All Saint’s Day

Today is “All Saints Day.” It is an ancient holiday dating back to around the year 610. It is the day when the church celebrates all those who have come before us in the faith.

In 2 Timothy, Paul writes to his young friend and colleague:  “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”

Think about all the generations that have passed between the time of Timothy’s grandmother and us today. Nearly two thousand years of one generation handing down their faith to the next. Imagine all the people’s lives over the centuries who were touched, challenged, and inspired by the gospel.

Today, I invite you to reflect on the person or people who handed down their faith to you. Was it a parent or grandparent? A Sunday school teacher or friend? Begin to imagine who it was that might have passed on their faith to them. Give thanks to God for each of them. Then, think about those who will come after you. Who is looking to you, even now, to share your hope?

Let us pray; Today we remember that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. We remember and give thanks for all your children – those who answered when you called, those who walked with you, who served, who loved, who proclaimed your good news with their words, their deeds, and their very lives. We give you thanks that having lived this life in faith, they now rest eternally with you.

As we celebrate the faithful, may we be sustained by the promise of the resurrection and the promise that while now we see in a mirror dimly, one day we will see face to face, with all the saints of every time and place, through Jesus Christ. Amen.