Fr. Dale Matson
The Passing Of Things Present And The Past Ever Present II
My homily today is based a reading from Ecclesiasticus and the Gospel Lesson for today.
As I was preparing the homily for this week, I was struck by our reading from Ecclesiasticus. “Let us now sing the praises of famous men, our ancestors in their generations. The Lord apportioned to them great glory, his majesty from the beginning…. these also were godly men, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten; their offspring will continue forever, and their glory will never be blotted out. Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name lives on generation after generation.”
After reading this passage from Ecclesiasticus. I read our Gospel lesson for today. The Beatitudes from Christ’s sermon on the mount took on an additional meaning for me. How even more fitting that we should hear on All Saints Day, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
The Beatitudes are not just a call for us to strive to lead righteous and holy lives. The Beatitudes are an ongoing and eternal benediction from our Lord Himself to those saints who have gone before us.
Hallowmas season is where the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church celebrates the eternal and mystical “Now” of God’s Kingdom. Hallowmas Season is in three parts. Day One is All Hollows Eve. The secular celebration is Halloween. Day Two is today, All Saints Day and tomorrow is All Souls Day, where we pray for the faithful departed. We are primarily looking back at brothers and sisters who came before. As it states in our opening Collect, “Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you.” It is where we remember those who rest in Christ. It was they who handed us the pure and undefiled Gospel by which we too have been saved. They are partly responsible for the faith we hold and defend today. The church has always recognized the importance and celebrated the death of martyrs such as John The Baptist, Steven and Paul. There were so many Christian martyrs however that the church developed a specific day to honor all the saints in addition to those saints who had specific days set aside to honor them in the church year. The church calendar days that honor martyrs are marked in red.
I am sure there is no one here who didn’t have help along the road of faith. I think of my mother and two men in particular. What was it about them? I think of two particular traits. They lived their faith and were steadfast. They ran the good race and provided an example for me and many others. I remember them with gratitude and some sadness that they have passed on. My first mentor died suddenly at age 61. My second mentor died at age 73. Both these saints died at an age younger than I am now. My mother’s mind was stolen by Alzheimer’s by the time of her death. Her final words to me were, “You’re a nice young man, but I don’t believe I’ve ever met you.”
In spite of all the scripture verses about not being anxious, I believe the older I get the more fearful I become. The confidence and strength of my 50s has given way to the lack of confidence of old age. Most of my life is now in the rear-view mirror. I don’t have to compare myself to others. I have 25 years of journals to remind me of how robust I used to be. I find the following prayer from our 2019 book of common prayer useful in the midst of my many infirmities. (Page 233). The prayer is titled “For the sanctification of an illness” Sanctify, O Lord the sickness of your servant that the sense of his weakness may add strength to his faith and seriousness to his repentance and grant that he may live with you in everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”
One of the tasks of old age is called reminiscence. Thankfully I have been able to reconstruct many of my hikes and many of my backpacking experiences in two new books published this month. The Lord asks me each day, “Have you made good use of the time?” I am reminded of the passage from Ephesians. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:16-17) The King James version says it better for me. Rather than the ESV, the King James version uses the phrase “Redeeming the time”. This says to me that time wasted in the past can be made up by doing what is right now. And I confess to you that I have wasted a lot of time.
We are the church militant looking back to those whose souls now reside in the church triumphant. We have separated ourselves from deceased ancestors in the modern church and have been the poorer for it. Verse four of our processional hymn “For All The Saints” states, “4 O blest communion, fellowship divine, we feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. When Bishop William How penned these words in 1864, the Anglican church was very different.
When you think of old churchyards, you think of graves too. Relics of the saints are objects associated with the saints and often displayed in churches. St. Andrews Scotland is said to have the bones of St. Andrew buried in a monastery cemetery. The Shroud of Turin is reported to be the burial cloth of Christ and is located in the Cathedral of John the Baptist. Sometimes the saintly relic is the body of the saint that resides in the church. For example, the remains of St. Francis are buried under the altar in the cathedral built in his honor in Assisi Italy.
While we shy away from such veneration of relics today, it occurred to me that we should have a photograph of Bishop Schofield on display when we have our own location
All Souls Day is the final service in the Triduum of Hallowmas. In Anglicanism it is called Commemoration of All Faithful Departed and is an optional celebration; Anglicans view All Souls' Day as an extension of the observance of All Saints' Day and it serves to "remember those who have died", in connection with the theological doctrines of the resurrection of the body and the Communion of Saints. The prayers appointed for that day remind us that we are joined with the Communion of Saints, that great group of Christians who have finished their earthly life and with whom we share the hope of resurrection from the dead
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day
But Father Dale, when we remember those who have died, we don’t pray for them do we? The Protestant reformation focused on the prayer for the church militant and not the church triumphant. Archbishop Cranmer’s first prayer book (1549) contains the following prayer for the dead. ‘Grant unto them, we beseech thee, thy mercy and everlasting peace’.
Yet the practice of prayer for the dead is practiced in the Anglican Church. It began to be practiced again as a result of the horrors of WWI. More recently, at the funeral of Princess Diana, Archbishop Carey prayed, “May she rest in peace where sorrow and pain are banished, and may the everlasting light of your merciful love shine upon her; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” The Church of England under Archbishop Rowan Williams on the 10th anniversary of her death issued this same prayer.
We are told that anything we ask in Christ’s name will be granted. We are told to come before the throne of grace boldly. We are told to be intercessors for others. I believe that in this case as Anglicans, we are guided by Tradition and the Church Universal has been praying for the dead for two millennia. I read this comment regarding an article on prayer for the dead. “If someone has what seems to be a horrible death, I think most of us are moved to pray that God was with them and that their suffering may not have been too great, which is praying for the dead for sure, and even believing God can act in the past, which he can.” https://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/articles/can-we-pray-for-the-dead/
There is also reciprocity in us interceding for the dead and the Saints interceding for us. How many here remember our use of the Litany of the Saints at Easter Vigil and for All Saints Day when John David was Bishop? I can still see in my mind’s eye, our dear brother, Danny Fahrenbacher as crucifer, leading us around the courtyard in procession as the litany was sung.
The point of this is to offer hope to those of you who have a burden on your heart that God has placed there for an individual in your life. For example, I believe that God was involved in preparing Steve Kunkel’s heart for Christ his whole life. This was also true of dear sister Collette Fascio. St. James seems to be a kind of ‘finishing school’ for saints. Sometimes we are the last stop before entering a new life for many who have struggled their entire life.
There is no shelf life for prayers. Maybe your prayers for the salvation of one of your children will be answered after you have passed on. I would like you to think about someone in your life that God has placed on your heart. The time to witness to them is now. Now is the acceptable time. For those who have been witnessing, don’t be discouraged…. persist. For those you know who have passed, I don’t believe the opportunity is lost either. For those of you who have not reconciled I ask you pray for that person that you may also forgive them. It’s not too late. God’s Kingdom is the eternal now.
Finally, I offer this blessing from page 233 of our 2019 Prayer book.
“May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country, where he lives and reigns for ever and ever, Amen
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