven are enjoying at this very moment. Picture that scene in your mind, my friends. The saints who gathered together with you here in God’s house to nourish their soul with the spiritual food of God’s holy Word and God’s holy Supper are now enjoying the wedding feast with their heavenly Bridegroom, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The saints who gathered together with you here in God’s house are now enjoying the best life of all— the life where there is no pain and no sorrow, no hunger and no thirst only joy and happiness— like at a wedding feast— forever!

Isaiah continues his glorious description of what life is like in God’s Kingdom as he goes on to say in our text, “On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.”

Once again, in order for us to appreciate the sheer magnitude of these words we need to remember that Isaiah had just revealed to that God’s people were going to be conquered by the Babylonian Empire. Since the Babylonians were ruthless, many of God’s people, many of the people in Jerusalem would be killed.

Once again, against that horrible reality Isaiah promises what the Lord Almighty was going to do for His people! “On this mountain,” on Mt. Zion, the Lord Himself was going to “swallow up death forever”! As New Testament Christians we know exactly what the Lord is promising here. We know that since death is the result of sin and since all people are sinners death is the great equalizer. Death doesn’t care who we are. Death doesn’t care about a person’s social status or economic status. Death eventually overwhelms everyone. The only One who can and who has overcome death is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus’ innocent suffering and death on the cross (Pointing to the cross) and because Jesus physically rose from His grave on Easter Sunday Jesus has “swallowed up death forever”! Because of Jesus’ innocent suffering and death on the cross and because Jesus physically rose from the grave on Easter Sunday the apostle Paul confidently proclaims, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55, 56).

We also know that although death has lost its “sting” that does not mean that our life here on this earth is going to be easy, does it. We all know from personal experience that death still brings all sorts of pain and anguish into our lives. We all know from personal experience how death makes it inevitable that we will have to say farewell to a loved one. In fact, as I was preparing for our sermon today I read that someone once wrote that in a world without heaven everything is farewell. Whether you wave your hand or not— it is still farewell. Even if no tears fill your eyes— it is still farewell. If you pretend not to notice, if you pretend not to care— it is still farewell.

The only way to transform farewell into auf Wiedersehen (‘Till we see each other again) is to believe and trust that through His perfect life, through His innocent suffering and death and through His glorious resurrection from the dead Jesus can and will and has fulfilled the promise He made to Martha after her brother Lazarus had died: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25, 26). And as we heard in our Gospel lesson for today (John 11:32-44) Jesus proved to Martha, to Mary and to you and to me that He has the power to fulfill this promise! He raised Lazarus from the dead by very simply saying, “Lazarus, come out!”

This is the ultimate joy that we have as we journey through this sin-darkened world. This is the ultimate joy that we will hold on to when it’s our time to “walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4). This is the ultimate joy that now envelopes and embraces all the saints in heaven. Just this past week I shared with the members of our Wednesday Bible class that even though I miss my Mom (she died in 2009) I would never wish that she could leave the glory and the perfection she is enjoying right now with all the saints and with all the angels of heaven and come back to the pain and the sorrow, the trials and the tribulations of this world. There is a reason why the Church here on this earth is called the Church Militant and the Church in heaven is called the Church Triumphant.

The fact that everyone who dies believing and trusting in Jesus as their Savior is transferred from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant gives even more depth to the closing verse of our text. Isaiah writes, “In that day they will say, ‘surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

“In that day they will say.” What “day” is Isaiah referring to here? Is it “the day” a little baby is brought to faith in Jesus as their Savior through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism? Is it “the day” that an adult is brought to faith in Jesus as their Savior through the power of God’s holy Word? Is it “the day” that we have the privilege to gather together in God’s Name to bring our thanks and our praise to Him? The answer to all of those questions is a resounding: Yes! But today as we gather together to celebrate All Saints Day, today as we gather together to celebrate Saints Triumphant Sunday, let’s not overlook the fact that “the day” that Isaiah is talking about here also includes “the day” that one of God’s dearly beloved children is welcomed Home to Heaven!

The picture of our loved ones standing in the presence of the Triune God Himself, the picture of our loved ones being welcomed by all the saints and all the angels in heaven gives us a unique appreciation for the words, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” That’s what we have to look forward to, my friends. No matter how well and/or how badly our life is going here on this earth, we live with the confidence of knowing that because of Him (Pointing to the cross) life only gets better!

Over the course of my ministry I have had people who asked to meet with me so that they had an opportunity to share with me what they wanted me to include in their funeral service. While I’ve never had someone tell me that they wanted to be buried with a fork in their hand, I have had people express that very same sentiment — just in a slightly different way.

My prayer this morning is that every time you reach down to pick up a fork, and every time you keep your fork in anticipation of enjoying a delicious dessert that you will be reminded to live your life in a way that openly proclaims to others what you know deep down in your heart— the best is yet to come!

To God be the glory!

Amen