I Sing a Song of the Saints of God

 

All Saints 2012 -Meditation

 

   Isaiah 25:6-9;Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44

 

    Some things happen quietly.  There is a certain rhythm about the change of seasons that can verify that.  All of the sudden we were cold.  So we put the heat on.  The leaves have been dropping for a while and there are more and they are brown.  I liked it when they were green, yellow and brown.  I was talking to someone at the store the other day who said they had preached at their local church for the first time.  I said, “ pastors and preachers are the only ones who do not see the fruit of their labors”  What I meant by that is that change happens slowly and we are not always the witnesses of that.

 

   Today we celebrate the Saints of God.  Who are they?  They are people. They are people that are called by God to serve Him and others and not themselves.  They are not usually normal for there is really no such thing.  Each of us is unique and we are individuals.  What I mean is that the people of God are not what they should always be.  But they are trying thru the Spirit of God to be what they should be and do it too.

 

     I love the little children’s hymn we used to sing on this All Saints octave.  “ I Sing a Song of the Saints of God”: “

 

        I sing a song of the saints of God, 

        patient and brave and true, 

        who toiled and fought and lived and died 

        for the Lord they loved and knew. 

        And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, 

        and one was a shepherdess on the green; 

        they were all of them saints of God, and I mean, 

        God helping, to be one too. 

2.      They loved their Lord so dear, so dear, 

        and his love made them strong; 

        and they followed the right for Jesus' sake 

        the whole of their good lives long. 

        And one was a soldier, and one was a priest, 

        and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;

        and there's not any reason, no, not the least, 

        why I shouldn't be one too. 

3.      They lived not only in ages past; 

        there are hundreds of thousands still. 

        The world is bright with the joyous saints 

        who love to do Jesus' will. 

        You can meet them in school, on the street, in the store, 

        in church, by the sea, in the house next door; 

        they are saints of God, whether rich or poor, 

        and I mean to be one too.

So what is this time for us?  Normal is messy and being called of God is not so easy either.  It is messy. But we would not have it any other way if we were honest about it.  We see tears all around us in the loss of life, in the loss of possessions, familiarity, homes and places .  Mary wept at the grave of her brother Lazarus.  He was troubled for her and for us all at that.   We have all wept at the loss of our own loved ones and wished they did not have to leave us.  

  One day that is coming in God’s time we will not cry any more.  Isaiah said, “ He will swallow up death in victory; and the LORD God will wipe away tears from off all faces” 25:8 “ There shall be no more death, neither sorrow , nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.”  Rev. 21:4 Why?  “ And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” 

   A bit of thankfulness before thanksgiving could go a long way.  I can be thankful for those that have led the way before me .  They were examples of faith. “ And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom.”  The Reformed Episcopal Book of Common Prayer ,1963.

    And on the back of our bulletin I like what was said by a church web site, “ We step aside from the flow of the regular lessons and celebrate all the saints.  We stop.  We notice.  We are surrounded by a flock of witnesses in our midst---many who have gone before us..” ECUSA web site for All Saints

Amen.