“ALL SAINTS DAY 2024”
Saint Matthew 5: 1-12
The Feast of All Saints: November 3 Anno Domini 2024
Fr Jay Watson, SSP
Blessed is Christ, we speak. Yes. But also Holy is Christ; Sanctus, Hagios, Saintly! All Saints Day, celebrated every November 1st in the Church’s calendar, could be called All Holy Day, or more accurately, All Holy Ones’ Day.
But are you holy? Two-part answer.
No. You are not holy (or Saintly). Your “old sinful self” is an enemy and adversary to all that is Holy/Saintly. Without the intervention of Jesus, you would be unholy for eternity; not Saintly, but demonically.
But you are no longer an enemy and adversary of Christ The True Holy One. Oh, your “old Adam” still is, but he is drowned daily in your…what?...your Holy Baptism, your Saintly Baptism. Where are you? You are in the Holy Christian Church. You are preached to out of the Holy Bible, the Saintly Bible for it also includes the stories of the Old Testament and New Testament Saints. They all reflect, like little moons, little satellites, the Blinding Glory of Jesus The Saintly One. You shine on the outside because you have been clothed in Holy + Trinity’s Name, and you shine on the inside for you will in a few moments eat and drink Holy food and drink, in the Holy Communion, the Sacrament of Christ’s Saintly Body and Blood—Holy Incarnate.
The appointed color for today’s Feast is White, since all the Saints are Baptized into Christ, and hence, this Sunday, like all Sunday’s is a Feast to Christ and His feast to you—fellow Saints.
Jesus The One poor in spirit (from His conception onward) by His voluntary humiliation earned for all of you exaltation into the Kingdom of Heaven—with but a brief rest-stop in the Church Militant, His Kingdom of Grace. The Saintly One mourned for you so that you would have your tears wiped away. He mourned for you all the way to Golgotha’s Holy Tree. His meekness which merits for you through His Holy Body and Blood—given and shed—is His Saintliness. Messias, Who in His own nature is pure and Saintly Righteousness, hungered and thirsted for you to be right with The Holy Father. His holiness is His mercy to you the miserable. His purity of heart gives you a new heart—His Holy and Saintly heart—most clearly seen in the + water and Blood gushing out in a river of life from the Crucifix to you by way of Holy Font and Holy Chalice. He saw God at the River Jordan that you today might see God in The Holy Word and Supper. Jesus the Holy Peacemaker has made peace, Shalom, for all of you with The Father and The Holy Spirit. He was persecuted that you may have a Holy Peace. He suffered and died and was buried so that you and all The Saints who have gone before you might rise again from the grave to feast in joy and peace.
Saint(s) means to be separated out from the mass of perdition; to be cleansed from the rot, filth, decay, and death of sin—to be special; Saintly. You are all Saints. You join the great host, the great company in Word and at this Communion Rail. You join my father and my mother, your deceased fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, friends, loved ones, deceased spouses, Luther, Melanchthon, Chemnitz, Hus, Augustine, Ambrose, Cyprian, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Ignatius, Peter, James, and John, The Blessed Virgin. You join also the Old Testament Saints: Daniel, Esaias, Jeremias, David, Elias and Elisha, Samuel, Moses, Job, Abraham, Abel, and Adam. You join today to feast with your dearly-departed loved ones. Justified by His Grace, through Faith, in Christ alone, is the free gift to all Saints, present here, and present beyond. This is The Gospel of The Lord; This is All Saints Day.
Imagine yourself running a race. It is a marathon and not a sprint. You pass a few people, but mostly everyone has passed you. You are hungry and tired; your lungs feel as if they are stuffed with flaming cotton. You try to sing and pray through the pain, and it seems like this race will never end. Like the Olympics, this is a race that ends back in the stadium. It seems like you are nowhere close to the finish. Your feet drag and your heart pounds. You think of quitting and lying down on the side of the road.
But then you hear a sound, faint, in the distance—people cheering. Now you see the stadium, the track, and the end of the race. As the sound gets louder you think you hear a familiar voice. You do! You see the faces of the people in the stands, and you recognize them, and they see you. Their faces light up when they see you, they recognize you, and they cheer even louder. You turn the corner into the stadium and there, in the front row, are your grandparents cheering you on, your parents, the friends and the family who have died before you. They are yelling, encouraging, singing: “you can make it!” Suddenly your legs are not so heavy. You recognize them, all of them. “Stay strong” they say. “You are almost at the end!” You forget your pain, hunger, thirst, and tears. Further along in the stadium are the Church Fathers, the martyrs, the Apostles. There is Peter who shouts out “Christ also suffered, run with joy.” There is Paul “keep the faith” he yells to you. Thomas, Magdalene, Matthew, all pushing you on.
You begin to run faster, almost to sprint. You see Ezekiel and his cherubim, and it seems as if your feet have grown wings. Generals Joshua and Gideon and Samson shout “be strong and courageous—just like your loved ones before you!” These are the heroes, your heroes, those who have finished the race, who kept the faith. The great cloud of Holy, Saintly “finishers.”
You are at the last turn. You see the finish line.
There, standing at the end is Jesus—smiling. He is waiting for you. You can see the scars/wounds in His hands. “A little further” He says, “a few more steps.”
Now you are sprinting all out—nothing is slowing you down—weariness is forgotten. Hope is set before you. Hearts are brave again and arms are strong.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus The Author and Finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”—with all His Saintly and Holy ones; with all of you.
In The Name of The Father and of + The Son and of The Holy Ghost
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