Remembering All Saints

All Saints Day 2020

Readings: Rev. 7:9-12; Matthew 5:1-12

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Blessed are those who are poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. On All Saints Day, we have the ability to not only honor and give thanks for all the saints who have come before us and live among us, but we also have the chance to mourn. Sometimes in this life, due to “societal norms,” we may find it hard to make space for grief. It makes us uncomfortable, it makes others uncomfortable.. we find it easiest and “best practice” to keep it to ourselves. Today of all days, however, we can find relief as we are reminded that God blesses those whose spirit feels broken and those who mourn.

In 2020, there is a lot to mourn. At first, I got tripped up over hearing Jesus proclaim, “blessed are those who mourn.” Why would Jesus say something so.. odd? I don’t know about you, but when I mourn I do NOT feel blessed, in fact I feel the FURTHEST from being blessed! And yet God in Christ lists mourning as an attribute of the communion of saints that make up God’s very own kingdom. It took me awhile to come to understand why God’s people would be those who mourn.

Life is about relationships; you don’t have to be a Christian to know that, but Christianity certainly has a LOT to say about how to be in right relationship with God, self and neighbor. Our Triune God is a God of relationship! To be in relationship is always a risk. To love is the biggest risk we can take in this life.. because when do we often find ourselves mourning the most deeply? At the profound loss of relationship, of love. Blessed are those who mourn, for they lived as God intended - in relationship, in love of neighbor. Or, as Saint A. A. Milne said through his most famous character, Winnie the Pooh, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” How blessed we are to care so deeply for one another.

Blessed are you who mourn, for you will be comforted by God who is in relationship with you. Blessed are you who mourn, for you will be comforted by those whom you are in relationship with here and now. It is a blessing to comfort and to be comforted.. and yet when we keep our mourning to ourselves we loose that opportunity for comfort and deepened relationship. God’s kingdom looks like sharing both in great joy and deep sorrow. In the kingdom of God, no one journeys alone.

There is a lot to grieve in the year 2020. Perhaps you are mourning the loss of a very dear loved one. Or perhaps you are mourning the catastrophic loss our world is experiencing with the pandemic. Or perhaps you are mourning the current turmoil and disunity in our nation. Whatever it is you are mourning this day – God meets you there. I meet you there. We meet each other there. We lean into the grief, unafraid.. for we know that is where God is found and we are called to be little Christ’s to one another.

Today we remember the saints throughout history who have lost their lives fighting for God’s kingdom. Today we remember the saints whose lives have made a mark on our hearts because we did the riskiest and most vulnerable thing we can do as human beings – we opened our hearts to them in love, just as our God loves us. Today we remember the saints who are alive and at work in the world as we speak. Today we remember that we too are saints, part of the community of saints yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Rejoice, you who are mourning and poor in spirit, you are blessed.. and you are in good company. Yours IS the kingdom of God.

Amen.

REMEMBRANCE OF THE SAINTS

The celebration of All Saints Day has a long history in the worship life of the Christian Church. It began as a commemoration of the martyrs who died for the faith, and it has become a day when we honor, remember and give gratitude for those who, in death, have joined the Church Triumphant. God is all about turning death into new life, so we celebrate the new lives among us, as well as the faithful saints of the present who serve Jesus Christ each and every day. Martin Luther held that through our baptism all Christians are simultaneously sinners and saints—sinners because of our rebellious nature, but saints because of salvation in Jesus.

Today you are invited to light a candle in honor, memory, and/or gratitude of the saints who have paved the way throughout history, the saints of our lives today, and the saints who will carry on long after we are gone. A prayer may be shared.