Jesus said, “The fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive."
(Luke 20:37-38)
In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
This is a time of sorrow, of remembrance, and sometimes of joy. It is the season, and the week, and in some homes the day, that we remember those who have died. We remember individuals close to us, loved ones, fellow worshipers, friends, and colleagues. We remember those far away. And we remember those long ago.
Fresh it comes sometimes, the memory of the loss of someone dear to us, long ago. Or we are reminded, willy-nilly, by some random reference in a passing conversation, or news item. We pass the freeway exit. We taste something, or a fragrance comes to us, and we remember them.
We remember, too, those who are passing now, or recently, not only those we know personally, but those we hear about through news reports. This past weekend the headlines about a crush in a crowd in Korea and the murder of innocents in Mogadishu vied for space, while Ethiopia, Congo, Yemen, and other places were found further down the page, or on inside pages, or awaited their turn in our attention.
Some of us remember every day or every week those who have died coming through the desert, and we light a candle at a shrine, or remember them in our prayers.
News items, or visitors, bring to mind tragedies of the past. Anticipated grief, expectation of loss to come, sometimes controls our consciousness. It looks like something is going to happen and we find ourselves getting ready to absorb it, or trying - in advance - to forget it, or address it, or both.
So we have a holiday or two, or three, this weekend and next. Monday is All Hallows’ Eve, the night before All Saints’ Day, Tuesday and Wednesday, November 1st and 2nd, we observe El día de Los Muertos*, and on Wednesday, All Souls, All Faithful Departed** - and next Sunday we continue our remembrances, as we listen to the gospel in which Jesus explains to cynical skeptics the resurrection of the dead and the hope it gives, as our God is the God of the living, ‘for to him all these are alive.’
That last is a hard and beautiful doctrine, hard to get your mind around and assimilate, for it is so different from our cultural messages, even well-meaning ones, and the consolations quickly offered at the time of grief. But it is good news, nevertheless.
And well worth remembering. If the dead are alive to God, and we are alive in Christ, then especially when we come to church and take communion together, and especially these days, we should be able not only to mourn but to celebrate the lives of those who have lived before us, as they are alive in God.
* “Día de los Muertos acknowledges the symbiotic relationship between life and death. El día de Los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and November 2nd, in which the spirits of the dead are believed to return home and spend time with their relatives on these two days.” https://www.mexicanmuseum.org/dia-de-los-muertos
** “This optional observance is an extension of All Saints' Day. While All Saints’ is to remember all the saints, popular piety felt the need to distinguish between outstanding saints and those who are unknown in the wider fellowship of the church, especially family members and friends. Commemoration of All Faithful Departed did not appear in an American Prayer Book until 1979, and it is celebrated on Nov. 2. It is also known as All Souls’ Day. Many churches now commemorate all the faithful departed in the context of the All Saints’ Day celebration.”
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/all-faithful-departed-commemoration-of/
Readings for Year C, Proper 27. The Third Sunday before Advent:
TRACK ONE
or Psalm 98
TRACK TWO
A version of this essay was published in the Keeping the Faith feature of the Home + Life section of the Arizona Daily Star, Sunday November 13th 2022, page E3, under the title, "Celebrate loved ones lost."
https://arizonadailystar-az.newsmemory.com?selDate=20221113&goTo=E03
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