The Gift of Remembrance — All Saints' Sunday
“For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” — Revelation 7:9-17
One of our central feasts of the year is this Sunday. All Saints is a great gathering of remembrance and naming. We baptize children into the faith. We read the names of those we have lost in the past year. We use the great gift of beautiful music to create a space for remembering. To be a community of remembrance is central to the task of Christian witness. We are literally knit back together as a cloud of witnesses — remembering those who have come before us and those who will follow us.
This ability to name our connection to something eternal is a gift in our tradition. It allows perspective about our own placement in time. We can inhabit the joys and concerns of this time, knowing that this is overlaid with the solace of something that is outside of time. The vision we see from Revelation is one that points us toward the gift of worship. To imagine those we’ve loved now in a posture of worship, with all challenges resolved, and grief acknowledged and healed is beautiful. I am particularly grateful for the image of God wiping away our tears. It is not that our tears or griefs do not happen. It is rather that our sadness is deeply accompanied by holy presence.
Through the years, the reading of the names of those we’ve lost in the past year is deeply moving. It is a way to remember as a community and gather individual losses into a more collective act of common worship. We all have deeply unique lives, but those lives also deeply impact our community life. To say those names in the context of our celebration of Holy Eucharist is to ground that meal in an awareness of the communion of saints. Maybe you will come this year to hear a particular name. Maybe you will be there to be reminded of who we have lost this past year. Maybe those names will evoke other saints in your life. Maybe you will be there primarily to celebrate the gift of a young child being named in community through baptism. Whatever the reason, I hope you come. To be gathered in community is a gift. And to remember with one another is a place that always leads me to gratitude in worship.
Peace, Beth+
