Sunday, November 3, 2024
All Saints Sunday

The Challenge of the Saints 

The Rev. Mark D. Wilkinson, Rector
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Katy TX 77450 

Click here to watch the sermon

Today is a rare lesson in life and death. Yesterday we had a funeral for Linda Frauli and today we baptize 6 children as we celebrate All Saints and All Souls. That is the Alpha and Omega for us this morning. 

Trying to explain today’s All Saints service to those outside the church is an interesting exercise. We live in a death defying culture that is only now is just beginning through groups like hospice to put us back in touch with one the natural process that is the end of life, which is death.  Many in today’s world are completely removed from the passing of a loved one. Learning of the death through a doctor or nurse.  Then the body is removed by the funeral home and taken care of by strangers. I know one retirement home that locks the residents in their rooms and requires the funeral home to come after 10:00 p.m. in an unmarked van to remove a body. Other cultures do not do this and because of their closer connection to death would automatically understand the need for today’s service. When asked how long should it take a person to “get over” the death of a family member and return to work fully functional, most Americans in a recent poll stated that a week should be sufficient.  In light of that cultural norm, what we do here today makes no sense to many people. 

Yet today’s service makes all kinds of sense if we understand what it is we do today and every year on All Saints Sunday. In every funeral homily I give I always begin with the rubrics, the words of instruction, in the prayer book about funerals.  

The liturgy for the dead is an Easter liturgy. It finds all its meaning in the resurrection. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we, too, shall be raised. 

The liturgy, therefore, is characterized by joy, in the certainty that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

This joy, however, does not make human grief unchristian. The very love we have for each other in Christ brings deep sorrow when we are parted by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend. So, while we rejoice that one we love has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord, we sorrow in sympathy with those who mourn. BCP 

This is the heart of our theology about funerals and leads to our theology about, death, life after death and the Communion of Saints that we reference in the Apostles Creed which we will say at 10:30 when we baptize our newest member. (when we reaffirm our baptismal promises at 8:15) For it is the Communion of Saints that we celebrate today. 

So what does it mean in the Apostle’s Creed or the baptismal promises when we say, “I believe in the Communion of Saints,” for that is the essence of today’s service. 

To start with, we need to examine the word communion. The dictionary definition is the act of sharing or holding in common: association/fellowship. In this case the holding in common is Jesus, Jesus as the Christ, our Lord and Savior.  The communion is of all Christians. 

Saints in this context is an ancient concept. The first definition of saint in the dictionary is exactly what one would expect, those officially recognized historical figures that have been made saints by the Church. The second definition is the one that applies here. “A designation of some religious groups applied by the members to themselves.” So we are all saints under this definition. 

The Rev. John Wall in the New Dictionary for Episcopalians ii defines the Communion of Saints as “The doctrine that a spiritual union exists between Christ and all Christians living or dead; saint here is used in its original sense as meaning any baptized Christian.” The collect today says; “God has knit together in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord” all of us.  

The Communion though is about more than just the past, but it is about the present and the future as well. November 2 is All Souls Day where we celebrate the, is and is to come part of the Communion. It is also natural to then celebrate new life, new members on this day which is one of 4 designated days for baptism. So on this day as we remember the past we also look forward to the future. One of the ways we do this is with the baptism and if there is no baptism the congregation reaffirms their baptismal promises. 

I find myself really drawn to them this All Saints. We live in troubled, angry, divided times and to be honest I need this baptism today to remind myself that there is always new life, new hope for us all. For me the hope for the future in particular the future of the church and our country is in our baptismal promises. When asked what are my guiding principles in my life as a Christian these 5 promises are where I go for the answer.  

I also believe this is why it is critical that in the 1979 Prayer Book they added the rubric that baptisms were to be at a principal service on Sunday, not some little private ceremony. They added the question to the congregation after I ask the questions of the candidates for baptism or in this case their parents and God parents I turn to you the congregation and ask “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these person in their life in Christ.” And I expect an enthusiastic we will from all of you.  

You see baptism is not a box to be checked to make sure you get to heaven. That wasn’t even a consideration until St. Augustine invented the doctrine of original sin. Baptism is about becoming a member of the household of God here and now. It is about becoming a minister or as I now like to say disciple. What the church needs today is disciples, people who live and proclaim the gospel by word and deed. That is promise number three by the way. We need people who do more than just think about God for an hour a week. 

You see, we are all ministers in the Episcopal Church. It says that in the Catechism, you can look it up. I’m a priest, that’s my ministry. You all have a ministry because being a Christian is more than just showing up on Sunday. It’s a process of transformation and growing in our love and commitment to Christ. And that’s what the promises are about.  

I do think in today’s world there are two promises that are the most important ones for all of us going forward. Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself and the most important to me, “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” You will note there are no exceptions in these promises. It is all and every not some and a few  

If all Christian would truly live into the promises we are about to reaffirm, the world would be a much better place. I can’t to anything about anybody else but I can pattern my life in a way that lives these values. I urge you as you read these with me today to commit yourself to living out these promises at all times especially over the next few weeks in particular.  

Now before we welcome our 6 newest disciples let us take a moment to remember those who died since our last All Saints Day.