Remembrance: All Saints' Day

On this day, we gather to remember all those who have gone before us, all those who in some way contributed to the life we live and the world we live in. All those who know, better than we can ever know, the meaning of St. Paul’s words: “If we live we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

We pray for the saints or martyrs because they lived as lives already in God’s eternal presence. “Martyr” means witness. Their lives are a witness to us of the nature of eternity itself, and how knowing the nature and shape of eternity can shape the way we live our lives as a witness to the power of Christ in our lives here and now! So it is that Jesus offers a glimpse of what eternal life is like in the Beatitudes. Notice the present tense, for the poor—the kingdom IS theirs. It is theirs now—not later. Christianity is not a religion about the “ever after.”

We also remember today those who are not known in the wider fellowship of the faithful, but are remembered in the more intimate circles of family and friends. These parents, siblings, spouses, children, friends are the ones we remember today.

Our Gospel today is the Beatitudes, which proclaim the great reversal destined for all who hunger while others rejoice. These passages are troubling reminders that we live in an unjust world where those who cry out for justice are often mocked and dismissed as unrealistic or trouble makers. Sainthood is not just for “nice” people, it is for those who have labored for justice and peace for all people, often with ridicule being their only earthly reward. The saints seek to serve their God who demands justice and righteousness between all people of the world.

Saints are courageous because they insist on not letting hatred and evil gain control of them. Saints are faithful because they know without trust in God they are weak and subject to whatever befalls them. Today the Church exists because they persevered, and the Church invites each of us to join their joyful company.

Today is a day to recall people who have gone before us, patriarchs, prophets, and pilgrims, who were disciples in their own times. Some we know by name, others remain known only to God. Even so, as the author of Ecclesiasticus reminds us, “Their posterity will continue forever, and their glory will not be blotted out”.

Saints are people who know something profound about love, that suffering is connected with it. They learn the path of sainthood is not one of accolades but accusations. They demand change because they want people to know more about God than others can stand to have revealed. They challenge governments and leaders who exploit others. They work to bring justice to those who are ground down by injustice. And in their dedicated work, they are jailed, beaten, maligned, and sometimes murdered.

On this day we celebrate them all, knowing that God adds to their number all the time.

This is why we pray for the dead—all the dead. They all know the truth of eternity. They knew it in this life and lived accordingly. They are those people who lived and cried for eternity before the grave. They did this for themselves and, most importantly, on behalf of others.

And as we pray for the dead, may we remember that they are living still. And that our prayers for the dead are, at the end of the day, prayers for ourselves as well. Prayers that we will remember who we are and whose we are and live our lives accordingly.

So today, as we join in the celebration of the saints, give thanks to God who calls them throughout the world. Rejoice in naming them and honoring those whom we know not by name. Most of all, pray that God may instill in each of us a measure of their glory and goodness and ask that, God helping, we might be one too.

Priests are frequently asked the question, “Why do we pray for the dead? They’re dead, so why do they need our prayers?”

Of course the most direct and simple answer to that question is that they are not dead. We are the people who believe in the truth of the resurrection and that life is changed not ended. Those who go on before us are even now living a life in the total presence of the God who sends us here and one day will call us home to gather us with all our ancestors who have gone before us. So we continue to pray for those for whom life has not ended, but has been changed. They are living still and we pray for their ongoing witness in a life lived in God’s eternal presence.

We also pray for them because praying for the dead is another way of praying for ourselves. Today we pray for the dead so that we can remember what it means to be baptized: to live our lives in God’s eternal presence, and like Jesus who calls us to walk in God’s eternal presence, we are to bring this eternal life to others.

Today, as we remember those who have gone on before us to meet with Jesus, may we also remember who it is God calls us to be: unique witnesses for the Lord in this place. For whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. The One from whom we come and the One to whom we shall return. Amen.