All Saints Sunday

 

The Festival of All Saints

Prelude, Welcome, and Information Hymn #424 Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. And also with you. Psalm: Psalm 149 Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory. Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their couches. Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron, to execute on them the judgment decreed. This is glory for all his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!

The Lord be with you.       And also with you. Let us pray. Almighty God, you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Grant us the grace to follow your saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.     Amen.

Reading:  Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18

A reading from the book of Daniel

In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter: “As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever—forever and ever.”

The Word of the Lord

Reading:  Ephesians 1:11-23

A reading from the letter to the Ephesians

In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

The Word of the Lord.

Gospel Verse: 

Alleluia! They are before the throne of God, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. Alleluia!  (Rev. 7:15)                               

Gospel Reading:  Luke 6:20-31

A reading from the Gospel of Luke

Then [Jesus] looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.   Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon (added at the end of the document)

Hymn #422  For All the Saints

Thanks and Offertory

Prayers of the Church:  

God of all blessing, we rely on your grace and mercy. Hear our prayers for the world, the church, and for all people according to their needs.

[Short pause]

For an increase in your life in all of our lives, that we might be somehow beacons of grace, we pray... Lord, in your mercy,   Hear our prayer.

For all who suffer for the sake of your Son and who suffer because they are faithful or because they are different, we pray... Lord, in your mercy,   Hear our prayer.

For all who suffer from storms on land or sea and for a blessing on all engaged in recovery and rebuilding, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For open minds and hearts for all involved in our school system’s labour action, we pray... Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.

For peace in Ukraine and Russia, in Iran and Afghanistan, in Serbia and Kosovo, and for all who suffer the terrors and dangers of war anywhere, we pray… Lord, in your mercy,   Hear our prayer.

For those still struggling with the COVID-19 virus and for all who work for healing in any way, we pray... Lord, in your mercy,   Hear our prayer.

For all who minister in the name of your Son, especially our Anglican neighbors at Trinity Church and Bishop Todd Townsend, the bishop of Huron, we pray...  Lord, in your mercy,  Hear our prayer.

For our unspoken prayers for so many we are concerned about, both near and far… * … we pray…  Lord, in your mercy,   Hear our prayer.      {*Gail Mauer, Deb Kirschner, Rose Gotzmeister}

God of all blessings, you call us always to a new hope. Hear all our prayers this day and every day. We commend to you all for whom we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord.     Amen.

Hymn #426  Sing with All the Saints in Glory

The Lord’s Prayer

Finally let us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

    hallowed be thy name,

    thy kingdom come,

    thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

    and forgive us our trespasses,

      as we forgive those who trespass against us;

    and lead us not into temptation,

       but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power,

         and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Closing prayer & Benediction

Lord of hosts,

we praise your glory reflected in your saints.

May we who share this time be filled with the joy of your eternal kingdom, where Jesus is Lord, now and for ever. Amen.

Hymn #414  Holy God, We Praise Your Name

Benediction & Sending

May the Lord bless us and keep us.

May the Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and mercy.

May the Lord look upon us with favor and X give us peace.

Amen.

Go in peace. Serve the Lord.   Thanks be to God.

W

Services for the next few months will be in person or on YouTube and accessible from an email link or our church Facebook page. Services for October and November are shown below: November 13      Communion, Saxonia Hall,11:00am                                   (All Saints/service of remembrance) November 20     Service on YouTube, 11:00am (Christ the King) November 27     Communion, Church, 11:00am                                   (First Sunday in Advent)

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 

·         Our Gospel reading today is one we all know well – Luke’s version of what we call “the Beatitudes.” We call it that because it is based on the Latin translation of Luke’s Gospel and the version of Blessed are you… It’s an appropriate reading for the festival of All Saints.

·         We could take this portion of the Gospel as an outline of how to be a saint. Should we do that, it would mean that we might find ourselves poor, hungry, mourning, excluded, and persecuted at all times, because that would mean sainthood and blessedness.

·         Some who read this passage might take it mean they should equate poverty, mourning, hunger, or persecution with virtue. The opposite then – riches, joy, a satisfied stomach, and an un-annoyed life would all be vices. I don’t think any of that is quite true. Some saints were poor while others were rich and even were royalty! Some saints in history were sad while others were joyful in all situations and some were even what we’d consider silly. Some fasted constantly while others ate well. Many suffered persecution for their faith or their position in life and others lived quietly and peacefully.

·         When Jesus spoke to his disciples about this, it is possible he was telling them something somewhat different. He was turning things upside down. He holds to the value of the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. What he was changing was the understanding of the Law and the teachings. What he says might be considered a challenge to the listeners rather than a challenge to the value of the Law and the prophets.

·         Jesus’ advocacy of “turning the other cheek”, of praying for and doing good for those who hate or curse his disciples. This also becomes a challenge to his listeners and disciples of how they might react to such provocation.

·         For us to hear the words of the Beatitudes may make us wonder what is really going on with Jesus’ words. The topsy-turvy nature of these Gospel passages might make our heads spin at time, but they will make us think.

·         If the poor inherit the Kingdom, if the mourning become joyful, if the hungry are filled, and if those hated for Jesus’ sake rejoice, the Kingdom is not as it seems to those who want to deserve it and grasp it. The Kingdom of God will be given to those who do not seem to be worthy of it or who are not trying to grab it. Such is the nature of grace.

·         Jesus’ words here are nothing less than a challenge to all of us to think differently and then live differently in the light of God’s grace. What that means may be different for each one of us, but the challenge to all of us remains.

·         The festival of All Saints is a remembrance of what Jesus has done for his people in grace. In our tradition, it has become a memorial time for those who have passed over the previous twelve months. This combines All Saints with “All Souls”, a festival seen in some other traditions. The focus of either of those ideas are fine. The focus of both those we call saints in the church and those friends and family who have passed from our sight remains grace, grace undeserved and even obscure.

·         The British author, Graham Greene wrote “You cannot conceive, nor can I, of the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.” Strange? Maybe. Astounding? For sure. Powerful and real? Just as sure. Saints are an amazing group, as varied as any people we’d meet. Possibly attractive or repelling as any we know. Yet filled with God’s grace and possibly a beacon of that grace. This holds for the saints who have churches and days of the calendar named for them and it holds just as much for those whose names we know, even if we’re the only ones.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven