Remembering All the Saints

At our 10 a.m. worship service this morning, Josh and Abi Gutleben will become the 80th and 81st people baptized at King of Peace. They join not merely King of Peace, but the church universal, the communion of the saints. While the Greek we translate as “saints” in the New Testament means “Holy Ones” it is clear in the Bible that the term saints refers to all Christians. Today is All Saints Day and on this day we remember all the saints of Christianity, the greats of the faith, those known only to God, and those we love who have died.

While those we know and love who die are no longer present to us, we trust that they are still present to God as Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” So while we can no longer be with those we love, we can not only remember them, we can also remember them to God in prayer.

“Remember” is strong word, even if we attach weak meaning to it these days. When something has been dismembered, to re-member is to put the members back together. To put this crudely, to reattach a severed arm is also to remember and it is from this that we get our current word connected with memory. The severed arm analongy is probably not overstating the case as the grief in the death of someone close to you is initially, just as wrenching. Losing a child a spouse or someone similarly close is as difficult as losing part of your own body.

It is in remembering someone we love to God that this very real pain of grief can begin to lessen. In re-membering, we are brought back together in some way. This is no where more true than in the worship of Holy Communion. In communion, we commune with God and through God with all those with whom God is in communion. So it is natural that through our common worship of God we are closest to the faithful departed. This is part of what we remember this day as Josh and Abi join that communion of the saints.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor