All Saints 2020
Readings:
-1 John 3:1-3
-Matthew 5:1-12
At the beginning of this year none of us would have quite imagined what was to unfold across the world.
The possibility of a global pandemic had been talked about by epidemiologists and medical professionals, but its likely that for most of us it wasn’t on our minds.
Suddenly we were thrust into a drama that is still unfolding. And it is a drama that isn’t just playing itself out in Timaru, or Canterbury, or even New Zealand, it is a global drama.
The sheer scale of the pandemic is staggering.
It has crossed borders, cultures, languages, and has brought devastation and anxiety wherever it goes.
During lockdown we discovered in a new way the power of connectivity via the internet and our global media. We have access to information like never before and are connected with each other like never before.
This became clear to me as a few weeks into the lockdown I found myself on a zoom call with dozens of pastors and leaders from around the world. It was a leadership call hosted by World Vision.
I was chatting with a Scotsman who was up rather late, reflecting on how their church and community had been affected by COVID-19.
In another call, this time a training one, I found myself connected with people across our country and in Malaysia and Singapore.
There has been through this past year an increased sense of global solidarity.
The pandemic is an exceedingly rare shared global experience. It doesn’t matter where in the world we are, the experiences of sickness, facemasks, hand sanitizer, restrictions on gathering and travel – these are all collective experiences right now.
There is a sense of our whole word, all of humanity suffering together in this, and working out how to face it with courage, care, compassion, and love. What we have seen is a deep solidarity and connection to one another emerge in these times.
ALL SAINTS DAY
Today in our church calendar, it is “All Saints Day.” This day is celebrated every year. On the 31st of October we have “All Hallow’s Eve”, on the 1st “All Saints Day” and on the 2nd “All Soul’s day.
The tradition across these three days that has developed has a complex history. I’ll share some links online in our blog that help unpack some of this.[1]
But at the heart of these feasts is a call to solidarity and connection with one another. These feasts are an invitation to think communally and globally.
On the 31st of October some people celebrate Halloween – it has been more popular overseas, but increasingly popular here.
Halloween in the way it is celebrated now is really a twist on the original feast of “All Hallow’s Eve” – the evening before All Saints Day. Traditionally this was a time when Christians were called to reflect on death and evil in light of the victory of Jesus over the powers of death. But now it has become about candy and crazy costumes.
All Saints day is a day that we remember the Saints and Martyrs of the church. Those who have gone before us and whose lives are an exemplar of faith.
All Souls day is a day when we remember all the other everyday saints who have influenced our lives and who have passed away – our friends and family members who we have loved and lost.
So, this weekend festival – these three days are all about solidarity, and connection with those who have gone before us, and a celebration of the victory of Jesus Christ over the power of death.
When we recite the creed in our worship gatherings, we assert our belief in “the communion of saints.” This acknowledges our membership and participation in the body of Christ, and our connection with one another.
In our reading from John’s first letter today we hear this notion of a family of faith called together:
1 John 3:1-3
1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
John’s theology here speaks of how through Jesus we have been called children of God, we have been welcomed and adopted into the family.
For me this is a helpful image of the church.
If we are children of God together, that makes us brothers and sisters in Christ – a term that is used frequently in the New Testament.
This passage speaks of solidarity.
It also has a sense of hope and longing. It acknowledges yearning and hope – the there will be a time of “revelation”, that is a time when God’s kingdom comes fully and death is once and for all defeated. This is the ultimate Christian hope for flourishing, and life in all its fullness.
All Saints day is a celebration which captures the reality of Christian life and faith.
At the heart of it all is death and resurrection.
We live in a world full of suffering and hurt. A broken and bruised world. Globally this has been highlighted especially for us this year. We have shared in the loss and pain of the world, and experienced our own concerns and grief.
But also, on a more personal level, for many of us, this year we have known the loss of loved ones who were dear to us. Just this week, we have mourned the loss of two members of this congregation Elaine McFelin, and Betty Martin.
Each of us will know our own personal losses and hurts.
All Saints weekend is a time to reflect on all of this – on those we have lost, and on the threat of death that lingers in our own lives.
Not only this, it is also a time to remember the suffering and sacrifice of martyrs for the faith.
In Matthew’s Gospel today, we heard these words:
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)
These are incredible words.
In the passage known as the beatitudes, Jesus paints a picture of the kingdom of God.
It’s an upside-down kingdom in many ways.
When we think of blessing, it is unlikely that we think of persecution, and being reviled, and falsely accused. Yet, Jesus says these ones are blessed and called to rejoice for their reward in heaven is great.
Jesus has a big picture view, in which he can see that beyond the cross there is resurrection, beyond death there is hope for all those who put their trust in Him.
Today, the 1st of November, also marks the beginning of “Suffering Church Action and Awareness Week” put together by the Barnabas Fund.
The Barnabas fund supports Christians all around the world who are living into the reality that Jesus described in Matthew’s Gospel – Christians who are being persecuted even to the point of death for their faith.
On their website, Barnabas describe some of the situations facing Christians across the globe.
“Extremist anti-Christian violence has escalated in the past several years and has been especially vicious in West Africa. The UN described an “unprecedented” rise in terrorist violence across the Sahel and West Africa with, with more than 4,000 deaths reported in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in 2019, compared to 770 three years earlier. Burkina Faso, which is about 30% Christian, emerged as one of the worst-affected with the number of deaths jumping from about 80 in 2016 to over 1,800 in 2019. Around half a million people were internally displaced by violence in an escalating humanitarian crisis.”[2]
Today, we remember that we are connected to these Christians facing these troubles.
We are invited to mourn with them, and to pray for them. And, as the recent Barnabas Fund campaign remind us – to find hope even in suffering.
Bible and promises of hope
All Saints Day is a day where we acknowledge the reality of death, but we do not grieve as those with no hope. Death is only one half of the story in the life of Jesus.
The Easter promise is one of resurrection. We look to Jesus as not just one who died, but one who was resurrected, and defeated death in His resurrection.
The promise of the Bible is that death doesn’t have the final word.
Jesus said:
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
This is the hope set before us.
Some days this promises feels far fetched, other days vivid and bright.
I think we are wise, to acknowledge that the reality of the Christian faith is played out in the muddle of life. Eugene Peterson put it well:
“Faith invades the muddle; it does not eliminate it. Peace develops in the midst of chaos. Harmony is achieved slowly, quietly, unobtrusively—like the effects of salt and light.” [3]
So, what is the invitation for us today?
INVITATION FOR US:
To light a candle in remembrance and prayer :
1) For those we have loved and lost.
2) For the persecuted church across the world, suffering and dying for their faith.
In solidarity to be informed, prayer for, and financially support suffering Christians:
-Barnabas Fund Devotional booklet (check out their website too)
-Barnabas Fund Prayer meeting tonight.
A prayer to finish, written by the English Benedictine Monk, Saint Bede:
“Christ is the morning star who when the night of this world is past brings to his saints the promise of the light of life and opens everlasting day.”
[1] https://anglicancompass.com/all-saints-day-a-rookie-anglican-guide/
And this from a NZ pastor in Tauranga, a helpful reflection - https://josephmcauley.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-great-christian-festival-of.html?m=0&fbclid=IwAR2o5cvqtHaK2r0r0vPXSTFwcUMXmIZE2QKw6F1axeBdCjoZGHZNar0ED6g
[2] https://news.barnabasfund.org/finding-hope-in-suffering/
[3] Eugene Peterson, Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life At Its Best.