This morning we celebrate All Saints Day – a time to remember all those who have gone before us; those living in the present; and those famous and those unknown to us.

The gospel story today, the raising of Lazarus, is a wonderfully poignant story of sorrow and joy; death and new life; close friendship and shared community.

First let us think about some of the issues raised in this gospel – which means ‘Good News’:

1. The death of Lazarus. We have all had times when we have felt dead – maybe in our jobs or in our relationships…or in our bodies. We’ve all had times when we’ve been longing for light and life but blind to who or what is around us and dead to others or ourselves, lifeless in our conversations or daily living. And for some reason – some grace-filled reason – we are brought back among the living. Does God in Christ bring us back to life –no matter how rotten our lives are?

2. The ability to blame someone else for that death. Sometimes we are like Martha and Mary — “if only you’d been there., this would not have happened.” Don’t we often do that to each other? - If only you’d been there! If only you had said something. If only you had helped out. Rather than taking responsibility for our own behavior – much easier to put the blame for things that go wrong onto someone else. Even when that person is someone we love dearly.

3. The call to come out of the tomb. Jesus calls to Lazarus, “Lazarus, come out.” Jesus called him by name. Our names have meaning to us. Sometimes we named for people in our family. Our names are our identity in life. Sometimes we like them, sometimes we don’t, but they belong to us. When our names are spoken with love they can sound like music. Jesus called Lazarus by his name. I know and care for you. You are valued. What person or community calls us by name to leave what entombs us so that we might live our lives to their full potential?

4. The unbinding, a being set free from death. Jesus told the people to unbind Lazarus. What binds us? What keeps us stuck in unhealthy places – where we have possibly entombed ourselves – shutting ourselves off from the world, from moving out of death back into life? Are we sometimes so comfortable being stuck that we are afraid to be set free? Does being set free imply accountability for our lives?

All interesting issues about life that we could mull over in a dinner conversation or over a cup of coffee shared with a friend.

This morning though I want to focus on coming out of the tomb, into the light as followers of Jesus Christ...as, and I’m going to use the C word, Christians. Last week some of the vestry met to discuss a mission statement. We realized that no Jesus, no Christ was mentioned in anything we had put forth so far.

So we had a very interesting conversation about being timid or fearful in mentioning that we are a) Christian and b) followers of Jesus Christ. And it’s not just us. In many churches it’s almost as if we are afraid we’ll scare someone away if we own up to the fact that in reality we believe in Jesus Christ. We back away from telling people that there is a personal cost to exploring and following the teachings of Jesus. We soft-sell the church, trying to adapt and appease everyone which of course, in reality, can’t be done.

Here is the truth. St. Gregory’s is a church, an Episcopal church to be exact. That fancy title just means we are governed by bishops…but as the Episcopal Church, we are a part of the world-wide Anglican Communion and we are… Christians, people who follow Jesus Christ. AND – being truthful - we do have some expectations of those who come into the church.

When I was living in Manhattan in the 90’s, I met with a couple who wanted their child baptized but they couldn’t seem to find a time, any time when they could actually come worship in the church. So I said, “Well we do expect that you will participate regularly in worship.” The man, about 6’4, backed me into the wall and yelled, “Expectations! How dare you have expectations!” And he and his wife stormed out.

When someone is baptized we say that we will do all in our power to support them…hard to do if the people aren’t there.

When I grew up in the Episcopal Church, using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, we did not discuss much about how to live as followers of Christ. There was no talk of justice. We were not taught that Jesus was a radical person who challenged the status quo and who urged people to turn their lives around – to be a new community which lived out a love that was accepting of all people. We just came on Sunday, sang our hymns, went to Sunday School where we were taught that Jesus calls us to be nice, memorized the catechism so we could get confirmed, had fun at youth group, and went home with no instructions about we how should live a Christian life. Well, mother, a life-long Episcopalian herself, would say, “It’s our duty to serve.” But that was about as much explanation as there was. We were often called, God’s frozen chosen. We were, in my opinion, as I look back, entombed in a life-less church.

Now the Church says we do have expectations of how one lives out a Christian life. Through the Civil Rights movement, the call to the ordination of women, the call to the recognition of people of differing sexual orientation, the church called us by name, out of the tomb, into participating in the realities of life. That call was outlined in something called ‘The Baptismal Covenant’ which we will shortly say together. You will notice that the first part of the covenant is the Creed. Then there are some questions asked of us.

Will you continue in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.

Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?

Will you strive justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?

Now these are really hard issues which could be discussed at dinner or over a cup of coffee!

In the Episcopal Church we don’t charge dues – but we do expect some financial or personal support for the mission and ministry of the church. There are no set ‘regulations’ – except that we do expect that people will treat others with respect and dignity, come to worship on a regular basis, pray with and for people, help with the needs of others and strive for peace and justice. No one will get kicked out if they don’t’ do those things, but if we – you and I don’t behave in those ways – why are we here?

Let me tell you a story about being in a community where people took those baptismal vows seriously. When I was in Michigan in the 80’s, a baby named Jocelyn showed up in our nursery one Sunday. Jocelyn cried all the time which made nursery life difficult for the sitters and the other children. When she was old enough to go to the three-year class, she was still crying. Her parents were hesitant to bring her to church but people encouraged them to keep coming. Eventually medical tests revealed that Jocelyn had multiple sclerosis.

People really began to pull for Jocelyn. They took that baptismal vow to "do all in our power to support this person in her life in Christ" seriously. They treated Jocelyn with respect and dignity. As her parents made sure she got all the special education that was available, so the community gave all the love that was available. We began to see progress. A person was emerging from the crying. Maybe Jocelyn had been frustrated because she had been unable to communicate clearly her wants and needs.

One Sunday when Jocelyn was about six years old, she loudly asked the rector “are we having Eucharist today?” He replied "yes." "Good, she said, "I'm getting ready." It made me wonder how many of us adults 'get ready' for the Eucharist?

When she was in the fifth grade, Jocelyn read a lesson in church and read it extremely well. I could feel the congregation holding her up in their hearts. She showed us all what the combination of faith and determination can do. Jocelyn eventually turned into the most aggressive Girl Scout cookie salesperson I've ever met. When you saw her coming, you knew you had to get out your checkbook. Jocelyn knew that God had a place for her... and she claimed it.

In 2006 I went to Columbus, Ohio as a deputy from Southwest Florida to the Episcopal General Convention. As I was walking back from a day’s session I passed a sidewalk café. A voice called out, “Gigi, Gigi.” I looked over and there was Jocelyn – now a young adult woman who was herself a deputy from her diocese of Nevada and, I learned later, an FBI agent. All things are possible with God but Jocelyn told me over lunch that it was the community of the faithful that kept her mother and father sane, and who supported and encouraged Jocelyn to live into her fullest potential as a human being. She still has a lot with which to cope – daily living is not easy – and she wonders if she’ll ever have a family of her own – but she has one thing that will always be present – the faith of a community and her own faith that helped to unbind her and set her free from the entombment of her physical being.

That is just one small example about what being the Church means. We call ourselves Christians, ‘the church’ which means our call is about the challenging, life-long struggle to be followers of Jesus, friends of Jesus. It’s about a relationship with God who came to us in human form in the man Jesus of Nazareth. Being Church is not about first subscribing to a set of ideals or great ideas. Being Church is trying our best to live a life based on one concept: Jesus is the foundation on which we center our lives.

Let me be clear. We do not idolize Jesus. We follow Jesus. We are grounded by his unconditional love, we are guided by his example of compassion, and we are directed by his actions which included the marginalized and the poor.

If you are visiting or thinking about being a member – here is are some thoughts about belonging to a Christian community, about being church: Belonging requires intimacy, a sharing of oneself, being vulnerable to one another, talking openly about doubts and faith. Being a member is not a spectator sport. You can come for awhile and just sit but eventually you will get called out of the pew, out of the tomb of silence to participate. It may be someone like Jocelyn who calls out for help. It may be a justice issue in the community or it may be a call from people across the sea who need prayer and attention. But it is always Christ who is in the calling.

Belonging means you add value to the community. It means being fully and personally accountable. It means forgoing superficiality. It means being learners alongside all kinds and ages of people. It means searching with others for maturity, openness, and sensitivity. It means having a richness added to your life, and meeting people you can trust. And it means following Jesus.

St. Gregory’s is, I think, a safe place where you will find that space to explore what it means to follow Christ. It is or is becoming a community in which you can find meaning and purpose in your life, but most importantly you will find that following Jesus is at the core of all we do…even if we haven’t said it openly. Jesus called his disciples, called Lazarus, called Mary and Martha, into a new life. Let us not be bound to a tomb of silence about who we are and what we believe. Rather let us live openly and courageously as the church.