"Look Up"

 “Look Up”

Sermon by the Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

First Congregational UCC of Manhattan, KS

Hebrews 12:1-3

October 30, 2022

I once visited Edinburgh, Scotland and was astounded that the locals walking through the streets weren’t staring up at the enormous castle on the hill all day long. They were just walking around, mostly looking down at the ground, while I was walking around like this (looking up). How could you live with that huge castle looming over you, day in and day out and not look up all the time?

I suppose it’s like anything else. If it’s a part of your daily backdrop, you stop noticing it. 

When people come to visit Kansas they sometimes look up, amazed that we’re all walking around with our heads down most of the time. The sky here is so….big! The sunrises and sunsets are astounding. What we lack in trees and skyscrapers we make up for in an ever-changing tapestry of moisture and light overhead. Even the youngest Kansan can look at the clouds and tell you a bit about what the weather today. The clouds become our castle on the hill. We stop noticing them. 

But clouds are truly magical, aren’t they? I mean, is there anything better than laying on your back and having nothing else on your agenda than staring up at the clouds as they move across the sky? And what about the miraculous experience of flying through the clouds when you’re in an airplane? Amazing. 

The author of the book of Hebrews speaks of a cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Cheering us on in our human journey. For generations now, we Christ-followers have spoken of this cloud of witnesses as those who have gone before us. Those who have showed us how we want to live. The ones we believe are still with us in ways we can’t quite understand, encouraging us, hovering nearby in love. 

We think of those in the great cloud especially on All Saints Day, which comes every year on November 1st. On All Saints’ we remember how God’s love unites us with those who have already moved into the cloud. We may not see and hear and touch them in the same way we once did, but they are still with us. If we look up, we’ll see them. 

All Saints’ Day is about looking up. Remembering those who have gone before us and showed us how we want to live our lives. The ones who taught us about what really matters. Those who are now in the great cloud of witnesses that we’ll all be a part of one day. In remembering them, we also find ourselves thinking about how we want to be remembered one day. How can we use the time we have in this life to share a little bit of the goodness that was once shared with us? How can we be saints, too?

For the next several minutes, you’re invited to spend some time looking up, remembering the saints. You might want to close your eyes or jot down your thoughts. There are two questions to reflect on and we’ll show them on the screens here in a moment. 

As you reflect, I’m going to come around in the sanctuary with cotton balls - little clouds. Once you’re done reflecting, you can come over to one of the hanging clouds and put your cloud into the top. If you’re on Zoom, please share something like “done” in the chat when you’re finished and I’ll place your cotton ball for you here in the sanctuary. 

Let’s move into a time of reflection now as we look up together. 

A saint is anyone who has showed or taught us how to live. 

Who has been a saint in your life?

How can you be a saint to others?

May Christ open our spirits as we come before God in prayer.