Sunday 3 November 2024
When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” (v. 43)
Background
Today has been designated 'All Saints Sunday' and many of our churches will be spending some time remembering loved ones who have died. Although Paul tells us that, in Christ, death has lost its sting, in the reality of human experience the sting does remain sharp. It is important to acknowledge that real human experience. It would be quite common, on this day, for us to sing William Walsham How’s hymn ‘For all the saints' (Singing the Faith 745), with its triumphant stanzas depicting the saints streaming into the closer presence of God. I hope that some of us will also sing John Bell and Graham Maule’s hymn (Singing the Faith 746 – see below) with its counterpoint imagery of faith, grace and gratitude. We need both themes as we reflect upon the lives and loves that we have shared and lost a while.
The original intention of All Saints Day, when it was instituted in the 4th century, was to remember all those who had been martyred for the faith. As the festival developed down the ages it became a day on which to remember especially those for whom there was no other designated feast day. In our egalitarian Methodist way, we have in recent years conflated All Saints Day and All Souls Day to create an occasion upon which we remember and celebrate the lives of the ‘big’ saints alongside the ‘ordinary’ people of God who have lived the kind of faithful lives to which we can aspire.
Many of us will be able to name a famous saint and tell stories of their amazing feats and daring do’s. They are those of whom John Bunyan would have us sing – people who are not daunted by hobgoblins, frightened by lions or defeated by giants ('Who would true valour see' Singing the Faith 486).
Worthy as they are, however, we probably don’t have much affinity with these big saints. When we light a candle in memory of our loved ones then that is another thing altogether. I do not aspire to the kind of Christian heroism which shall lead to my being canonised by the Pope, but I do hope to serve my God faithfully in all things that are given me to do. In this, therefore, I am less enthusiastic in becoming the next Maximilian Kolbe or Oscar Romero, because I am not that brave. I can though, with a little bit of effort, emulate Mrs Baker who was my first Sunday School teacher, who shared her journey with me, who loved me into believing and who today rests in the closer presence of God.
If the loss you remember today is still sharp and still stings, then remember those other words of Paul in which he reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God made known in Jesus. (Romans 8)
To Ponder:
- Who do you remember today? Hold a moment of quiet, light a candle, view a photograph, hold them in your heart and mind. Give thanks to God that they have been a part of your life. Think about the highlights of your journey together. How have they helped you with the challenges of daily living?
- Which of the ‘historic’ saints do you find inspiring? How does recalling their story help the Church today in its mission and ministry?
Prayer
For all the saints who showed your love
in how they lived and where they moved,
for mindful women, caring men,
accept our gratitude again.
Amen.
(John L. Bell and Graham Maule Singing the Faith, 746 verse 1)
Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Adrian Burdon
Adrian Burdon is Superintendent Minister of the Telford Circuit in the Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury District. He has been a presbyter since 1988 and, in addition to Shropshire, has worked in the Oldham Circuit, on the Fylde coast, in Leeds city centre, the Northeast of England and as a mission partner in the South Pacific. Adrian is Chair of the CTBI Writing group which writes material for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and is Chair of the Connexional Liturgy and Worship Subcommittee of the Faith and Order Committee.