Perry Kingman, rector of Church of the Reconciliation in
Webster MA, soon to celebrate 33 years as a parish priest.
CHURCH OF THE RECONCILIATION
WEBSTER, MASSACHUSETTS
THE SUNDAY AFTER ALL SAINTS DAY
NOVEMBER 5, 2000
This past Tuesday night was a quiet Hallowe’en at our house. I think it was
because of the wet and cold weather that we had many fewer trick or treaters
at our door than in years past. We have a lot of candy left over. Yet a
quiet Hallowe’en is a good thing. For Christians we must always put more
energy into All Hallows, All Saints, the day that follows. All Saints is
such a wonderful and victorious and loving celebration that the Church allows
us to celebrate on the Sunday that follows, as we are doing today. All
Saints is the day of victory for the simple and quiet folk who are the
regular Christians of the church. It is not just the famous saints in the
Bible and down through the centuries like St. Francis or even Mother Teresa
who are called to glory; all Christians share equally in God’s glory. We
celebrate today that each and every Christian person at the moment of his or
her death crosses over into glory as a gift to them from the love of God.
Our loved ones who have gone before us are at this very moment gloriously
alive and feasting at the heavenly Table with God, just as we feast at that
same table with Him here today. We are also celebrating that God calls us--
that is you and me-- also to be saints and we too will someday sooner or
later live in the full glory of God.
All Saints is one of the four days in the church year when the Church asks us
to do Baptisms if possible. We are delighted that this morning we will be
baptizing two infants into the Kingdom of God. In a few minutes Talia Gould
and Collin Mulcahy will themselves be touched by God in baptism and become
saints. God in His love will give to them His promise of hope and victory
and glory. We will promise ourselves to be saints to them, to help them to
discover as they grow the wonderful care and support of new life in Christ.
As they become members of the company of the saints, we who are already
called to be saints promise to let God’s light shine through us. Saints are,
after all, the people in the stained glass windows who let the light shine
in.
This parish is full of saints-- persons called by God to let the light shine
through us into the world around us. Oh yes, we are sinners too, weak and
very human. Yet we are saints because we have been touched by God.
On All Saints Day we think about the persons we love who have passed on
before us. We think about the love of our parents; church school teachers we
have known along the way; fellow members of this church or other churches
that we have known and loved. We realize that God uses ordinary folk to pass
on His light and love.
On All Saints our first reading comes from Ecclesiasticus, a book found in
the Apocrypha, a wisdom book added to the OT and included in the canon of the
Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches. I will always remember this passage
with affection. When I was in Williams College, I sang in the chapel choir.
One day when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King himself came to preach we sang
this text to music by Ralph Vaughan-Williams. I am certain that Dr. King is
the greatest Christian prophet and preacher that I will ever have the
privilege of hearing in person. Dr. King is a Christian saint that our
nation will long remember. But this passage says that there are other folk
of God whom have died without a memorial. But their name lives on generation
after generation because God remembers them and gives them glory. All Saints
is the day of victory of the regular bald-headed Christian as well as those
with hair. Every Christian is called to incredible and wondrous glory. To
these ranks today we will add Talia and Collin.
During the year we don’t have many Bible readings from the Book of
Revelation, but on All Saints we do. Again we are told that God has a
special place around His throne for all of those who are sealed on their
foreheads-- a great multitude that no one could count. "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." Those who suffered the pain of living a life of love in this world
will have all of their sorrows removed by God Himself. That is the promise.
Our Gospel are the Beatitudes from Matthew’s Gospel: "Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." Those who walk the
way of love here will find themselves blessed by strength and glory far
beyond anything they would have ever expected. When God makes us saints we
become part of Christ’s victory which overcomes all of the weakness, despair,
and pain of life.
On this All Saints Day my prayer is that each one of us will claim more
courage and power as a saint. You and I are called to be persons through
whom the light of love shines. We are called to discover in others the image
of God and to help that image to grow and blossom in that person. It is a
wonderful journey. We are called to live each day here as persons who know
that glory lies ahead. Some day your name and mine will be on our parish’s
list of saints. That is not morbid-- it is glorious!!
Listen to what Deacon Donna says when she gives the baptismal candle to Talia
and to Collin. "Receive the Light of Christ as a sign that on the last day
you will stand with all the saints to welcome Christ the bridegroom." God
is making saints this morning. Now let us go on with the service so that God
can do it.