Call to Worship (Romans 8)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Words of Assurance: Hebrews 11:16, NIV
(Those who were living in faith) were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Opening Song: The Tabernacle Choir, “For All the Saints”
Scripture: Revelation 21:1-5, NRSV
Then 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; they will be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away 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.“
Sunday Sermon
It feels right to have All Saints’ Day land on a Sunday. All Saints’ Day is when we publicly remember the loved ones who have gone to heaven before us, and celebrate the spiritual connection between earth and heaven. All Saints’ Day follows All Souls’ Night, which is also known as Halloween – “Holy Eve” – and is purely religious in nature.
We have a lot more saints than the Catholics, because we call anyone who died believing in Christ a saint. But the Catholics have cooler saints – they even have saints stickers and trading cards – because they have a patron saint for pretty much everything. These include St. Isidore (patron saint of the internet), St. Drogo (patron saint of coffee) and St. Cecilia (patron saint of music). There’s even a patron saint of pizza ~ St. Anthony the Great.
It’s hard for me to call my friends saints because, well, I knew them; but I can totally picture them in heaven. In addition to lighting a candle for my aunt Dolores, I lit a candle for my friend Mike this morning. Like many of my friends, Mike died way too young at the age of 53. He was in my first youth group way back when I was in college in Georgia. I flew down to do his wedding and baptize all three of his children. He passed away just before seeing one of his sons get married.
This week, that son is moving with his wife to Kailua, HI, one mile from the friends that I will be visiting next week. How’s that for a reason to believe in God? I will get to introduce two of my favorite families to each other. When I see Will, I think of Mike, and what an amazing father he was, and how his legacy lives on. I also think that he will be watching, which is comforting and a source of joy.
Scripture tells us that we are surrounded by either a cloud or a crowd of witnesses. I like to think of them cheering us on, encouraging us and helping us from afar. I know they love to be remembered, to be thought of as alive, because they are, on another plane. It is because they are cheering for me that I want to do my very best ~ because I want to see them again.
As a pastor, I’ve done hundreds of funerals, so when I combine family, friends and parishioners, I know a lot of people up there ~ perhaps more than I know down here. As we age, the balance starts to shift; many older people tell me that the people they love the most are gone. That can make this a very sad day or a very hopeful day, depending on how one looks at it. The more people we lose, the more we have to live up to; the more examples we have to follow; but also, the more we realize that we have loved and been loved on this earth.
From our perspective, death seems like an ending, or at the very least, a transition. From God’s perspective, death is a continuum, as the soul moves from one place to another. It’s easy to picture, but hard to fathom. But the more we believe in heaven, the lighter our earthly troubles can seem.
One of the hardest things about losing loved ones is that at a certain point, other people tend to stop talking about them. Others are afraid to bring up sad feelings, so they dance around the topic, then the person who has lost a loved one stops bringing it up because they don’t want to bring other people down. I believe this is a mistake. If we really believe our loved ones are alive somewhere, then let’s talk about them, because they are certainly talking about us!
Some of the duties given to patron saints are arbitrary; Saint Drogo never drank coffee, and St. Isidore died before the internet was invented. Why let Catholics have all the fun? I’d love to think of my grandfather as the patron saint of covered bridges; or my friend Marissa as the patron saint of independent movies, or my friend George as the patron saint of Sunday phone calls just before kickoff. It can’t be all harps up there, they’ve got to be having some fun.
We’ve been studying the book of Revelation every Wednesday morning this semester, and this week we’ll finally be getting to the end, which is where today’s Scripture came from. The book of Revelation is largely symbolic, which is a relief because it’s also very graphic. Fortunately, the symbols are easy to decode, and when we hear that “the sea was no more,” we don’t have to worry that we’ll never be able to go to the beach again. Back then, the sea was considered dangerous and filled with monsters, so to say “the sea was no more” means “fear was no more.”
There’s a huge emphasis on newness: a new heaven, a new earth, I am making all things new. The idea is that everything will be pure and lovely beyond our imagining. We can see only glimpses of it on earth. To say every tear will be wiped away means that all the things that cause us to cry, except for joy, will no longer exist: no more worry, no more anxiety, no more fear, no more pain, no more death. But we will remember what we have been through, and it will help us to appreciate what we have all the more.
Perhaps the biggest revelation is that God will be with us all the time – neither distant nor absent, but right there with us. We might not have questions, but if we do, we’ll be right next to the answers. We will always feel safe. We will always feel loved. When we get there, there will be reunions, and if we leave loved ones behind, we’ll be able to look forward to even more reunions, but from the other side, filled with confidence and calm.
As we remember our loved ones, let us do so in solemnity, but also in joy; not only in loss, but in gratitude; not only in the sorrow of losing them, but in the hope of seeing them again. And as we run this race of faith, may we listen for the far-off cheers from the crowd of witnesses who are hoping to see us again as well. Amen.
Closing Song: Phil Wickham, “Hymn of Heaven”
