All Saints

Robert E. Hall
Tarrytown United Methodist Church

November 1, 2009

Text: Isaiah 21.6-9 and Revelation 21: 1-6a

On All Saints Sunday we affirm three things:

First, those who die in the Lord are with God.

Phrases of liturgy and scripture point to this belief.

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Yes, says the Spirit, They will rest from their labors for their deeds follow them.” In this mortal life, we “see as in a mirror, dimly; but then we shall see face to face.”

“Nothing can separate……”

“O Lord, support us all the day long of our troubled life, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over and our work is done. Then in your mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

This belief does not take away our grief. But we do not grieve as those without hope. “Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

Second,  the kingdom is coming and will come.

On this day we affirm that the sacrifices and commitments of those who have died in the Lord have not been in vain.

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

Apocalyptic writings like the Revelation to John are usually code language written for the first generation: the persecuted church would have understood the references.

But in Chapter 21, John sees the un-seeable. “A new heaven and a new earth……the Holy City, the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven as a bride…..”

The conviction behind this vision?  “The future holds promise of a transformation so complete that there will be a new heaven and earth.” (Revised English Bible, Oxford Annotated Edition, note)

“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done…..”  Or poetically, this new world, from Isaiah 25: We will behold a “ feast of rich food and wine;” the “shroud that is cast over all peoples will be destroyed.”

Now “Saints” in the biblical sense is more than a football team. It does not designate super-humans either; and there are more saints than the ones we have called saints. It means”set apart ones;” “sinners of God’s own redeeming.”

Saints are those who have faith lived their lives in faith and have witnessed to this New Heaven and Earth, this Holy City with the quality of their lives----regardless of their longevity.

And saints not only live “with the Lord,” but they will also participate in the kingdom of God when it comes on the earth.

The celebration of All Saints is not only the trust that the saints dwell secure in God’s presence now, but that the world will be saved, creation will be redeemed.

“Where, exactly, are we headed? The dominant story of our culture seems to be that we are headed ‘everywhere at once’---which means, of course, that we are headed nowhere in particular……Christians [on the other hand] believe that we are headed somewhere in particular: we are headed back to God…..eternal communion with God is the proper destiny of the church, the nations, and the entire created order.”

I know: this is belief without knowledge: faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the reality of things not seen. “One’s faith should exceed one’s grasp, or what’s a heaven for.”

Finally,  today we affirm the real presence of God with us for our journeys in this life, in the time we have left.

We live in the meantime. We believe in the communion of the saints; that we are surrounded now by a great cloud of witnesses. And so we gain courage to run our marathons with perseverance. There is still much work, much sacrifice, much suffering. We are soldiers of the cross, and as soldiers, we discipline ourselves to carry out our mission: to embody the love of God and neighbor, to bear our own crosses: which means “whatever it takes to be loving toward God, self and neighbor.” (from Sister Marie Coombs, Lebh Shomea)

These words from Ellen Charry of Princeton bear repeating:

We still wait, and we work. The Lordship of Christ over life and death “is present already, because believers taste it, and we are transformed by the identity God has given us….. Yet it is still far off, because it is partial and ephemeral. Christians struggle to remain uncomfortable in a comfortable culture, which compels them to conform.” And we are “charged to await the coming of the Lord with patience, but also to participate actively in preaching Christ throughout the world. The challenge is to remain aloof enough from one’s own surroundings to maintain a distinctively Christian voice, yet to become involved enough so that Christ’s call can be grasped in an alien setting. The faith required to be live Christianly under duress, the hope that Christ will vindicate his followers, and the love that enables one to minister to one’s enemies are only possible by the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit.” Ellen Charry, “A Sharp Two-Edged Sword: Pastoral Implications of Apocalyptic,” in Interpretation, April 1999, page 170)

 Even while we are beset with all of the bad news, even when our own personal struggles weigh us down, we flee to Jesus for refuge.

God does not forsake us when we place our lives in the hands of Jesus our Savior and Lord.

 “Stout-hearted” is description that Dr. Charry uses to describe the kind of virtue that John of Patmos urges on the Christians who are being persecuted and seduced into idolatry in these days

So we are here not only to remember our loved ones but to affirm our belief that all who have baptized into Christ Jesus have a future beyond this life. And that the cause they served, the cause of Christ Jesus, will come to fruition, and, great mystery, all of the faithful will be alive for the celebration.

Meantime, God walks with us.