“I will now rise up, says the Lord; I will place them in the safety for which they long. ”
All Saints Sunday is one of my favorite Sundays of the year because of its distinctiveness and beauty as we remember our saints together with candles and communion. For many it is both emotional and healing. We feel the impulse of the memorial call upon us, “Help us to live as those who are prepared to die. And when our days here are accomplished, enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that living or dying, our life may be in you.” Our confidence in that prayer comes from God’s eternal promise expressed well in the Psalm 12 text. It is a lament but also a word of confidence in the midst of suffering: God will rise up for the sake of God’s beloved and bring us all to the ultimate safety that only God provides. This is our comfort, our resurrection hope, our assurance – for our loved ones who have died and for ourselves who live – all of the saints/believers.
We have some very special opportunities to live that faith out these next two weeks. One is this All Saints Sunday with several special surprises and commemorative moments. The other is the following Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 13 and 14, when we have the chance to help run our Mission Market (volunteer here) that supports precisely “the poor” who the Psalmist references in Psalm 12. It is a fabulous way to support them AND buy alternate gifts for Christmas that twice make a difference. I hope that you will be present for both; they really are the beginning of the best season of the year as we support the saints on earth AND celebrate the saints in heaven; thanks be to God.
Connecting God and Grace to Self and Community,
