All Souls, Year B (Transferred)

Remembrance

Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 116:1-8; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 6:37-51

Last week we celebrated All Saints Day. We reflected on the lives of the Saints and what it means to be called to holiness. We reflected on our own place within the communion of saints. We were reminded that we are all sorts of saints. And today we gather to remember all sorts of saints, this time the ones particular to our lives. We come to remember also those who died in service to our country.

The celebration of Remembrance Day does not come particularly easily for me or my generation. We grew up in the sixties protesting vehemently against everything in general, but against war and violence in particular. It is not that I cannot relate to the tragedy of war. It is that for my generation there is a futility about what happened that we would just as soon forget.

But even as I say that I would just as soon forget, I know how important it is to remember. For it is in remembering that we correct past errors of judgement. It is in remembering that we learn to make life-giving choices for ourselves and for future generations. It is in the retelling of the story that we begin to see ourselves mirrored and attempt to bring about changes that result in true justice. It is in remembering that we keep the story alive for ourselves and for future generations.

And so today we remember. We remember those who died and continue to die in service to our great country. We heard this past week of the tragic death of yet another young soldier in Afghanistan. Today is also an opportunity to remember our loved ones who lived a life of faith and have died. We look back at their lives of faith, at their contribution to the world, at all they meant to those who loved them. We remember their successes and their failures. We share in their joys and their sorrows. We look back with pain at their suffering. We mourn their absence from us. It is our need as those still on the journey to do that kind of remembering, because the alternative to remembering is forgetting.

I was seventeen when my younger brother died. At the time of his death, I became almost obsessed with remembering things about him. It was as if I had to remember every detail of his life and of the way he died in order to keep him alive in some way. Some of those things can still trigger memories of him after all these years. I simply cannot hear someone whistle through their teeth without remembering Patrick. Yet at the time I worried that I would forget what he looked like, the funny things he did, the songs he loved to sing.... It was so important to me to remember him.

As I reflect on my need then, I realize that it is important to remember. Something forgotten never comes into our consciousness. It no longer plays a role in our decisions. It does not inform our relationships. If it comes back to us as a dream, we may not even recognize the symbols that help us to understand the significance of the dream. It is lost. And so it is a human need to keep memories alive. We hold the memories of those who have meant much to us in life and are now dead. That is a powerful reason for celebrating All Souls Day.

There is a sense as we gather, especially since we are also celebrating Remembrance Day, of a kind of passing of the torch, a passing of the collective memories, of those successes and failures of the previous generations. What we may forget is that when you are the one carrying the torch, you can easily be burned. When you are the one standing alone, torch in hand, there is nothing brighter. But that too can be a terrifying realization.

As generations pass and we come closer and closer ourselves to being the “older” generation, the responsibility falls more and more to us. Finally it is ours completely. There is no one else to blame for the human condition. We alone bear the responsibility.

And there is Jesus reassuring us, “I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” What a wonderful promise that is! He gave his life in life and in death to bear the offer of life to all that may accept God's choice to love and accept them. Even more astounding is that what Christ has promised has already been granted. The atrocious event of death that threatens and appears to destroy what God has created becomes the servant that swings open the gates to everlasting life. We are citizens of the new kingdom. It remains a mystery to us; but the guarantee is that we will experience fully the splendour and beauty of the new kingdom where we can live and serve in supreme joy without the limitations and temptations of mortal life upon this planet.

As Christians we put our trust in God. We renew our commitment in faith. But we do so in faith knowing that there are no guarantees. How the secular world loves to remind us of that! But perhaps that whole realm of remembering needs to go much deeper for us when we consider mourning. For one of the things that is important to many who have suffered loss through death, is to recount things about the person. To keep the person alive in their memories.

Have you ever recognized someone before they ever entered the room? How does that happen? How do we recognize a friend before we actually see them? Animals, of course, are much more adept at it than we are. Gemma and Meaghie, my two dogs, know the sound of my car in the driveway. They know my footstep. They know the sound of my voice. I think they even sense that I am coming long before I arrive at the house. Our senses are not nearly as keen as those of our pets, but we all have people close to us whom we recognize before they ever enter the room. We know them by their own, unique personal qualities - their little eccentricities, their foibles, their habits. Those unique qualities stay with us even after someone dies.

And so today we stop and remember. We reflect on the lives of those we love but see no longer. Everyone who lights a candle today has a story about what that person meant to them. In the silences of this service think back to what they mean to you. Think of the things you did together, of what the person taught you about life and about faith. It may be a moment of great joy for you as you look back at the richness of their gift to you. A smile may cross your face as you recall the moment. Or it may be a moment of great sadness. A tear may come to your eye. I hope and pray that whatever the emotion you will remember that you are blessed to have shared in their lives and blessed to have shared in this time of remembrance.

Remembrance Day Sermon

St Francis of Assisi, Meadowvale Town Centre
Homily for All Souls & Remembrance Day
Sunday, 2008 October 12

By The Rev. Vernal S. Savage

Scriptural Readings
• Wisdom 3:1-9
• Psalm
• 1 Peter 1:3-9
• John 11:21-27

Let us pray
Almighty God, creator of all and whose mercy endures forever, bestow upon us your people gathered here your grace. We understand Lord that the souls of the faithful that has departed this life are in your arms. hear our prayer and console us As we renew our faith in Your Son whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope Lord our comforter and burden bearer in Jesus Name we pray, amen.

Remembrance Day and All Souls day – Lest we forget
We commemorate All Souls and Remembrance Day in a pensive mood and in deep reflection upon what life has thrown our way. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians are asked to pause and remember the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom and democracy during the First & Second World Wars, the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflict and those who die during peacekeeping missions. It is very appropriate for us to have these days combined. It is understood that there is probably only one Canadian survivor from the First World War.
The first Remembrance Day was held in 1919 throughout the Commonwealth, called Armistice Day. The day commemorated the end of the First World War on Monday, Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m. — the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
I was asked by my mother to carry something down to my grand uncle. I was probably seven or eight at the time. It did not seem like anything out of the ordinary at the time but little did I realise it was to become an experience that has become indelible written in my mind. When I reached there and greeted him I noticed that his face was disfigured. of course I became very curious as to why it had that appearance. The irony is he had some difficulty moving about but that did not arouse my curiosity. He realised I wanted to ask about his face because I chose not to just deliver the items and leave but instead kept staring; fortunate for me he decided to oblige. He began relating his story being at the frontline in the World War. He explained that his face became like that because of the many days and nights of fighting without sleep.
There are many stories we can all share about the wars. They may be similar but that is not the point really. We are beneficiaries of these brave and courageous persons who gave so much, their own lives. There story can be told in the words from the passage from Wisdom as it states,
“In the eyes of the foolish, they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a disaster, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.”


So we come to this day many of us with a heaviness of heart as our inward being seeks to commemorate those we love who have died. There are no words adequate enough to describe the loss felt. These faithfully departed whose names shall be read out shortly for many of us they reminded us of our true selves. They gave of themselves and therefore we join in faith to commemorate them.
We remember them as the part they played in our lives comes to life.......they were our confidant...........our best friend........grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters........colleagues.........they were probably the disciplinarians..........champions of the faith.........we are the ones here to tell their story......
It is worthwhile to quickly add that death occurs in relationships as well. This may occur in a marriage, deep friendships and we still experience the grief. George Matheson was only fifteen when he was told he was losing what little poor eyesight he had. Not to be denied, Matheson continued straightaway with his plans to enroll in the University of Glasgow, and his determination led to his graduating at age nineteen. But as he pursued graduate studies in theology for Christian ministry he did become blind. His sisters joined ranks beside him, learning Greek and Hebrew to assist him in his studies. He pressed faithfully on.
But his spirit collapsed when his fiancée, unwilling to be married to a blind man, broke their engagement and returned his ring. He never married, and the pain of that rejection never totally left him. Years later, as a well-loved pastor in Scotland, his sister came to him, announcing her engagement. He rejoiced with her, but his mind went back to his own heartache. He consoled himself in thinking of God’s love which is never limited, never conditional, never withdrawn, and never uncertain. Out of this experience he wrote the hymn, O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.
His song captures the unmoveable faith that endures in such circumstances, that offers healing,
O love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee:
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee:
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day,
May brighter, fairer be.

O joy that sleekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee:
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.

O cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee:
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

We are well aware of the fact that death comes to us in the same way it did to Jesus. What does this gospel mean then? Christ reminds us in the gospel of His immense Love by risking His own life as He responds to the call of His friends (7–16). It was very dangerous for Him to go respond to the call of His friends in Judea but he took the risk anyway.
When Jesus came he listened to the concerns of His friends, Mary and Martha, and assured them with His word. Mary had no hesitation in talking to Jesus about her grief. It says a great deal about him and about trust. In verse 35 of John chapter 11 it is noted that Jesus weeps. This is one of those moments we can appreciate that Jesus identifies with our sorrows.

We as a community in St Francis of Assisi are being similarly asked to provide comfort and to risk ourselves to listen and bear one another’s burden. The love and consideration demonstrated to those who have suffered loss is very important. We are being asked to deepen the ministry. As we are told in Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

There is a fallacy in the society that looks at crying to be a sign of weakness which is certainly not consistent with that of the church. Earlier this year when my nephew died I cried. Yesterday I rejoice with my two nieces who graduated from university.

At the same time Jesus is telling us some wonderful news: for those who believe, death is not an end but a beginning. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” It is but a transition to a new life that is so beyond belief we can't begin to imagine it.

Lazarus and his sisters were very special friends to Jesus. He thought of him as a brother. His feelings of friendship and love made him raise Lazarus from his tomb, giving him back to his sisters. But that is only the beginning. His feelings lead him to his death on the cross for them and for us.
They knew that Lazarus would die again. God in Christ Jesus is saying to us this morning that this belief we exercise in the resurrection and the life grant to us comfort. As we commemorate this day we can join with others who have had lost and in Christ share his love. We can join with the songwriter in agreement in Jerusalem the Golden as it states,
Jerusalem the golden,
With milk and honey blest,
Beneath thy contemplation
Sink heart and voice opprest,
I know not, O, I know not
What joys await us there,
What radiancy of glory,
What bliss beyond compare.

This is the hope we live in as we commemorate the faithfully departed. In Jesus name, Amen.