We begin November with the church festival of All Saints, or All Hallows, which is the feast of all the redeemed, known and unknown, who are now in heaven. This feast day first began in the East, perhaps as early as the 5th century, as commemorating ‘the martyrs of the whole world’, and we can see in it the fulfilment of the hopes of Easter and Pentecost and indeed of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice and resurrection. It's a fitting start to this season of remembrance.
The ‘saints’ do not belong to any religious tradition, they belong to us all, and their lives and witness to Christ can be appreciated by all Christians. Richard Baxter, writing in the 17th century, wrote this:
He wants not friends that hath thy love,
And made converse and walk with thee,
And with thy saints here and above,
With whom for ever I must be...
As for my friends, they are not lost;
The several vessels of thy fleet,
Though parted now, by tempests tost,
Shall safely in thy haven meet....
The heavenly hosts, world without end,
Shall be my company above;
And thou, my best and surest Friend,
Who shall divide me from thy love?*
I find this an encouragement – that those we love, and countless other saints are with us in fellowship through life. We all need the support and fellowship of others to get things done – as we’ve found out in our ArtsFest and in our Harvest Festival celebrations – team work is important, and together we can achieve amazing things.
I hope these words will be a help to all those coming to our Remembrance Sunday and memorial services, and that everyone coming into our churches will discover just how loving and welcoming we are.
No comments:
Post a Comment