All Saints Sunday: Saints of All Kinds Search for Union with God

Today's Scripture Readings

Wisdom of Solomon 3: 1-9 (NRSV)

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,

and no torment will ever touch them.

In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,

and their departure was thought to be a disaster,

and their going from us to be their destruction;

but they are at peace.

For though in the sight of others they were punished,

their hope is full of immortality.

Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,

because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;

like gold in the furnace he tried them,

and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.

In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,

and will run like sparks through the stubble.

They will govern nations and rule over peoples,

and the Lord will reign over them forever.

Those who trust in him will understand truth,

and the faithful will abide with him in love,

because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,

and he watches over his elect.

Psalm 24 (BCP., p. 613)


Revelation 21: 1-6a (NRSV)

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

"See, the home of God is among mortals.

He will dwell with them as their God;

they will be his peoples,

and God himself will be with them;

he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Death will be no more;

mourning and crying and pain will be no more,

for the first things have passed away."

And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end."

John 11: 32-44 (NRSV)

When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"


Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

Blog Reflection

Every person born and living has the potential to be a saint.  Those of us who celebrate our Christian Faith by the Sacrament of Baptism with in the Anglican Tradition know that we believe in the world wide Communion of Saints that include those presently living and who have gone before us.   We also believe that sainthood can be found in others who do not share in our faith.   The world is a better place because of individuals like Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lamas and many other holy people. 

Sainthood may not even be a matter of faith at all.  Many who would call themselves atheists, often live a life of service to others in various ways that put many Creed praying Christians to shame.  

For those of us who do celebrate our Faith as Christians, we have the opportunity to live as saints by our acknowledgement of God, and God's saving work in Jesus Christ and presence by way of the Holy Spirit.  The Scriptures challenge us to consider the possibility that salvation is not only a matter of faith by itself, but it expresses itself in prayer and work on behalf of those who are poor, oppressed, displaced and hurting so that they can experience some kind of healing and reconciliation.  

St. Benedict in the Prologue to his Rule challenges those who who come to Listen with the ears of their heart, and to run (not walk) with a sense of urgency while we have the light of life, so that the darkness may not overtake us (John 12:35).  As we are told who will dwell on God's holy mountain, we are also told "What is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace."  The Christian has an understanding that what it takes to be a saint in the here and now, is because God has placed a desire for God with in our hearts, and it is our responsibility and privilege to respond to that desire.

In the Christian Tradition, by way of Reason, those who follow the Christian model of sainthood are those who with Christ bring new life, hope and purpose such as he did in today's Gospel.  The raising of Lazarus tells us that Christ gave new life and hope even to those who are dead.  In Christ, even the dead have a face and a name.  They are not forgotten by God, even if we do not necessarily remember them.  So, I think All Saints Sunday is a great day to ask ourselves the question: If Jesus saw the dignity of Lazarus while he was dead and in the grave, exactly what business do Christians have to "strive for peace and justice for all people, and uphold the dignity of every human being?"   There is a reason why our reply to that question in the Baptismal Covenant is "We will, with God's help." 

All of us because of our immaturity by way of sin, need the grace of God to grow up to know that we can seek union with God in whatever capacity we live in.  Whether we are LGBT or straight and of a single gender in body and mind at birth, of another race, religion, health status, wealth status or just taking things one day or one moment at a time, we all  have the opportunity to encounter God in our own lives and through the lives of others.  It is with God's help that we will find God and love God, and serve God in others.  

At times our problem is that we think we know how God should come to and/or respond to us.   We want to determine God's image in our own minds and hearts, including by the way of our own prejudices and behaviors.  God comes by way of God's will, calling us to conform to God's image of God, ourselves and others.  That is why God can and is present in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people. God blesses their union with each other in their romantic, emotional and physical relationships.   When anyone of any sexual orientation and/or gender identity/expression seeks to love God in another person, with unselfish love and compassion, God is there loving and being loved.   Placing anti-marriage amendments on ballots to suppress that love because of our selfish attitudes towards others or arrogance as to think that we know God better than LGBT people or anyone else does, is nothing more than idolatry of ourselves and our own understandings.  

Maybe as we go forward this week, we might ask for God's help for us to be open to who and where God will search us out.  To see in every person, including ourselves the potential for sainthood.   To pray and receive the Holy Spirit so that we too may be a person that is life-giving where there is darkness, destruction, death and discrimination.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one
communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son
Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those
ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love
you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy
Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Collect for All Saints, Book of Common Prayer, p. 245).

Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your
faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant
that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly
promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. Amen.  (Proper 26, Book of Common Prayer, p. 235).

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.  (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, p.815).