Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12
.jpg) |
| All Saints |
I remember a story I heard from a priest long ago. He told the story of when he was at seminary and the beautiful, historic chapel there. He said inside the chapel were big stained glass windows, gothic arches, & much religious art including statues of various saints.
And week after week, month after month, even a couple of years, he attended services in this chapel.
And then one day, he happened to notice the feet on one of the statues. They were wearing sandals, probably Birkenstocks. But that’s not why he noticed their feet. The saint statue had six toes on each foot! What, what? At first he thought the artist must have made a gross anatomical error. But then he noticed that each saint statue had six toes!
And then it hit him. The artist who made the statues was making a theological statement.
What was the artist trying to say?
The artist was saying, the saints are not perfect!
The saints were ordinary people, who did extraordinary things. Someone with an exceptional degree of holiness. Someone to emulate.
Being that we Anglican / Episcopalians take our traditions from the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox heritage, we have literally hundreds of saints and official days that we honor them.
However, some denominations do not celebrate the saints. In fact, for many denominations, today is known as Reformation Day. For example, the UCC, my former denomination did not celebrate All Saints Day. And I really missed the saints!
So, who is your favorite saint? Or patron saint?
And yes, every religion in the word has their saints! They are just known by different words. In Hinduism, a saint is a “rishi” or a guru. Judaism has saints, so does Buddhism.
In Christianity, the first “saints”, or rather, those who were later deemed “saints” were the martyrs, those who were killed for their faith. By the 3rd century and forward, relics of these martyr / saints became holy objects. And the places where they were killed or buried were believed to be especially holy…sacred ground.
There seems to be a correlation between death and holiness.
Once we have lost a few loved ones, cemeteries and their sacredness take on a whole new meaning. The graves of our loved ones who have passed on… we are walking on hallowed ground.
Which then leads us to All Souls Day. I think it is no coincidence that both All Saints and All Souls Day are back to back.
The celebration of the saints and remembering the dead are in other religions and cultures as well, and on these very same few days!
In ancient Rome, there was the Lemuria festival, where the Romans practiced certain rites and rituals to expel evil and malevolent spirits that were believed to visit during this time of year.
And over in the British isles, there is Samhain, (pronounced Sah-win), a Gaelic & Celtic festival that marks the end of the harvest season, and the beginning of the darker half of fall, which begins on Oct 31st at sunset.
In Mexican culture, we have Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
 |
| The Catrinas |
Have you ever seen or been to Dia de Los Muertos celebration? Families will create a home altar of flowers, pictures, candles and the favorite foods and candies of their dead loved ones.
Why? It is believed the spirits of the dead return to visit at midnight on OCT 31st. Then on NOV 2nd, in many Mexican villages, there will be processional throughout the town or village to the cemetery. And there many people will be, with food, music, mariachis play, the priest gives a mass. And the spirits of the dead return to their graves.
The love ones who have passed on are honored and remembered. And for the dead, they know they are still loved and not forgotten.
Interestingly there are many other similar traditions around the world all on these same three days!
Is all this just a grand coincidence? It does make one wonder!
But why Oct 31st, NOV 1st & 2nd?
Well, as with most holidays, “holy days”, it has to do with the seasons of the year.
Oct 31st – NOV 2nd is the midway point between the Autumnal Equinox and Winter Solstice. It is the journey into “darkness”, from NOV 2nd to the shortest day of the year, DEC 21st, (that is in the northern hemisphere). The days get shorter and shorter, colder & colder, & the nights longer. The leaves have fallen, the plants and trees go dormant.
To the ancients, it certainly must have looked like the earth was going into a sort of giant death!
We don’t see the drastic changes so much here in Arizona in the warm climate of the desert. As well, as we don’t have daylight savings time here, the shorter days are not so pronounced. But in other states, wow! It gets dark by 4 pm or earlier!
But are all the saints people from the past, and long dead and gone? Or do we have saints in the here and now, right here among us?
Oh, I think we do! And I am sure many of you right now can think of someone who is a modern day saint, or …has “saint-like” qualities.
A few years back I met a lady who shall remain nameless, as she would probably die of embarrassment that I am speaking about her. She created and ran an animal rescue organization, and I adopted one of my dogs from her.
A few years later, I adopted another dog from her animal rescue organization. This second time around, we got talking.
I asked her how she got into the animal rescue business, and she told me her story. She was stricken with cancer, and survived it twice. The second time around, she made a promise to God that if she lived, she would do something to help animals. She survived.
And so she started her animal rescue organization. She has rescued, saved, helped, etc. and has found homes for literally hundreds of dogs.
I listened to her story, spellbound. She described herself as a rescuer. I shared with her that I was in the Air National Guard, and in a “Rescue” unit.
She asked what I did in the military. I sighed. I hoped she would not think I was going to push religion on her. I told her I was a chaplain. She asked what faith I was. I told her I was an Episcopal priest.
She responded, “You’re a priest? My dad was an Episcopal priest!”
Her work saving animals was / is her ministry.
Yes, all of us know a modern day saint or two. Think of them right now. Especially think of them, as the world tends to overemphasize the negative.
Yes, we especially need positive thoughts. And the saints. Ordinary people, who do extraordinary things…
“A saint is always someone through whom we catch a glimpse of what God is like”.
Let us pray…
O Almighty God, who by thy Holy Spirit hast made us one with thy saints in heaven and on earth: Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may ever be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and may know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness to thy power and mercy. We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who liveth and reigneth forever and ever.
Amen.
[Sermon given by The Rev. Laura Adelia, NOV 2nd, 2014]
No comments:
Post a Comment