All Saints Yr B
A cloud of witnesses

Eye Candy: “River of Life“, by Jan Richardson; “All Saints Day” by Vasilii Kandinsky; “Communion of Saints” by Elise Ritter

Ear Worm: “For all the saints” two ways: Indellible Grace and congregational singing, this is visually appealing too; “I sing a song of the saints of God” sung by kids in COVID19 mode

Brain Food: “All Saints Day: Facing Death” from Huffington Post; “Blessed“, poem by Steve Garnass-Holmes from Unfolding light weblog; “What is a saint?“, self-guided retreat from At the edge of the enclosure weblog

Lyrics of “Lo! what a cloud of witnesses

Lo! what a cloud of witnesses Encompass us around!
Men once like us with suffering tried, But now with glory crown’d.

Let us, with zeal like theirs inspired, Strive in the Christian race;
And, freed, from every weight of sin, Their holy footsteps trace.

Behold a Witness nobler still, Who trod affliction’s path–
Jesus, the Author, Finisher, Rewarder of our faith.

He, for the joy before Him set, And moved by pitying love,
Endured the Cross, despised the shame, And now He reigns above.

Thither, forgetting things behind, Press we to God’s right hand;
There, with the Saviour and His saints, Triumphantly to stand.

Hymnal 1982: according to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, 1871

Parables: “There’s something about Mary“, two suitors who are in love with how Mary makes them feel; “Bedazzled“, “blessed are the persecuted”; “The Cider House Rules“, “blessed are the pure in heart”

Coloring page (all ages, mostly children): This week a booklet about the Saints. 

For families: Study guide; group activities; snack; kid video.

For children: activity; bulletin games; coloring books—one, two, three;

For middlers: activity; bulletin games, coloring books—see above.

For youth: On this day we celebrate the saints—those we know, those who came before us, those who will come after us, and US—yes, we can be saints. While it comes naturally (none of those labeled "saints" knew that's where they were going), we have to be intentional—not "to be a saint" but TO BE A FOLLOWER OF JESUS. You have it in you; just follow your heart.

. . . Which brings me to the second half of our reading today. God's voice thunders from heaven, "See, I am making all things new." God is making a promise to us. I was participating in a renewal event of some sort many years ago and expressing my frustration with myself as an ordained leader in the church. I just hadn't done enough things right, I seemed to be so slow in developing my own spiritual life. A wonderful woman in that group came up to me later and silently pinned a homemade button on me with which many are familiar. It proclaimed simply but boldly, "Be patient, God is not finished with me yet!" As people who live in a world that often advertises perfection in some interesting, ways we often forget that saintliness is much less about perfection than it is about transformation. We who are God's saints on earth are called to allow the holy presence of God be a transforming influence in our life. We often are so busy trying to "arrive" that we miss the point-what counts is the journey. For us, sainthood is not about externals, piety, looking good-no halos here. It is about the internal person, who we are on the inside. Yes, we are called to do good but to always remember that it is the one doing good who receives the most benefit who is transformed by the act. Today on this festival of All Saints God calls us again to be the clay in the hands of the potter, to enable God's holy presence in our midst to continue to shape our lives and our faith as his saints here on earth.  As Christian saints on earth we are called to live life inside out. Isn't that what the Incarnation is all about. With God there is always more than you can see. I remember hearing Dr. James Fenhagen, then a seminary Dean, a number of years ago speaking about the Church in American culture. Dr. Fenhagen said that modern Christians tended to have hard crusty exteriors but soft inner cores. The problem is God call us to have a solid core and soft exterior. Historically Christianity has advocated focusing on forming the inner person, engaging in disciplines that shape who and what we are deep in our souls. That is what will result in transformation; that is how we grow into being worthy of the title God's saints on earth.

Today, in Churches around the world, many thousands will sing from that famous old English hymn, "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God." The last verse brings home the point

"They lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still,
the world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus' will.
You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea,
for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too."

I have to confess I am not there yet but I also remember I am on the way, there is yet hope as I strive on: God isn't finished with me yet. He is making all things new, even someone like me.