All Saints Day 2024

All Saints Day 2024
Rev. Dr. Chris Hensley
November 3rd, 2024
Isaiah 25:6-9 & John 22:32-44

There is a saying whose roots are difficult to nail down. Some attribute the saying to ancient Judaism, others to ancient Native American or Latin American tribes or cultures. It can also be found in more recent, relatively speaking, authors and thinkers writings, including Hemmingway and Eagleman. It has even been at the core of some children’s media, specifically in the Disney/Pixar movie Coco which deals with the Day of the Dead in Latin American cultures. The goes something like this, “Everyone experiences two deaths, the first when our physical bodies die, and the second is when our name is uttered for the final time.”

Regardless of the origins of this quote, there is a deep profoundness in this idea. Throughout human history as well as literature, individuals have sought to be remembered, achieving a form of immortality, beyond their lifetime. There have also been stories of individuals seeking some form of immortality in the traditional sense with legends of things like the Fountain of Youth or some interpretations of the Holy Grail.

A more common method of dealing with our finitude as human beings has been to lean into religious traditions which teach of an afterlife. Whether it is the idea of heaven prevalent within Christianity, Sheol, or the place of the dead, in ancient Judaism, reincarnation found in Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, or other traditions, the spirit world of some Native American tribes known as Wakan Tanka, or the Summerland of modern pagan traditions such as Wicca. I share this to remind us that the afterlife and death has been a looming idea within the collected human experience since time immemorial. It is understood that our existence in the here and now is limited, so, what comes next? That is a question which has plagued the minds of human beings of all nations, creeds, religious traditions – or no traditions – socio-economic standing, political persuasion, and power or influence. The truth is, death comes for us all, so what do we make of this reality?
I thought it appropriate to draw from two passages presented in the lectionary for today, one from the Hebrew Bible and one from the Christian Testament. Both dealing with this very real question from the standpoint of individuals belonging to the larger Abrahamic traditions. Our first reading, coming from Isaiah, offers to us a brief word from the prophet regarding the work of God in the face of human frailty and finitude. Isaiah declares that God will offer a triumphal feast for all peoples, note the inclusive language here in the prophet. Further, God will then eliminate death, this covering which lies heavily upon the people of the world, that dark veil which casts uncertainty upon the hearts of people. God will offer redemption or salvation from the pain of death which exists and hangs over the heads of all people. This, of course, is a coronation festival at the beginning of the reign of God in the Kin-dom of God at the time of the recreation of all things for the prophet Isaiah.

The purpose here is to say that this dark and dreadful thing, death, is no more, our weeping and sorrow associated with death is comforted and turned to feasting and celebration. Isaiah, according to the Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, takes a “leap of faith” in his inclusion of all people regardless of background. God’s covenantal mercy is for all.

Turning then to the Gospel reading in John, this passage holds the shortest verse in the Christian scriptures, often rendered, “Jesus wept.” We have here the man who, according to orthodox Christian theology and Christology is God in flesh, weeping at the graveside of another man whom Jesus considered a friend. The Christian minister in me must pause here and point out the lengths to which God was willing to go to experience the holistic human condition, from weeping at the grave of a friend to experiencing the shame and pain associated with the cruel device of torture and execution that is the cross. The hospice chaplain in me must then point out the intentionality of the Gospel author of including the phrase, “Jesus wept.” Tears are appropriate and bring healing at times in our lives, they are an appropriate, human response to grief and pain.

The tears of Jesus, though, while appropriate and meaningful and important in giving us permission to weep, are not the end of the story. The passage continues and we see that Jesus miraculously raises his dead friend to new life. As I said last week, you make of this what you will. The greater meaning is that there is hope beyond death, there is appropriateness in our weeping, there is intentionality in our remembering those who have passed on before us.

To close, as a practical theologian I like to consider how these texts are relevant to our experience in the here and now; let us remember the dead in our own ways, calling on their names until our name is called as well. Let us weep at the grave, let us celebrate with feasting, let us sing raises to the God whose prophets make leaps of faith to include all people in the celebration at the dawning of a new Kin-dom wherein all are welcomed to the table and our tears are dried and we see, face-to-face the saints whose names have been called home before us, with us, and after us.