All Saints’ Day B

[RCL] Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 or Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44 The Feast of All Saints invites us to look back. The Church has set this day apart for Christians to remember those who in their earthly labors were particularly shining examples of life in Christ and to celebrate those who in…

Winston Churchill, arguably one of the greatest political and military leaders of the 20thcentury, planned every detail of his funeral at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. He worked clandestinely with cathedral staff, under the code name “Operation-Hope-Not.” (That code name reveals a lot about humanity’s attitude toward death, doesn’t it?) One aspect of his funeral…

All Saints’ Day is one of the most underrated church holidays of the year. It is overshadowed by its more glamorous cousins, All Hallow’s Eve and Thanksgiving, similar to how Holy Saturday gets lost in Holy Week. But All Saints’ Day can bring us a unique blessing just as Holy Saturday does because they are…

“Lazarus, come out!” You can hear the sternness of Christ’s voice as he commands his servant with a loud voice, powerful enough to bridge the gap between life and death. Lazarus was not just some person living in the area whom Jesus had never met. Jesus knew Lazarus personally, and he loved him deeply. Lazarus…

Mary and Martha of Bethany are deep in shock and lost in grief for their brother Lazarus. The sisters had sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was ill. On receiving the message, Jesus had waited two long days. By the time he got to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days. “If you have ever…

“To each one of us Christ is saying, ‘If you want your life and mission to be fruitful like mine, do like me. Be converted into a seed that lets itself be buried. … Do not be afraid. Those who shun suffering will remain alone. No one is more alone than the selfish. But if…

In recent years Halloween seems to have needed defending against those who regard it as terrible. Certainly there can be excess at Halloween, but in itself the holiday is worthwhile. It can even teach us something of importance. Halloween is October 31, and All Saints’ is November 1, though many congregations celebrate All Saints’ on…

Let’s consider a picture appropriate to this day, the feast of all the saints. In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One feature of modern weddings are wedding photographs. In many churches, after the wedding service is complete, and the man and the woman are now husband and wife, and the congregation…

Fifty-three years ago, on All Saints’ Day, a requiem eucharist was celebrated for the Archbishop of Canterbury. To be sure, William Temple was one of the giants of Anglican Christianity in the twentieth century. During the thirty-five years between his ordination as deacon and his death at Lambeth Palace, Temple was a parish priest, headmaster…