All Saints’ Day A

[RCL] Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12 Remember what happened in 2016? No, not that. The Cubs won the World Series. Dr. Thomas G. Long, preaching professor at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, loves to describe the complexities of Biblical studies and church life through baseball. He puts…

[RCL] Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12 Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, one of the principal feasts in the life of the church. All Saints’ is a day when we recall the enduring beauty of the faithful, both living and departed, and when we profess that, somehow, we…

When we hear Jesus’ beatitudes, what do we think? Maybe, we think, “Wow, these are the most beautiful words I have ever heard.” We may think, “Wow, these are beautiful words, but like so many beautiful words, they’re fanciful, and they can’t really be followed in the real world.” We may think, “Wow, these are…

“Glory to God and praise and love / be now and ever given / by saints below and saints above, / the Church in earth and heaven.” So concludes Charles Wesley’s venerable hymn, “O for a thousand tongues to sing.” The hallowed vision of saints robed in white, genuflecting and joining together in a chorus…

In North Carolina, there is a parish called the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion: the Churches of the Frescoes. The parish has two worship spaces: St. Mary’s in West Jefferson, and Holy Trinity in Glendale Springs. The North Carolina artist, Ben Long, painted several frescoes between the two churches depicting an expectant Mary, John…

Another Halloween has come and gone, and how well did we do in making it All Saints’ Eve? What did we notice as the little ones with smiley faces gave cheery “Trick or Treat” greetings? Beyond the joy of giving out candy, how many of us kept track of the costumes the children wore? It…