SERMON FOR THE SUNDAY IN THE OCTAVE OF ALL SAINTS

Preached at the Church of All Saints, Blackheath

at Parish Mass on November 3rd, 2019

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Readings: Dan 7:1-3, 15-18, Eph. 1:11-23 and Luke 6: 20-31

‘Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father X,

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.’

INTRODUCTION

If this were a Russian, Greek, Romanian or any Orthodox Church that’s how this Mass would have begun.  And, in so doing, we’d be reminded that, through this Liturgy – this great work we offer – we enter the Kingdom of our Three-Personed God. 

We may be in Blackheath but the curtain is being opened into heaven and we offer this sacrificial work of prayer and praise for God and the well-being of all Creation.  It expresses the mystery of our union with the place where saints and angels dwell; the mystery of Jesus’ work of reconciliation; that all things might be brought back into their right relationship in God.  And it places you and I who gather here in that most intimate relationship with the Reign of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to which we cry: Amen – so be it! 

And that, sisters and brothers, is why we gather here.  That is what we are baptised into; it’s the work we’re engaged in, in this Liturgy.  What Jesus invites us to realise through this and every Mass – to enter into the Life-giving Mysteries of the Kingdom.  Here, right now, we stand in the presence, not only of God but also the whole company of heaven, and today’s continuing celebration of the Feast of All Saints is a specific reminder of that truth.  And to draw our attention to the fact that this is a foretaste of what is to come, the church in which I last served, like many others, had above its entrance doors these words from the book of Genesis:

‘Hic Domus Dei est et Porta Coeli’

This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven! (28:17).

For this and every building where the Liturgy is celebrated symbolises that new heaven where God dwells with his people, and all that is done here needs to focus our attention on that one simple mystery – the relationship of all people, living and departed, with God. And each of you are also Church, your whole body the Temple of the Holy Spirit.  You have the gate of heaven within your heart – open and enter it!

THE BEATITUDES

That kingdom is rooted in the teachings of Jesus’ which we heard read – the Beatitudes.  These ‘instructions’, these observations, are of such importance that, in the Orthodox Church, they are always sung as the Book of Gospels is carried into the church through the iconostasis, that great screen portraying the saints surrounding Christ in heaven – of which this is a reminder.  So let’s just reflect on the Beatitude’s for a moment. 

I’m sure you’ll recognise that they are somewhat counter-cultural – and always have been.  They speak of how to live a blessed life, a life which brings us into the right relationship with God and our neighbour.  A life which is the opposite of our aggressive, violent, winner-takes-all, make-as- much-money-as-you-can culture; but they will enable us to become what we are created to be: fully human.  It’s only Matthew and Luke who record them in their gospels.  They form the basis of Jesus teaching which he wanted to impress on His disciples – they’re His Mission Statement, if you like.    

CONDITION AND RESULT

Each consists of two phrases – a condition and a result.  Luke’s beatitudes concern physical, rather than spiritual, conditions – the poor, the hungry, those who weep and those who are hated.  And, in so doing, reflects his profound concern for social justice.  So his ‘woes’ are aimed at those who experience the opposite – those who have too much; who think life’s a joke, who lack that most important virtue – humility – and each are warned of woes to come.  They gave rise to the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy enjoined on all Christians: 

Feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty;

clothe the naked; shelter the homeless;

visit the sick and those in prison;

- and bury the dead.

BEATITUDES and KINGDOM OF GOD

Now, if I were to ask you what you really, really wanted in life, I wonder what you’d say? …  For some it’s all about ‘eat, drink and be happy’.  But is life really about getting as much as you can?  Doing what you want?  Feeling important … successful …  Are these the goals and values we want to impress on future generations?  That make us human?  Or are there more important ones at which to aim?

The ‘Beatitudes’ are unique to Christianity; they point to how we might live a truly content, complete, worthwhile life – a life that’s a source of blessing.  Which is why they are offered today – this is the way walked by the saints, the way of – holiness.  For Luke, faith has to have a practical application; and if it doesn’t then, ultimately,  we’re the losers.  But if we heed the teachings of Jesus then we will come to be at one with our Lady and all the Saints in glory and share with them in the Beatific Vision of God.  This is our destiny and we’re to live out the Reign of God here on earth as it is in heaven. 

THE DEPARTED – ALL SOULS

But what about all the others?  Those who didn’t quite make it?  Well, yesterday, we remembered the Souls who have passed from this life and who wait to be part of that glorious vision. 

November, traditionally, is dedicated to the Holy Souls with Masses offered for them whenever possible.  We don’t often talk about the departed: most of us have lost loved ones and it can be a painful matter for some to have to consider death.  But, at the heart of our Faith lies this simple desire – that with all the Saints we might be re-united with our Maker in the love and joy and wonder of heaven.  That’s the promise that awaits you and I!  We know that, when we die, we will be rewarded in accordance with our faith and our works – as St. John of the Cross said: ‘At the end of our days, we shall be judged by our loving.’ 

So we believe that before we can enter into the presence of God there’s a time of preparation just as there would be when we go to a party.  Just how long that will last, depends on the individual, but as the psalmist said:

To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night. (Ps.90:4)

That’s why we pray for the departed and offer Masses on their behalf.  For us, heaven is to be at one in love with the Trinity and all the Saints.  Scripture speaks of this state in images: life, light, peace, a wedding feast, the Father's house, the heavenly Jerusalem, Paradise:

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him."  (1 Cor.2:9 cf. Is.64:4) 

But these are all images – metaphors – which try to express the inexpressible; as Peter Abelard wrote in the 12th cent. and which we’ll sing during Communion:

O what their joy and their glory must be,
those endless Sabbaths the blessèd ones see;
crown for the valiant, to weary ones rest:
God shall be All, and in all ever blest.

So at our death we may pass immediately to a life with the saints in heaven or spend time being prepared for that life. 

CONCLUSION         

But for today we celebrate all who share in that vision of God which St. John the Divine wrote about in his great Book of Revelations towards which baptism is the first step – entrance into the death and resurrection of Christ who lives, now, in the glory of heaven.  That state of being we’re open to every time we celebrate Mass; where, with  our Lady, the Apostles and Martyrs and that ‘great multitude which no one (can) count from every nation’ stand around the altar-throne of God, as St. John describes.

So let me end with a poem by Fr. Malcolm Guite for Halloween, the Eve of All Saints, which reminds us of this calling:

Though Satan breaks our dark glass into shards

Each shard still shines with Christ’s reflected light,

It glances from the eyes, kindles the words

Of all his unknown saints.

The dark is bright

With quiet lives and steady lights undimmed,

The witness of the ones we shunned and shamed.

Plain in our sight and far beyond our seeing

He weaves them with us in the web of being

They stand beside us even as we grieve,

The lone and left behind whom no one claimed,

Unnumbered multitudes, he lifts above

The shadow of the gibbet and the grave,

To triumph where all saints are known and named;

The gathered glories of His wounded love.