Today is for remembering those who loved and followed God and Christ before us-family, friends, and neighbors and literal icons of the faith-in the celebration of All Saints and All Souls Days. These are days of memories for me, personally, as my aunt died on All Saints Day 13 years ago and today is the anniversary of my mother’s death-23 years ago. And, I remember my ordination to the priesthood 16 years ago. Protestant churches generally refer to all Christians as saints, and if they observe All Saints Day, they use it to remember all Christians past and present. Here, we bring pictures of loved ones to display along with lighting candles to remember them.
In the Wisdom reading today, we are reminded: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them.” And our Revelation reading describes the new heaven and new earth where “…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.”
Jim loved the idea of calling living Christians “saints”, it gave him hope of being a saint of God. Like Bryan, he loved the song “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” that he sang in church as a child. This three-verse hymn tells of saints of the past as everyday people we could have known/in glowing terms, but the last verse is about the saints of the present, possibly all of us here: “They lived not only in ages past, There are hundreds of thousands still. The world is bright with the joyous saints Who love to do Jesus’ will. You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, In church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea; For the saints of God are just folk like me, And I mean to be one, too.”
How can we respond tangibly to these wonderful saints who built up and represented the body of Christ everywhere, and especially in our church, those we remember today? One way is to think about our church, its community of saints, and the work for Christ that we do during the year, and offer a commitment for our future work. We live together in our Christian communities because we are not isolated believers. Through worship, prayer, study and the support of other saints; we can witness and minister to those who need our message of hope and love.
As God’s present saints, we are to be stewards of everything God has created. From Psalm 24: “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.” We don’t own this world, but we are stewards of all God has created. We are to regularly give an account of our lives, in terms of our love for God and our neighbors, and return to God part of the fruits that God has given us. This stewardship takes many forms: our talents and time (like Kevin shopping for and changing out lightbulbs or putting up Halloween decorations in the rain), stewardship of our wealth (as we put checks and cash into the offering plate), and caring for the Earth (addressing our carbon footprints), and caring for our families, friends, and communities around us, including our own church family.
As the Right Reverend Steven Charleston posted after a horrible hurricane: “It all begins with small numbers. A few drops of precipitation, a little more wind, a slight rise in the sea level, a couple of degrees difference in the elevation of the moon. Great forces are born in small numbers, in the increments of existence, the mathematics of our physical being. And as with the natural, so the spiritual. A tiny bit more kindness, a single hope, a small increase in giving, a few more prayers, another moment of patience. Great souls are not instant in being, but being made up of instants. Life without and life within, lived in the small things that count.”
We sing a song at Camp Victory that includes the line, many stones can form an arch, singly none. Steven is speaking of building upon small actions and with all our actions together through a lifetime and by working together, we can accomplish great things, build up great souls. In this world and in this building, we stand on big shoulders. So many poured their time, talent and treasure into this place. And, I look at the pictures we all brought today and I think of the firm foundation in faith and kindness that I have had from these folks and so many more-more without pictures other than the ones I carry in my heart. It is good to remember the saints who accomplished great and small things who built up great souls.