“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 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 5:1-12

“But let’s be clear — or at least pay attention to the fact that Matthew is quite clear — Jesus isn’t (setting) up conditions or terms but rather is just plain blessing people. All kinds of people. All kinds of down-and-out, extremely vulnerable, and at the bottom of the ladder people. Why? To proclaim that God regularly shows up in mercy and blessing just where you least expect God to be — with the poor rather than the rich, those who are mourning rather than celebrating, the meek and the peacemakers rather than the strong and victorious. This is not where citizens of the ancient world look for God and, quite frankly, it’s not where citizens of our own world do either. If God shows up here, Jesus is saying, blessing the weak and the vulnerable, then God will be everywhere, showering all creation and its inhabitants with blessing.” (David Lose, Dear Working Preacher, God Bless You, January 23, 2011)

All Saint’s Sunday, no matter how we dress it up, is a Sunday about death. We lift up and remember the lives of friends, loved ones, and family members who have left this earthly plain – who have died. But we do not celebrate death so much as we celebrate life. And yet, these Saints are dead. Some died quickly – suddenly – without any warning. Some followed a long, slow decline that seemed to take a lifetime and was as much torture for the loved ones as for the one dying. No matter how they died, their flesh has been destroyed – but their influence on our lives…lives on. They were mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends and church members.
In his article titled “Grief Without Stages” Thomas Long writes:

“When someone dies the plot threads unravel, the narrative shatters, and those of us who are part of the story “go to pieces”. The work of grief is to gather the fragments and to rewrite the narrative, this time minus a treasured presence. But we do not do this alone. In the wilderness of grief G-d provides narrative manna….and sends the comforter.”

His point? Sometimes our grief comes in stages, like the famous Dr. Kubler-Ross predicted – Denial, Anger, Bargaining and the like. Other times it comes in waves – and we only manage to navigate those waters with the help of the Holy Spirit. As you think about the person you have lost this year, or recently, or at any time, is this how you felt – like everything had unraveled, or like you had gone to pieces? How did you “gather together the fragments” to rewrite your life’s narrative? And did you find comfort through the presence of the Holy Spirit? Did you find that G-d helped you make sense of it all through others who came to bear the presence of Christ in your life?

Today forces us to take responsibility for the reality that life marches forward, not backward. We are born, we live, we grow old, and we die. Sometimes that chain is broken somewhere along the line: “We are born, and we die. Or, we are born, we live, and we die. Or even, we die before we are born.” In other words, sometimes growing old isn’t a possibility. It is because death is so relentless that we need All Saints Sunday. It is necessary to remind us that, though our society wants to keep death and decay out of sight, the more we keep death and the process of dying hidden, the harder it will be to be “incarnated” with them – and the less we might appreciate the “Incarnation of G-d” – Jesus the Christ – who came into this world in a bloody, incarnated birth – and left it in a bloody, incarnated death.

To be incarnated with the dying is to be present with them – to sit with them, be with them, and not to avoid them. And we do the same with the family of the dead and dying – we sit with them, we simply are present with them, and we do not avoid them. And yes, this will not always be easy, but it will bring us countless blessings. Just as we were blessed with the lives of these people, and the countless ones who have also passed on – we have been blessed to have lived, walked with, loved, and been incarnated with these Saints. They may be gone, but we have opportunities, in this life, opportunities to live into G-d’s blessings. Opportunities we do not want to squander…

In Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town”, Simon Stimson, the town drunk appears and speaks from the dead – this is what he says about his human existence: “…That’s what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; To spend and waste time as though you had a million years.”
Today we remember we do not have a million years to live. So, instead we lift up the countless blessings G-d has blessed each one of us with in this life: We are blessed with family, church family, friends, and loved ones.

Pastor Dave