All Saints’ Sunday A, November 2, 2008
St. James, Zanesville
Kathryn P. Clausen

Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
Matthew 5:1-12

“Who are these, robed in white..”

The lesson from Revelation today asks the question; “who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from.?” These are the persons we call the saints of God, the persons who have died and gone to heaven. The Church recognizes and has set aside some persons in its history for special recognition as saints. These are the holy persons who have forwarded the spread of Christianity by taking the Gospel to the far reaches of the known world. And there are the ones who died protecting the faith. And there are those whose life and ministry represented the ideal Christian, Christlike persons. They include apostles, evangelists, martyrs, and church heroes. We name our churches after them, like St. James and St. John. The most notable saints are listed in our church calendar. But Saint’s days normally do not take precedence over the Sunday observance of the Feast of Our Lord, the only exceptions being All Saint’s Sunday and our patronal feast day. But I like to honor them at our weekday services because they represent part of our heritage and history, and are among the best examples of Christian witness that we have.

To be named to the canon of saints is a great honor and has been associated in church history with elaborate criteria, often mythological heroic deeds, and working miracles. But the canon of saints is a human designation in a human institution. We recognize the saints as “elect” of God, but I wonder if God does. It is a presumption. I think we should return to Scripture and the words of Jesus as to who is really blessed and thus are the true saints of God. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers. Blessed are you….”

All Saint’s day is a great feast day of the church. It is a day for us to remember and celebrate the lives of all who have gone before us, to pray for their souls, and name their names out loud in the presence of this company. It is not just for those who happen to be recognized in “Lesser Feasts and Fasts.”. It has a joyful tone and a theme of Resurrection, more like Easter than Good Friday. But it is also a time to reflect and remember, and might be a time to feel sad or to mourn a loss. In a few minutes we will read the names of those you have asked to be named, and we will give you time to add others you wish to remember this day. Such losses can be wrenching and profoundly sad and lonely. But remembering them in prayer in the whole community of the faithful can be a comfort.

The doctrine of unmerited Grace tells us that we are all saved because God loves us, not because we deserve or earn it. That is why Christ died for our sins and that is what we believe. But there is an older tradition from the Middle Ages, still held in the Roman Church, that persons who die and come into the nearer presence of God, the Beatific Vision, are those who repented and have been absolved of their sins. Those who have not would remain in purgatory until the living interceded on their behalf to help them get to heaven. This is the basis for old beliefs about souls still wandering the earth and the Days of the Dead that include Halloween, All Saint’s and All Souls Day. While I doubt that many of you would publicly admit that you are worried that loved ones are still in purgatory, I do know that when someone dies there can be a sense that their life is not yet finished. Relationships have not been repaired, differences not resolved or forgiven, words of love never spoken. In our hearts, we might not want to let go of them until we have had our final “good byes” or have accepted that they have left us.

That, I believe, is the real reason for masses for the dead. That is why we will have a liturgy for All Soul’s Day tomorrow evening. Today we honor the memories of our loved ones in heaven with a joyful celebration. Tomorrow we grieve their loss, say words of apology and good-bye, and try to let go without lingering regrets.

As Christians, we need not fear death. But as persons, we should be allowed to grieve. Amen.