All Saints' Sunday, 2 November 2014
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
I John 3:1-3
St. Matthew 5:1-12
Background: All
Saints Day
The origin of this day is a bit murky, perhaps
originating in the Eastern Church, where it was observed in May, or the Sunday
after Pentecost. In 609, Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome
to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs. In the eighth century
celebrations of all the Saints emerged in England, celebrated principally on 1
November, which was brought to England either through the ministry of Egbert of
York, or perhaps from earlier celebrations either in Ireland or Gaul. It
is a day in which the Church celebrates saints living and departed, a
representation of the totality of the Body of Christ. The present
celebration in the Book of Common Prayer is classed as a Principal Feast, one
of seven. It is also a date on which is recommended the administration of
Holy Baptism.
Revelation 7:9-17
After this I, John,
looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They
cried out in a loud voice, saying,
"Salvation belongs
to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the
angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living
creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
singing,
"Amen! Blessing
and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our
God forever and ever! Amen.
"Then one of the
elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have
they come from? "I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows.
" Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great
ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.
For this reason they
are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no
more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat;
for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will
guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes."
Most likely written by someone other than the evangelist, John, many
suggestions have been made about the source of this book. The most interesting is, perhaps, Jayne
Massyngberde Ford’s suggestion that the bulk of the book, following the initial
chapters is a borrowing from the Baptist’s disciples. The first chapters suggest a “circuit rider”
writing to his many charges in Ephesus, Thyatira, etc. What is clear is that it is a message
directed to a church that is experiencing persecution and suffering. Other challenges face these readers,
primarily the pressure faced by all members of society in the Roman Empire as
they faced the demands of Roman social religion. None-the-less the author has a vision of a
people gathered under the majesty not of the emperor, but of another soter, another kyrios, Jesus Christ.
Immediately preceding this reading is the “Sealing of the 144,000” – a
symbolic number that multiplies the tribes of Israel by itself and magnifies it
by myriads. That sealing takes place on
earth, but the second vision has a different venue – heaven itself and the
throne of the Lamb. Who is gathered here? “A
great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and
peoples and languages.” It is the ideal that both Paul and Luke have
striven for (and to a certain extent the Isaiahs as well). All are gathered
here in spite of the “great ordeal”. The author attempts to pierce through the
present time and see the beatific vision – the continuous hymn sung by saints
and angels. This vision is connected to the history of Israel (hence the number
in the signing of the multitudes) and the second is the fruition of God’s
intention for all people.
Breaking open Revelation:
- Are Jews numbered among the saints? Why?
- Are you included amongst the 144,000? Why?
- Who is left out? Why?
Psalm 34:1-10, 22 Benedicam Dominum
I will bless the LORD at
all times; *
his praise shall ever
be in my mouth.
I will glory in the
LORD; *
let the humble hear and
rejoice.
Proclaim with me the
greatness of the LORD; *
let us exalt his Name
together.
I sought the LORD, and
he answered me *
and delivered me out of
all my terror.
Look upon him and be
radiant, *
and let not your faces
be ashamed.
I called in my
affliction and the LORD heard me *
and saved me from all
my troubles.
The angel of the LORD
encompasses those who fear him, *
and he will deliver
them.
Taste and see that the
LORD is good; *
happy are they who
trust in him!
Fear the LORD, you that
are his saints, *
for those who fear him
lack nothing.
The young lions lack
and suffer hunger, *
but those who seek the
LORD lack nothing that is good.
The LORD ransoms the
life of his servants, *
and none will be
punished who trust in him.
The ascription of this psalm is quite interesting, “For David, when he altered his good sense before Abimelech, who
banished him, and he went away.” You might want to check the incident to
which this ascription refers, I
Samuel 21:14, where David feigns madness in order to survive a difficult
situation. The remainder of the psalm comments on God’s presence in the midst
of every-day difficulty, “I sought the
Lord, and God answered me and delivered me out of all my terror.” That God
is constantly with us in a circumstances is a given in this psalm. And it highlights a dependency that we have
upon God presence, or his embassy through the angels, “The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear God.” This
however is more than an exercise in mental dependency. It hints at not only a
physical dependency, but at pleasure as well, “taste and see that the Lord is good.” The lions seem to suffer,
but those who are attached to God, “lack
nothing.” The verse that seems to connect this psalm with the celebrations
of this feast day is this, “The Lord
ransoms the life of God’s servants, and none will be punished who trust in God.”
Breaking open Psalm 34:
- How do you know God’s presence with you?
- How does that presence change life for you?
- How might you be God’s presence for someone else?
1 John 3:1-3
See what love the
Father has given us that we should be called children of God; and that is what
we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed.
What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will
see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as
he is pure.
The anonymity of I John forces us to focus only on its content and
themes. Written in opposition to some
kind of theological opponent, we can only glean from its argument that which
might be applicable to any Christian.
What is implied here is that Christians themselves seem to operate in
some kind of anonymity – “The reason that
the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” We might want to
ask, “Why should the world know us?” Perhaps so that it could see the love
evident in what Christians do, but that seems specious in our day and age. It is the stuff of saints, however. As we
either honor the saints of anonymity, or the blessed dead (All Souls’ Day) we might
begin to know Christ through them, or them through Christ. It sets a rigorous agendum for our life – to
be known through Christ. The purity and piety of our life is essence of Jesus’
own life.
Breaking open I John:
- What do you see when you look at yourself as a Christian?
- What do you think others see when they perceive you?
- How would like to be seen?
St. 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.
There is a part of me
that dreads this pericope. I much prefer
Luke’s version with its implicit blessings and curses. It seems much more grounded in the life we
know. However, Matthew had his reasons
for preserving these sayings in the manner in which he did. We need to follow
Matthew, in his mind, to Sinai, and to the spiritual refreshment that comes in
the wilderness. Here, apart from the crowds that gathered earlier, Jesus let’s the
disciples in on the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, we are to understand that a new law is
being promulgated on this mountain, a law that reaches deeply into ordinary
life. And what do we seek in life?
Happiness, makarios? This is not the
happiness of an emotional relationship but rather the life that is lived in
God. In that relationship mourning,
meekness, hunger and thirst, mercy, purity, peacemaking, and persecution all
take on a different kind of reality. These are all lived in a relationship not
only with God (we need to remind ourselves of the second part of the Law) but
also with others, and indeed with our selves.
The brackets of this new law, mourning and persecution, seem to form the
context in which Matthew’s church lived out meekness, mercy, purity, and all
the other the other niceties of Matthew’s beatitudes. How broadening is this,
as we think about living life, that our own graciousness (formed by God’s grace
to us) can be lived out in the midst of difficulty.
Breaking open the Gospel:
- What are your thoughts when you compare Matthew’s beatitudes
with those of Luke?
- How is your life bracketed by morning and persecution?
- How do you live a life of grace in the midst of your troubles?
After breaking open the
Word, you might want to pray the Collect for Sunday:
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and
fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so
to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may
come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love
you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and
reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Questions and comments copyright © 2014, Michael
T. Hiller
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