All Saints
November 5, 2023
Year A; All Saints Day
Revelation 7: 9-17
Psalm 34: 1-10, 22
Matthew 5: 1-12
Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Homily by Rev. Megan Limburg
Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our
hearts be acceptable in your sight,
O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
The lighted road work sign would typically hold a familiar message:
“Caution: One-lane road ahead.”
“Alert: Accident at exit 80.”
“Caution: Work zone ahead.”
But this sign was startling in its message:
“Hold your loved ones tight and help others.”
This light shining in the darkness was on Lisbon Street in Lewiston Maine, offering comfort to a deeply grieving town after a mass shooting there October 25th killed 18 people.
We did not know those 18 folks, ages 14 to 76, but we need to hear their names, to somehow in the cosmic community of humans all over this earth, that our shock, our care, our prayers, ease their loved one’s burdens just a tiny little bit, allows them to take a breath.
We need to know that others grieve with us. In our exhaustingly fast paced world, when we can truly not process one tragedy before another happens, we need to still remember, to pause, to stop, to not rush on. To hear their names and pray for their loved ones.
Ron Morin
Peyton Brewer-Ross
Joshua Seal
Bryan MacFarlane
Joseph Walker
Arthur Strout
Maxx Hathaway
Stephen Vozzella
Thomas Conrad
Michael Deslauriers II
Jason Walker
Tricia Asselin
William Young
Aaron Young
Robert Violette
Lucille Violette
William Brackett
Keith MacNeir
Today is all Saints Day, when we remember folks in our lives who have died.
And we have lists of names.
I am always touched, and must slow down as I receive names for our list today. Some come with just names, some come with fragments of stories, “our old neighbor”, “a friend from high school”, and some I know, and some I did their funerals.
I love the Episcopal Church for many reasons, and it drives me crazy for others, but today, one of the reasons I love it is to officially have a day for the church community to remember together, to say we have not forgotten a year later, a month later, a week past a death.
We say to one another, I remember too, you are not alone, with the grief that does not wash off in a month or two.
The sign flashes in the darkness: “Hold your loved ones Tight and Help Others.”
Our gospel reading today is known as the Beatitudes, the opening of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and occurs early in his ministry on earth, not long after his baptism.
The word blessed in English may lead us to hear “blessed are the poor in spirit” as fortunate are the poor in spirit, even lucky are the poor in spirit.
But the word blessed might be better understood, when we see the Beatitudes through the lens Jesus saw as he preached and taught, teaching on the pattern of Psalm 1, familiar to him, that also starts with the word blessed. And that word is better translated from the Hebrew, not as lucky or fortunate, but blessed as: “to find the right path”. (Feasting on the Word, Year A, Volume 4, page 238)
Sounds very different then:
You are on the right path the poor in spirit
You are on the right path those who mourn
You are on the right path the meek
You are on the right path the merciful
We can hear the journey we are called to as Christians in Jesus’ words, calling us to a journey of faithfulness, a journey of growing and changing and moving closer to our brother Jesus each day of our lives.
Growing as those who allow the pain of grief in our hearts, growing in our faith as those who are meek, are merciful, are peacemakers. And as those who know they don’t have it all figured out, as those who are poor in spirit, and need to lean on God, all our lives.
You are on the right road, you are blessed, to care that much, to hurt with others, to not turn away, to not go numb with yet another mass shooting but hear the names and grieve with them.
Another reason I love the Episcopal Church and am glad we celebrate All Saints each year, is that this day invites us to picture here with us, right now, what is always called “that great cloud of witnesses”, the glorious saints and the everyday saints too, surrounding us.
Teresa of Avila right next to your favorite teacher from elementary school, all of those saints always with us, but especially so on this day, all saints cheering us on as we are weary, as we worry, as we are heartbroken.
Take just a moment to think of and then picture one of the saints of God in your life, and then maybe picture them here! Maybe sitting by you or looking in the window or flying in the rafters!
And suddenly we are not alone, this space overflows with the saints of God, hope and light and love and patience and bravery and joy.
We need one another, all over this world, we need to work as Christians, we need to take and be the right path in our war-torn, gun-shocked, exhausted, fearful world, we need to be the those who mourn and with those who mourn, to be the peacemakers, the merciful. The saints of God.
The light shines on the dark street.
“Hold your loved ones tight and help others.”
Amen.