Rector's Reflection—All Saints' Day
November 1, 2009
The Revised Common Lectionary has changed up the readings for All Saints' Day. Back in the BCP day, the Old Testament reading was from Ecclesiasticus ("Let us now sing the praises of famous men...") and the gospel reading was from Matthew (The Beatitudes). Now we have a reading from the Wisdom of Solomon and John's story of Jesus' revivification of Lazarus. These readings are suggested for the burial office, although the burial office cites Martha's encounter with Jesus and not Mary's. And then there's the reading from The Revelation to John...
The Revelation to John may be the most controversial book in the New Testament. It's not a gospel. It's not an epistle. It's official classification is "apocalyptic." Apocalyptic literature, of which there is some in the Old Testament (in the Book of Daniel, for example), forecasts destinies or end times. It's not about what has happened but what is going to happen... not in the fortune-telling sense but more in the prophetic.
The book of Revelation has always been a controversial one. It barely made the cut when the early church closed the canon of scripture. It's a book that makes some people nervous and makes some other people downright scary. The images and obsessions of the book have been the fodder for countless predictions about the end of the world. Symbols that had specific meaning to the first hearers of the book tend to be redefined in new generations. It's not a pretty bible story like a parable of a lost sheep might be. If you love the book, you are going to find it challenging and rich... even if a bit dangerous. If you don't like the book, you're liable to think that it is either the work of a madman or proof that there was a drug problem back in the first century. But it has endured. Think "Left Behind."
So why are we reading from this book on All Saints' Day? Surely there are other passages that would suitably reassure a congregation and honor those who have gone before? Yes, there are, but the hope to which Revelation points is the hope that has endured in the church and has been the message and witness of Jesus Christ, forever and ever, amen. To the early Christians, it was a book of consolation in times of intense persecution. They understood the symbolism. They understood the cryptic references. And they understood that, even in the face of unspeakable violence and torture, the new Jerusalem was the prize, so to speak, for remaining faithful even in the face of death. Death was no longer the enemy because God "will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more..."
It seems to me that this is a great reading for All Saints' Day because the names that we mention today in the Role of the Departed are our loved ones who have joined with the faithful who were the first to hear John's vision of the future. They are seeing... and eventually we will all see... the solidarity across the ages of those who have professed Jesus Christ as their savior and have witnessed to his power in a world that isn't always particularly interested in hearing it.
Susan+
