+In the Name…
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
All Saints Day (or the Solemnity of it which we celebrate today) is such a gloriously happy occasion! I very much look forward to it (especially this year!), as I hope you do because it a day in the life of the Church when we find so much for which we are to be happy, encouraged, and inspired.
There is a twofold purpose to this day in light of Church history. The first coming from Pope Gregory III in 741 that because the very large number of martyrs and saints could not be accorded the honor of a special festival since the days of the year would not suffice for all these individual celebrations. The Church calendar ran out of room for those worthy of commemoration. The second purpose was given by Pope Urban IV, that any negligence, omission, and irreverence committed in the celebration of the saints’ feasts throughout the year was to be atoned for by the faithful, and thus due honor could still be offered to these saints.
For us here in this part of the Body of Christ, we can rejoice and affirm that the fullness of living out the Christian life and the devotion the Lord deserves is possible by human beings and was accomplished in many Christian lives throughout history. In other words, what the Gospel and the writings of the Apostles call for from disciples of Jesus Christ can be done and has been done by men and women throughout the ages. If others could do it, so can we. The Roman Catholic Church is soon to say that this was so in the life of John Henry Newman, one of the great leaders of the Oxford Movement when he was a priest in the Church of England, and for what followed until the end of his life.
Secondly, we rejoice today and every day as well that we are surrounded (in the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews) by “so great a cloud of witnesses.” That being the reality, we are to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and….run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:1-2)
Thirdly, we are to realize that saints don’t magically appear out of thin air, but are forged in and through the life of the Church, especially in times of persecution, difficulty, and challenge. There many been many such saints in times past, known and unknown, and there are yet unrecognized and declared saints in our time who are pressing on towards the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Their work is not finished. As we heard in the first reading from the Book of Ecclesiasticus, “There are some of them who have a name, so that men declare their praise. And there are some who have no memorial who have perished as though they had not lived.” The Church of the Good Shepherd is to always be a training ground and a launch pad for saints. Who but God knows what the destiny is for any of us? Our task to be His with all the heart, soul, and strength, and to heed the history changing words of Pope John Paul II, “Have no fear.”
Lastly, we (and I personally get much strength from this reality) being surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses and having St. John the Divine share his vision of heaven in the Book of Revelation that “a great multitude which no man can number” stands before the throne of the Father and before the Lamb as members of the Church Triumphant, we of the Church militant can rejoice that those who are for us vastly out-number those who are against us. Knowing this allows us to relax a bit, and breathe easier. The saints are cheering us on, and we can go to them in prayer seeking their prayers for us as we press on.
As Dr. J.V. Langmead Casserley, my beloved professor of philosophical theology in seminary said, and I quote him at length to conclude this sermon,
“The unity which Christians have in Christ is, like Christ himself, stronger than death. There is a communion, a common life in the presence of God, enjoyed by all those in whose lives the Spirit of God is openly working in the name of Christ. In time things happen one after another, the generations succeed each other in turn, so that some men are dead before others are born. But we must not suppose that this successiveness, because it is a law of time, is also a universal law which governs the whole realm of being. In a deep sense it is true to say that in the presence of God past, present, and future stand side by side. He is God not of the dead but of the living, for all live unto Him. In the last resort we all contemporaries. Ancient and modern touch and find fellowship in eternity. So it is that Christians remember the departed, their elder brethren, in their prayers on earth, knowing that they themselves are likewise remembered in the prayers of heaven. To believe in the Communion of Saints, in the deathless fellowship of those who know the sanctifying touch of the Spirit, is to affirm the paradox that the Church is greater than the world which apparently contains it” (No Faith Of My Own, p. 86).
So to affirm this and to reach out to a few of our contemporaries, I say:
Holy Mary, pray that we may say daily, “Be it unto me according to thy Word.”
Holy Michael Archangel, defend us in the day of battle. Be Thou our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
Holy Peter, pray that we seek forgiveness when we deny Jesus.
Holy Paul, pray that we be integral parts of the Body of Christ.
Holy Andrew, pray that we bring others to Jesus.
+In the Name…. |
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