November 3, 2024 – The Feast of All Saints – May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.
As I have said before, I just love that phrase from our collect of the day today: “ineffable joys.” Ineffable, which means “too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.” I love it today especially because I feel ineffable joy, the change in the hour allowed me to sleep in an extra hour– thanks be to God!
And we have collective joy as a community because today we celebrate All Saints – a high Holy Day in which we remember those who passed on into the Saints Triumphant – that heavenly company of heaven that, together with us – the Saints Militant on earth, form the communion of Saints. And that is an Easter story…and there is nothing more wonderful, more joyous, more love filled, than resurrection – for the saints who went before us…and for the living saints we are! And it is an Easter story we hear today in the gospel.
In the Gospel of John read a moment ago, we heard the story of the one that Jesus loved – Lazarus. Now, I was raise Baptist, as you’all know, and because we did bible drills, had to memorize the books of the bible, and in particular, needed to be able to recite a passage by memory, this story was a fav, because back then we used the King James translation, and that meant that the part where it says “Jesus began to weep” was reduced to “Jesus wept.” The shortest verse in the entire bible. It was definitely the go-to verse for us kids in Vacation Bible School. But let’s look at the story itself.
Jesus arrives after the death of his beloved Lazarus, and he is greeted by one of the sisters of Lazarus, Mary. He is taken to the tomb. He tells them to roll away the stone, to which Martha, Lazarus’s other sister tells him that “There’s gonna be a stench, I mean Jesus, he’s been in there for days!” (okay, so I am paraphrasing here, but it is a classic line, right?). He has them roll away the stone, calls out to Lazarus to come out. And here is the best part – out of the tomb walks this guy, covered in cloth, like a modern day mummy movie.
What a great reading to have on All Saints, right? – the eve of which we call “All Holy Eve” or “All Hallows Eve,” otherwise known as…Halloween (All Saints Day actually being November 1st). So totally awesome reading for this day, right? Anyway, he comes out, and then Jesus does something we need to pay attention to…he gets others involved. He sends the crowd to unbind Lazarus.
First he has them roll away the stone, and then he has them unbind Lazarus – release him from the bondage of death in which they themselves enshrouded him. And through that miracle, new life is given to many who were there, as they followed Him.
Amidst all that is happening in the world today – this gospel is important for us to hear. Just last week, Lordy – can we just take a breathe and think about all the horrific rhetoric that we heard over the past week in the news? It started last Sunday night, on the Sabbath no less, the former President of the United States held a rally at Madison Square Garden that was reminiscent, likely intentionally so, of a pro-Nazi rally held in the same venue back in 1939. I say intentionally so, because the speakers that night echoed some of the same vile speech heard decades ago.
One, a senior advisor, shouted that “America is for Americans, and Americans only.” That will be good news for Native Tribal folks who probably would say “don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.” Another made a joke about Puerto Rico being an island of garbage, which certainly matches the former guy’s own description of America itself, except we know why Puerto Rico was singled out at that rally, don’t we.
The entire event was a hate fest – on the Lord’s day no less. As the New York Times put it, it was “a carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism.” It was also un-American. But more important for us to understand here today, it was un-Christian.
I mean, one of the speakers at this event even held a crucifix as he railed against Vice President Harris, calling her the devil and the “anti-Christ.” Seriously, he held a crucifix on a Sunday and waved it around like a weapon at a political rally. I mean, you couldn’t make this stuff up – it is just too sick, too horrible, for a normal person to even imagine.
The cross is a symbol of the brutality of empire against a people, and the victory of love over hate. This folks, is Christian Nationalism. As I have preached over and over again, and will until it is defeated, Christian Nationalism is antithetical to all that Jesus taught and is the biggest oxymoron of our time. Christian Nationalism is an attempt to align Jesus with empirical power – power that willingly abuses children of God, power that destroys God’s creation without regret.
And let’s be clear, this idea of a Christian Nation, well, it doesn’t include people like us – like those gathered here. This is a diverse congregation of people from all over the world, LGBTQ+ people, and folks from a variety of economic circumstances. That is NOT what Christian Nationalism seeks – because it is a white, straight, citizen only movement, in which only men are empowered to make decisions about their lives. And – It must be stopped. We must do everything we can to call it out as wholly against all that Jesus taught.
I may be just a simple priest, but I do know what being a follower of Jesus means – to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and imprisoned – or in other words, love one another as he loved us.
Love does not demean people from other countries.
Love does not allow women to bleed to death in hospital parking lots.
Love does not call for the execution of people who disagree with you.
Love does not hate, threaten, abuse, neglect, or deny the dignity of another.
Love weeps for the pain of others, not rejoice in their pain.
Love does not seek power to hurt, but only grace to heal.
And that brings us back to our gospel story today.
Because clearly there are still tombs in which the dead, or nearly dead, have been pushed. There are still people bound by neglect, indifference, poverty, homelessness, addiction, depression, and oppression. There is still a stench of bigotry, hate, and violence that permeates everywhere. Jesus is weeping now, to be sure.
So where is the good news in that?
The good news is that Jesus moved through his grief to DO something about what he saw, what he heard, what he experienced. And the good news is that he invited those who follow him to join him in removing the stones of death, in freeing the captive, in experiencing resurrection. Jesus is inviting us too –calling us to join him in this work – to join us in this saint work, because that is what it is.
To help us understand what I mean by saint work, as we do in our stewardship season, each of you will be given a gift, blessed at the altar, and today, you will be given a cardstock hand like this one, with the name and date of a saint from the Episcopal Church calendar. Some of these names may be familiar to you, like Sojourner Truth or Thomas Merton, but others likely will not be.
If we want to know what Jesus is calling us to do today, we need to start by understanding what following Jesus really means when he calls us into our lives as his followers. The lives of these saints, while not perfect, are inspirational. These are every day folks who were called into extraordinary work in the name of Jesus, and their willingness to answer Christ’s call transformed the world. So, take this home, and even if you think you know about this saint, look them up to find out even more. Let their lives become a beacon of possibility for your own.
And as you receive the Eucharist today, as you receive the love of Christ Jesus in it, let this gift be a reminder of all the saints who around the table stand united with us – the ones the church honors in our calendar, as well as all the ones we personally knew and loved – because they are all present here with us. Remember the words said just before the Sanctus “…therefore, joining with Angels and Archangels, and all the company of heaven, who forever sing this hymn…” While these saints are always present and available to us, it is in that moment of the Eucharist, that we know they join us here. But they are not the only saints present.
Those who have left this earthly plane are the saints triumphant – that great cloud of witnesses who walk with God in eternal light and life. We are the saints militant – the ones walking with the Holy Spirit on the earth today – the ones filled with the light of Christ and sharing that through our own brokenness to those who live in darkness. Together, we are the communion of saints.
And Lordy, we have work to do, don’t we, all us saints?
We live in a turbulent time where, as we saw on Sunday, as we see nearly every single day on the news and in our lives, people are spewing racist, sexist, and homophobic rhetoric. They incite violence against the marginalized. Their voices are loud and angry and every seemingly single damn where we go, right? It’s just like the former President, Obama, said when he compared it to a neighbor using a leaf blower right outside your window all day, every day. It is exhausting. And…that is part of the point, isn’t it? To wear us down.
No doubt that it can lead some to feel there is no hope, that there is nothing they can do, and so they retreat into darkness with their grief, into the safety of their personal tombs.
That is why the words we sang this morning are so important, “Oh blest communion fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine, yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.” These saints are here with us now, and every single day of or lives here on earth. And one thing is for sure – don’t underestimate this communion of Saints in which we belong, because together, we are a mighty force.
Together, with that great cloud of witnesses, we can work miracles.
Together, we can bring forth a wave of resurrection to a weary world.
And as we know from this story of Lazarus today, no matter how difficult the road we walk, no matter how dead we may feel, no matter how dark our tomb – we are not alone, nor are we hopeless, because Jesus will come for us too. He will raise us into new life – look for us to join him in his work – and call us to unbind the broken and lifeless in our midst. We are never dead to him – but alive!
Jesus is calling us out of our tombs, where we have been hiding, where we have tried to comfort ourselves, where we have been curled up in a ball, covering ourselves over, and praying for a better day. Jesus is telling us that WE must move through our grief to make that better day a reality, that we are NOT dead, but alive in him, that we must come out of that tomb and live, that others might live.
In today’s language – that means you get yourself out of bed and into church, and then you leave here, get out in the streets and fight for justice. And dang it – you get your souls to the polls and vote too!
Vote – Because young pregnant women are dying, bleeding out or succumbing to sepsis, because they are being denied healthcare.
Vote – Because there are people being marginalized, abused, threatened, and denied their rightful dignity because of who they are or who they love.
Vote – Because all of creation, God’s handiwork, is groaning with the pain of our abuse and neglect.
Never before have a people been called forward from their tombs of comfort to put their faith values into action by their vote – the values of justice, peace, love, and good will to all.
So be the saint on earth you are called to be and get your souls to the polls and vote!
And may God be with us all in the difficult days ahead.
Amen.
For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible):
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
November 3, 2024
Pentecost Last – All Saints Year B
1st Reading – Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9
2nd Reading – Revelation 21:1-6a
Gospel – John 11:32-44
