All Saints Year B

Introduction

All Saints is a yearly celebration in which we are encouraged to remember that we are literally 'all saints!' We tend to think of people like Mother Theresa as saints. They are special because their lives reflect the very best of human behaviour. As we think of them and the way that they lived we are encouraged to be more like them. We think of them as being holy, in the sense of living special godly lives, separated from the grubbiness of usual daily living.

This is all well and good but we need to also remember that you and I are saints as well. We might not live such remarkable lives as Mother Theresa, but we are still saints. This is because we are already holy by virtue of being God's children. We do not have to work hard trying to become God's children, we already are! In the same way that a child might work hard to please their parents, so we will want our lives to measure up, but we are already God's, we are already saints because we call Him father.  At this time of year we admire saints, we use them as role models to encourage ourselves that we can do better. But we do not lose sight of our special kinship to God.

Opening Sentence Colossians 1:12

Give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Collect Prayer for the Day - Before we read we pray

 Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. CW

God of holiness, your glory is proclaimed in every age: as we rejoice in the faith of your saints, inspire us to follow their example with boldness and joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. CW

First Bible Reading Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9

 But 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 for ever. 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.

Isaiah 25: 6-9

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death for ever. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. NRSV

Second Reading Revelation 21: 1-6a

I, John, 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; 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. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.’ NRSV

Gospel Reading John 11: 32-44

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.’ NRSV

Post Communion Sentence

God, the source of all holiness and giver of all good things: may we who have shared at this table as strangers and pilgrims here on earth be welcomed with all your saints to the heavenly feast on the day of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. CW

Commentary

The book of Daniel is set in the days of the exile in Babylon and was probably written around 165 BC. It was written to give hope to the Jews who were suffering persecution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Hellenistic ruler who tried to eliminate Judaism.  The revelation through Daniel in our reading today reminds us that our earthly kingdoms, however powerful they may appear, will pass away to make way for the kingdom of God. As we remember those saints who have gone before us over the centuries, we see the truth of the message of Daniel. Many kingdoms have passed away in the centuries since the book of Daniel was written, but the kingdom of God remains strong through His people on earth. Earthly lives may pass away, but as Christians we are part of God’s holy and heavenly kingdom, an inheritance which will last for all eternity.

The word Holy or Hallowed means (blessed, consecrated or set apart in a special way) and so ‘Halloween’ is All Hallows Eve’, and 'All-Hallows' or 'All Saints' refers to the Saints—the Holy Ones who died for their faith or who lived extraordinary lives. All Hallows dates back to the 5th century Antioch in Syria when the church dedicated a day to the memory of all those who had been killed for their faith. 

The theme of God’s holiness permeates the entire Bible and as human beings we are invited to participate in the holiness of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. So today we continue to celebrate a Communion of Saints that embraces all Christians, past present and future; including those whose lives are not necessarily like us, or whose lives are not notably marked by saintliness! ‘We live among saints, but saints are not perfect. Their weaknesses and strengths are woven into our own’. But together we are part of that great community God calls His saints. Our own holiness starts with our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the mediator of all holiness. Our holiness also entails being in communion with one another and all the saints who have gone before us. Holiness therefore implies relationships; relationships with others, which sometimes make it feel like it’s very difficult to be holy! But however challenging some of our relationships seem, it’s impossible to be in communion alone. God’s own holiness is part of being in communion, a communion of Father, Son, and Spirit dwelling together in love. To enter into a relationship with God is to enter into a relationship with all who share in that same fellowship of God; past, present and future. Just as we are called into a relationship with God, we are called into a relationship with each other, the Communion of Saints, the Priesthood of all believers. 

In our gospel reading Jesus reminds us that being His holy people, the Communion of Saints on earth, can be tough. We are to love those who are our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, pray for those who treat us badly and to turn the other cheek time and time again. Jesus also points out that the more we have, the harder it can be for us to be that kind of person because our personal riches can get in the way of the riches we inherit through Christ. Inherited riches which enable us to be the holy people God wants us to be. This is the inheritance that Paul talks about in Ephesians. He speaks about the Holy Spirit being the pledge of our inheritance in Christ, an inheritance which God gives to all of us so that we can be truly free. Free to be ourselves, free to be the people God on earth. Freedom to be the Communion of Saints and to be part of God’s transforming and redeeming work. It’s our inheritance in Christ that links us back to the saints that have gone before us and forward to the saints that are to come. We are at the same time a part of that inheritance and guardians of it for future generations. As the saints before us have been examples for our lives, so we should set our sights on being Christian examples for those that will follow us. Examples that are based not on our worldly wealth or power but on our openness to God and our humility before Him as we live out His precepts in our lives as His Holy and Saintly people.  Rev Dr Sam Cappleman 

Meditation  Explaining Halloween, All Saints and All Souls

Halloween

The last day of October marks the beginning in the church of a period known as Hallowtide 'All Saintstide' when Christian remember those who have died. All-Hallows Eve, or Halloween, October 31 has Celtic origins being originally the feast of Sanhain/Samhain,(pronounced 'sow'inn) the last night of the Celtic year, when all kinds of spirits were thought to be active. The Celts believed that this was a time when the boundary between the spirit world and the earthly world is at its thinnest and when spirits are most likely to be seen on earth. It was a night of danger signifying the change from Autumn to Winter, it was a night when feasts were held for the dead and animals killed for the Winter. On this night fires were lit in the belief that light had power over darkness, hence pumpkin lanterns to frighten away witches and ghosts. When the Romans invaded Britain they included elements of their harvest celebrations in which they honoured the goddess of the fruits of trees, Pomona. Children still play games with apples at this time of year. So when did Sanhain become Halloween? By the 9th century Christianity had spread into Celtic lands and the celebration became known as the Eve of All Hallows and eventually Halloween.

All Saints Day, (All Hallows) November 1

The word Hallow means 'Holy', (blessed, consecrated or set apart in a special way) and so 'All-Hallows' or 'All Saints' refers to the Saints—the Holy Ones. Those who died for their faith or who lived extraordinary lives. This day dates back to the 5th century Antioch in Syria when the church dedicated a day to the memory of all those who had been killed for their faith. Until then the church had remembered martyrs on special days of the year, but there became more martyrs than days in the year, and there were some whose names were not known. In Rome Boniface IV (608-615) had relics of martyrs moved from the catacombs to the Pantheon. In 835 the 1st of November was given the title 'All Saints.'

St. Martin of Tours is represented by a cloak which he cut in half to give to a shivering beggar

Catherine of Alexandria is shown with a spiked wheel

St. Sebastian usually holds an arrow—as a reminder of the terrible methods of their respective martyrdoms.

The saints are our ancestors on earth and precede us in heaven. Many Christians experience a strong sense that the saints are still with us, and that they watch over us and pray to God for us. The prayer from Methodist Worship at the bottom of this page expresses the idea of knowing their fellowship with us. Although dead, they are members of Christ's Church and we use this day to give thanks for the lives of all the saints as they are examples to us. Saints are created as signs of hope, that the gospel really can change lives. Somebody is not made a saint at canonisation, it is rather an acknowledgement that somebody was a saint and is therefore in heaven and not neglectful of the needs of the world, through the communion of saints.

All Souls Day, November 2

In the New Testament, 'saint' is often used to describe all those who are followers of Christ, the people called to holiness in him. Not just those who were extra-specially good. So does this apply to Christians now? Are all saints? The answer must be Yes! So on this day we pray not just for those who have been specially recognised as Saints, but for all of our loved ones. In 1048 Odilo, the Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery at Cluny near Paris instructed his monks to use this day as a day of remembrance and prayer for all the departed, this day was made official in the 14C.

In the Christian Church we remember the Church not just as those who are living but also those who have died, they are just as much the church as we are and the Christian Church has two names for this, those who are living are called the church militant, and those have died are called the church triumphant.

This time of year is an important time to cherish the memory of those who have died and who have gone before us. As we celebrate their memory we can know and be glad that they share with us in Christ's eternal kingdom. People find the whole idea of death difficult and to have a special day to remember those who have died is not an easy thing for some people. At this time in the year of the church we can really think and speak about those who have died and not in hushed tones. We can remember and feel our loss. We celebrate the lives of those whom we have known and love and we pray for their peace.

Holy God you have called witnesses from every nation and revealed your glory in their lives. Grant us the same faith and love that, following their example, we may be sustained by their fellowship and rejoice in their triumph; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Methodist Worship)

Hymns  

• Come let us join our cheerful songs
• O happy day
• For all the saints
• I will sing the wondrous story

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

For all the saints who went before us, who have spoken to our hearts and touched us with your fire,

We praise you, O God

For all the saints who live beside us, whose weaknesses and strengths are woven into our own

We praise you, O God

Who challenge us to change the world with them

We praise you, O God

Janet Morley  (in Bread of Tomorrow, Christian Aid and SPCK, 192, 2004)

O Lord, in every age you reveal yourself to the childlike and lowly of heart, and from every race you write names in your book of life, give us the simplicity and faith of your saints, that loving you above all things, we may be what you would have us be, and to do what you would have us do. So may we be numbered with your saints in glory everlasting. Amen.

Father God, you have brought us near to the spirits of those who have been made perfect, and to an innumerable company of angels; grant us during our earthly pilgrimage to abide in their fellowship, and in the heavenly country to become partakers of their joy. Amen

Lord God, we thank you for calling us into the company of those who trust in Christ and seek to obey His will. May your Spirit guide and strengthen us in mission and service to your world; for we are strangers no longer but pilgrims together on the way to your Kingdom. Amen Prayer of the Inter Church Process (The Swanwick Declaration)

May almighty God grant you to be numbered with the saints in glory everlasting; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen

Additional Material

Meditation

A few weeks ago at the 10:00 am Wednesday Zoom Service, as part of the ‘Thought for the Day’ we looked at a quote attributed to St Hilda of Whitby. Hilda lived around 614 0- 680 AD in Anglo-Saxon England and until her thirties lived as a noblewoman. Sometime shortly after this she decided to live a religious life, and Aiden (of Lindisfarne) persuaded her to stay in Northumbria rather than go to the royal nunnery near Paris where her sister was already a nun. Her life of seclusion led her to become the abbess of a small monastery at Heruten (Hartlepool) for several years, where Aiden and others who visited were impressed by her ‘innate wisdom and love of God’. Probably in her early forties Hilda was appointed abbess of the monastery at Streaneshalch, later called Whitby by the Danes. It was her monastery at Whitby which was chosen to be the location for the first Synod of the Church in England in 664 AD, an event which became known as the ‘Synod of Whitby’. At the time there were differences between Celtic and Roman Christianity, one of which was the method of calculating the date of Easter. Streaneshalch, like all the religious houses in the North, followed the practices of the Celtic Church but Roman practices had been brought to the South by Augustine of Canterbury and a resolution to this difference in calculating dates was required. At the Synod of Whitby, the Roman method of calculating the date of Easter was agreed. St Hilda accepted and adopted this without question and, from that time, the Roman influence on Christianity in Britain which we still experience today would begin to increase. Very little of St Hilda’s writings survive but the following words, which we used in our ‘Thought for the Day’, are attributed to her. Sage words for our current times from an early English Saint especially as we remember all those who have gone before us.

Trade with gifts God has given you.
Bend your minds to holy learning

that you may escape the fretting moth of littleness of mind

that would wear out your souls.

Brace your wills to action

that they may not be the spoil of weak desires.
Train your hearts and lips to song

which gives courage to the soul.
Being buffeted by trials, learn to laugh.
Being reproved, give thanks.
Having failed, determine to succeed.                                                                    Sam Cappleman

Commentary

This is the week of our Commemoration Service, the week when Christians all over the world celebrate All Souls and All Saints. This year we are surrounded by images of death all over the world. How true the words we hear at funeral service, ‘in the midst of life we are in death.’

All Souls and All Saints remind us of a deeper truth: in the midst of death, we are promised life. Our Gospel reading for All Saints Sunday is the story of the raising of Lazarus. In it we hear the reassuring words “Jesus wept.” These are some of the most important words in scripture because they remind us that for Jesus lives matter. We see clearly that God has a compassionate heart and how his heart must break at the plight of his creation in which there is so much suffering. The people of Yemen, Afghanistan, are each one a child of God and God cries at the grave of each and every one of his dead children.

Jesus sees the bigger picture, he knows about the resurrection and the triumph over death that he will bring about when he goes to battle against evil on the cross. Yet that vision of future victory does not make him immune to the suffering in the here and now of human existence when he see the suffering of grief and the pain of parting experienced by those who loved Lazarus. Jesus cannot stand by impassioned, he was deeply involved in the emotions of those around him and he is with us in our grief and suffering. He is also with us in the anger that we feel when confronted by our powerlessness in the face of state sponsored murder all over the world, some of which we supply the means by which it is carried out.

The raising of Lazarus in Bethany is a critical event in which the religious leaders decide enough is enough. Jesus has gone too far and because they see their power threatened Jesus must be stopped and killed. In the raising to life of Lazarus, Jesus makes inevitable his own arrest and crucifixion.

This week as we celebrate All Souls and All Saints it is a time of mixed emotions. There is mourning and sorrow for those who have gone before, as well as celebration and thanksgiving for all that has been lovely and good that we can treasure in our memories. It is also a time to look to the future days in which we are called to work for a good life for ourselves and others. Each day is to be treasured and celebrated as a gift and we must use our days carefully and wisely working to bring life not just for ourselves but for others. Charles Royden

Sermon for All Saints and All Souls

We have three special days at this time of year

• Halloween which is the Eve of All Hallows today ! 31 October
• All Hallows which means All Saints   1 November
• All Souls 2 November

Halloween has been around since before Christianity. The Celts called it Sanhain, the last night of the Celtic year and the Celts believed that this was a time when the boundary between the spirit world and the earthly world is at its thinnest and when the spirits of the dead were most likely to be seen on earth. On this night fires were lit in the belief that light had power over darkness, hence pumpkin lanterns to frighten away witches and ghosts. It was a night of danger signifying the change from Autumn to Winter, it was a night when feasts were held for the dead and animals killed for the Winter.

In the 9th century Christianity had spread into Celtic lands and the celebration became known as the Eve of All Hallows and eventually Halloween. It has continued to be the part of the Church year when the contrast between our life and death is drawn more starkly than at any other.

The word Hallow means 'Holy', (blessed, consecrated or set apart in a special way) and so 'All-Hallows' or 'All Saints' refers to the Saints—the Holy Ones. Those who died for their faith or who lived extraordinary lives.

We have All Saints and All Souls to remind ourselves that In the New Testament, 'saint' is often used to describe all of those who are followers of Christ, the people called to holiness in him. Not just those who were considered extra-specially good.

This is really important because it means that its not just the special saints we can remember at this time of year, but for all of our loved ones. That is why we have a special service to commemorate those who have died. 

Death is becoming less and less vivid in the minds of most ordinary people. We have gradually grown more and more removed from death, cremation means we can meet in warm dry places and now people can leave the curtains open as they leave and there is no need to have that final moment of goodbye. Not like digging soil into a grave. On the TV they are now advertising Direct Cremations, which means cremation can take place without any congregation at all or you can watch on the internet. Somebody just picks granny up and takes her away and the next thing you know she’s delivered by courier in a little box. 

In our reading today Jesus is confronted the harsh realities of death. We don’t know why Jesus took so long to get round to seeing Lazarus when he was told he was dying. But the harsh realities of death and decay are made clear especially in the KJV which records Martha saying to Jesus about her dead brother 'Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days' 

There is no attempt by Jesus to avoid the harsh realities of death and the fact that he wept with those who mourned demonstrates that in the midst of all that we don’t know about death, the one things which we do know is that Jesus is as upset about death as we are and we serve a God who calls us to life. 

The passage today reminds us that our journey is not to the grave but through it.  The Lord who weeps is also the Lord who resurrects.  So we mourn in hope. 

So we remember and give thanks for all of those who have died reminding ourselves that its not just the clever, brilliant heroes who dwell with God but all children of God.

Sometimes we do need to be reminded of our privileged status as God’s children loved and cherished by the creator God of this universe.

I was watching Brighton play Manchester City last week. They won 4 - 1 but it seemed so unfair because they put up how much each team had spent on players and Manchester City had spent 5 times more, picking the best from around the world.

That of course is how we choose, but it is not how God chooses, God looks on each of his children as of extraordinary value, none to be lost, he would leave 99 to look for one.

So often at funerals I hear of the wondrous doing of individuals and sometimes they have lived remarkable lives. However All Saints and All Souls reminds us that not a single one of us is any more value to God than any other person. God has no selection process, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The one thing that gives us worth is that God loves us.

We know this don’t we know? We don’t really need investigative journalists to pry into the lives of famous people to reveal that secretly they have skeletons in their cupboards or that they have done things they regret. This is the condition of all humanity, not of the damaged few. But God’s grace is poured out on us

I was listening to an interview this week with a Minister in the Church of Scotland John Bell. You will have sung his hymns many times, he wrote songs like, 'Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?' 

In that song it has the line

Will you love the 'you' you hide if I but call your name?

He was saying that we all have to be confident to be ‘real’ before God about who we are. Loving ‘the You we hide’. He was referring to it in the context of what caused him to come out as a gay man. 

He said it was the case of a young girl called Lizzie Lowe. He had been on holiday in Spain in 2014 when he heard about Lizzie being spoken about by a priest in General Synod. Lizzie was the babysitter of the priest and a member of St James and Emmanuel Anglican Church in Didsbury in Manchester. At the age of 14 she hung herself.

Lizzie was a very involved member of the church but she wrestled with the fact that she was gay. She didn’t know how she could tell people in her church that she was gay and still be a Christian. She felt that her church would not accept her.

The night she died she sent a text to a friend saying

‘I don’t believe that God can love me the way that I am’

At the time she was in a church which she knew would condemn her and so she didn’t believe that God could love her the way that she was. Interestingly afterwards the church went through a period of reflection and committed that they would ensure that this would never happen again to another member of the church family and passed the inclusive church statement which says this

We believe in an inclusive Church – church which does not discriminate on any level, including: economic power, gender, gender identity, mental health, mental ability, physical ability, race or sexuality.

We believe in a Church which welcomes, accepts and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.

This enabled all people to feel safe in that church community and welcomed and to know that they were saints !

John Bell said

No child of God should have to take their life for being who they are and that line which he wrote is very revealing 

Will you love the 'you' you hide if I but call your name?

It is interesting that Jesus calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves. In no small measure love of our neighbour is only possible if we first learn to accept ourselves and understand why God loves us, his saints. If we do not see what is lovely about ourselves then how do we love anybody else?

The way to move forward is to recognise that Jesus looks at us and sees us as we are and loves us. But we must learn to love ourselves as God loves us.

The life of Jesus was based upon him gathering people around him who were despised. Jesus enjoys the company of people around him who were not of his own race or religion or gender. Jesus even sits at table with people who are his enemies. This is what it means to share the inclusive love of God.

Today we remember and give thanks to God for all of those who have died, they are God’s church triumphant. As we celebrate their memory we can know and be glad that they share with us in Christ's eternal kingdom. We pray for them as they pray for us.

As we do we remind ourselves that we are chosen and called by God to be the church militant, the church living out the love of the kingdom here on earth.

The last day of October marks the beginning in the church of a period known as Hallowtide 'All Saintstide' when Christian remember those who have died.

All-Hallows Eve, or Halloween, October 31

Halloween has Celtic origins being originally the feast of Sanhain, the last night of the Celtic year, when all kinds of spirits were thought to be active. It was a night of danger signifying the change from Autumn to Winter, it was a night when feasts were held for the dead and animals killed for the Winter. On this night fires were lit in the belief that light had power over darkness, hence pumpkin lanterns to frighten away witches and ghosts. The ashes of fires were sprinkled on the land to frighten the evil spirits away. In England bonfires are now lit on Guy Fawkes Night, but other countries still stick to Halloween. On this day people play with apples, apple bobbing was done in the Celtic belief that the branches of the apple tree helped dead souls to pass into their heaven. They dress up as witches and evil spirits and ghosts. We make pumpkins and put candles inside and the idea is that the light and scary face will frighten evil spirits away. More recently we have seen the spreading of children dressed up behaving badly doing trick or treat, the practice seemingly fitting in with the idea of a time of devilment.

Of course many people are unsure about whether children should be involved at all in all of this. Personally I made a pumpkin with my children this year and I think Halloween can be a good time for children to explore the concept of the dark side of life. Within the boundaries of games and costumes they can experience their fear of the dark and their images of evil, all in the safety of make believe and items bought from the supermarket. But evil can be more sinister and just as some people are injured by fireworks so too there are those who are affected by involvement in sinister rituals. It is important that Halloween remains a game and that children's pranks are kept within the realms of play. As Christians there are lessons which we must bring out of Halloween

As Christians we need not fear any enemies. Even if we walk through the valley of the shadow of death God is still with us. There are no powers of darkness which can overcome us God has triumphed over evil. Impress on children that Halloween is the eve of the holy day of All Saints and All Souls.

All Saints Day, November 1

The word Hallow means 'Holy', and so All-Hallows refers to the Saints—the Holy Ones. Those who died for their faith or who lived extraordinary lives. This day dates back to the 5th century Antioch in Syria when the church dedicated a day to the memory of all those who had been killed for their faith. Until then the church had remembered martyrs on special days of the year, but there became more martyrs than days in the year, and there were some whose names were not known.

A saint is not given blanket approval, we know that they may have faults. A proverb tells us that 'a man cannot be a hero to his own valet,' the message being that familiarity breeds contempt, and it is probably true that the definition of a saint is somebody who lived a long time ago and who has not been researched well enough. They also led mucky lives and yet we applaud their courage as examples of their commitment and faith. The saints are honoured because of their heroism, their courage, it has nothing to do with station in life.

A saint could be described as somebody who has co-operated with the grace of God, known the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. They will all be dead. They will have made some sacrifice for the people or the community in which they lived, they all tried to follow Jesus. Saints are often remembered for particular deeds of kindness and symbols are used which are related to their special deeds,

St. Martin of Tours is represented by a cloak which he cut in half to give to a shivering beggar

Catherine of Alexandria is shown with a spiked wheel &

St. Sebastian usually holds an arrow—as a reminder of the terrible methods of their respective martyrdoms.

The saints are our ancestors on earth and precede us in heaven. Many Christians experience a strong sense that the saints are still with us, and that they watch over us and pray to God for us. Although dead they are members of Christ's Church and we use this day to give thanks for the lives of all the saints as they are examples to us. Saints are created as signs of hope, that the gospel really can change lives. Somebody is not made a saint at canonisation, it is rather an acknowledgement that somebody was a saint and is therefore in heaven and not neglectful of the needs of the world, through the communion of saints.

There are many saints who are known only to their neighbours and God alone. Perhaps you too could be a saint—But in the NT saint is often used to describe all those who are followers of Christ, the people called to holiness in him. Not just those who were extra-specially good. So does this apply to Christians now? Are all saints? The answer must be Yes! All Saints Day is an occasion to celebrate those who never picked up the title 'saint', but were nevertheless known as holy to God. In other words, All Saints Day is a celebration of ordinary Christians everywhere, at every time, who have tried to live the Gospel life.

You might find it hard to accept that people who are just ordinary can be saints. The saints are people who are supposed to be good at things ordinary people like us are not good at. They have qualities we don't have. They have patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. We envy them their qualities; that's why we call them saints in the first place. Saints are other people, people we read about, but not very many of the people we actually know. The trouble is, seen in that way, saints can be people who put us down, they're so different, so special that we'd never recognise one if we saw one. They put us down, because we find ourselves so contrasted to them. They are much better, much holier than I can ever be—that's what a saint is. But might it not be that I have qualities or virtues that other people envy and aspire to? Might it not be that I'm putting myself down wrongly?

Surely, none of us can be so far from sainthood that we totally lack all saintly virtues? I might lack patience, but perhaps I have modesty. I might lack courage, but perhaps I have charity. In fact, those who are trying hardest to practise their Christian faith may be those who are least aware of their own best qualities and virtues. So let's not put ourselves down by comparing ourselves unfavourably with the saints. Let's recognise that we have saintly qualities too, perhaps not always as well-developed or focussed as in those recognised as saints, but they're there.

We all find ourselves in situations from time to time which can evoke a saintly, holy response in us. Most of us have at some time known poverty, worked for justice, been bereaved, suffered for conscience sake, and so on. You and I can be saints, when we respond to the challenge of a particular situation, using a conscience formed by prayer and faith in Jesus Christ. Let's not be so obsessed with our failings that we forget our moments of saintliness.

Today is a good day to remember that we are all saints. We are all called to be special ones, chosen by God and set apart for his service. We are all called to make sacrifices for our Lord as he gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. We are all called to share in the benefits of being his chosen ones to inherit the kingdom of God.

All Souls Day, November 2

On this day we pray not just for the Saints but for all of our loved ones. In 1048 Odilo, the Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery at Cluny near Paris instructed his monks to use this day as a day of remembrance and prayer for all the departed, this day was made official in the 14C. In the Christian Church we remember the Church not just as those who are living but also those who have died, they are just as much the church as we are and the Christian Church has two names for this, those who are living are called the church militant, and those have died are called the church triumphant. This time of year is an important time to cherish the memory of those who have died and who have gone before us. As we celebrate their memory we can know and be glad that they share with us in Christ's eternal kingdom.

Death has lost its sting for us! People find the whole idea of death difficult and to have a special day to remember those who have died is not an easy thing for some people. An old and respected elder of the Church was once asked, "What will happen to you when you die?" He answered, "I shall immediately depart into an eternal life of joy and bliss—but come now, let us not talk of such unpleasant subjects!" Wonderful doctrine, great news, the heart of the gospel—but no one wants to talk about it. Woody Allen said, "You know Death can really spoil a weekend." But not just death but also talk of death. So we hide behind humor sometimes. They say that when Oscar Wilde was on his deathbed he raised himself up on one arm, pointed to the wall, and said, "Either that wallpaper goes or I do." And so he did. Sometimes we just avoid the subject altogether. You can turn to the obituary section of the daily paper and find that we "pass away," "pass on," "go to our reward," "or are reunited with loved ones," We do so "peacefully," "suddenly" or "after a long illness." But it takes a powerful magnifying glass ever to find the words, "he died on Friday."

In our society we are protected from death. It is possible for a person to go through their whole life and not to be in contact with a dead body. A fear of death is natural but a tendency to turn our back on the dead and the bereaved is not a Christian thing to do. For Christians Death is not such a distressing subject and we must not allow our minds and our thinking to become distorted by the ideas of those around us who have no faith. At this time in the year of the church we can really think and speak about those who have died and not in hushed tones. We can remember and feel our loss and that is the purpose of the service which we will hold tonight. We celebrate the lives of those whom we have known and love and we pray for their peace, and of course it is a time to recognise that these people had impact upon our lives and are a continuing presence in our memories, in our affections, and in their abiding influence upon us.

One of the most common misunderstandings of Christianity is that it is primarily concerned with giving people a recipe for how to be good, or in the words of Dorothy Sayers "How to be kind to granny and the cat." But this misses it all. As Ernest Bloch, the German philosopher says: "It was not the morality of the sermon on the mount which enabled Christianity to conquer Roman Paganism but the belief that Jesus had been raised from the dead." What God has in mind for us is something of a new order, as different as a seed is from its bloom, as different, he says, as the earth is from the stars. I tell you a mystery, said the Apostle Paul, 'we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed.'

Let's be clear here about one thing. When we say the word 'resurrection' we are not talking about the mere revival of the life you and I already know. God forbid that 70 or 80 years of aching bones, failing health and moral failings should stretch into an eternity! We are talking about a new and wonderful kind of existence where you will be you, your character, body, mind and emotion all made perfect. The you will be the real you at last. A story is sometimes told to children of water larvae little beetle like creatures that live beneath the water and they one by ones loose their friends as they go towards the surface of the water and they don't see them anymore. Then they agree that the next one to go will come back and tell the others what is going on. The next one leaves and as he passes through the surface of the water he becomes a dragonfly. He flies around and he knows how wonderful it is, but as he tries to go back through the water and tell his friends he cannot, he finds that he is unable to return. But he doesn't worry because he knows that one day they too will leave their watery existence to live a new life.

I like the way C. S. Lewis finishes his Narnia Chronicles, books written for children but best read by adults. The closing paragraph of the last chapter in the last book called The Last Battle put its this way: The things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

Or as Paul tells it:

O Death where is thy sting? O Grave where is thy Victory?

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Commentary

All Saints’ and preparing for the season of Advent belong together, as the celebration of All Saints’ reminds us of the judgement of God. The Saints who stand before the throne of glory have also stood before the throne of judgement. Whilst we sometimes think of Saints in terms of spiritual giants who lived many years ago, the biblical understanding of a Saint is someone whom God has sanctified and made holy.

For the Old Testament people of God, this meant belonging to God’s Chosen People, the Jews, to be a son of Abraham as Jesus puts it in the Gospel reading.

For New Testament believers and beyond, it means belonging to the Body of Christ, a people made holy through Jesus’ sacrifice

Being a Saint has implications as to the way we live our lives.

‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light - 1 Peter 2 v 9.

As Christians we are caught up in "so great a cloud of witnesses," whilst also watching, waiting, for the coming again of Christ, when all things shall be gathered up into the Kingdom of God.

All Saints' Day is also known as All Hallows' Day, hallow means to make holy, to consecrate or to honour, and it’s from the name All Hallows' that we derive Hallowe'en (the Eve of All Hallows). Throughout the year the church commemorates specific saints, but on 1st November we commemorate and celebrate all saints and thus God's mercy and love for us too. This celebration of saints started around the the 8th century when Pope Boniface IV designated 1st November as All Saints' Day to specifically honour those saints that didn't have a special day of their own. By the 9th century it had become a major feast in the church calendar in England and continues today.

Although All Saints Day is actually 1st November, the church celebrates All Saints’ Sunday today. In England "All Saints" is the second most popular dedication of English churches with over 1250 churches dedicated to All Saints. All Souls' Day, also known as the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, comes the day after All Saints’ Day. This day provides an opportunity to commemorate "those we have loved but see no longer” and recognises the pain of human grief and fragility in a way that an All Saints' Day celebration cannot. It is for this reason that we always have a special service of commemoration of the faithful departed at this time of year. Sam Cappleman

Who is in the Communion of Saints?

As early as the second century, Christians gathered for worship at the tombs of the martyrs, celebrating the power of God’s grace in the lives of these faithful men and women. From this came the early understanding that the phrase ‘the Communion of Saints’ referred to the enduring bond between the faithful on earth and the faithful who had gone before, especially those whose witness was crowned with martyrdom. While all Christians are properly called saints, the word “saint” soon became a title of honour referring to exemplary lives among the faithful, and most notably the lives of martyrs. The celebration of saints as we know it (i.e. those who served God but died in the faith rather than for the faith) comes later, about the 7th century. Egbert of York brought the festival to England and by the 9th century it had become a major feast in the church calendar in England. Today, we continue to celebrate a Communion of Saints that embraces all Christians, past present and future; including those whose lives are not necessarily like us, or whose lives are not notably marked by saintliness! ‘We live among saints but saints are not perfect. Their weaknesses and strengths are woven into our own’. But together we are part of that great community God calls His saints.

The inextricable link between holiness and the Communion of Saints

All Saints' Day is also known as All Hallows' Day, hallow meaning to make holy, consecrate and honour. The theme of God’s holiness permeates the entire Bible and as human beings we are invited to participate in the holiness of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. To be holy is to participate in the holiness of Jesus who is “the way, the truth, and the life”. The Communion of Saints, the communio sanctorum, implies, first of all, communion, communion with Christ and through Him and the power of the Holy Spirit, communion and a relationship with our God, who is all holy.

Our own holiness starts then with a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the mediator of all holiness. Our holiness also entails being in communion, part of our journey with one another and all the saints who have gone before us. Holiness therefore implies relationships; relationships which sometimes make it feel like it’s very difficult to be holy! But however challenging some of our relationships seem, it’s impossible to be in communion alone. God’s own holiness is part of being in communion, a communion of Father, Son, and Spirit dwelling together in love. To enter into a relationship with God is to enter into a relationship with all who share in that same fellowship of God; past, present and future. Jut as we are called into a relationship with God, we are called into a relationship with each other, the Communion of Saints, the Priesthood of all believers.

Our relationship and fellowship with Christ and with one another will never be complete in this life, but is emphasised and strengthened as we together draw closer to him and to one another, and will be perfected in eternity. Together we are in union and communion with all the faithful saints, and as Christians we are called to live out that unity and communion, whatever our denomination or race or background. One of the statements from the Second Vatican council expressed this unity and communion as ‘…that among all the nations of earth there is but one People of God, which takes its citizens from every race, making them citizens of a kingdom which is of a heavenly and not an earthly nature. For all the faithful scattered throughout the world are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit.’ We live in faith with all those who have gone before us, we, like they are on a journey of faith, a pilgrimage which leads to God. Jesus takes us as we are, with all our diverse backgrounds, perspectives and relationships, takes us even though we often feel far from holy, and, invites us to be holy, as He is holy, and to join with Him in the communion of saints.

Our Holy Communion links our holiness, our sainthood, to our daily experience. We start the Eucharist with contrite hearts, confess our sins, receive God’s forgiveness and pray the Kyrie Eleison. We listen to the words of scripture from the bible and through the sermon. We confess our faith and give thanks to God in prayers and intercessions. We receive from God the body and blood of Jesus and together are sent out with the task of renewing the earth. Communion is not the end but the beginning of mission, mission as a Community of Saints, made whole and made holy through God and His gifts. Sam Cappleman