Reading Wisdom 3:1-9 (TNIV)
The Destiny of the Righteous
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will ever touch them.
2In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be a disaster,
3and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.
4For though in the sight of others they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
5Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt-offering he accepted them.
7In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
and will run like sparks through the stubble.
8They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them forever.
9Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with him in love,
because grace and mercy are upon his holy ones,
and he watches over his elect.*
Gospel John 11: 17 – 27 (TNIV)
Jesus Comforts the Sisters of Lazarus
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
Sermon
All Saints and All Souls – for many years they were joined together – but in 1980 they were split with introduction of a new service book in C of E.
They are very similar in intent, but in the way we celebrate them there are differences.
All Saints – we celebrate the saints. Special people set aside an example to us in the way they lived and died. They may be called Saint, or may not. They may be ordinary people who were special to us – who brought us up in the faith of Christ – examples to us in our formative years – youth leaders, grandparents, parents, friends.
In the early church – no word for ‘Christian’ – Paul wrote letters to ‘the saints in church at Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi ....’ So the saints we commemorated yesterday, and the souls we remember today may be the same people in many cases.
All Souls – ‘commemoration of faithful departed.’ People dear to us as individuals. These may not be particularly saintly folk. They are important to us – and we believe have gone to be with God. We see them no longer – but our hope is to be reunited with them in fullness of time.
Tonight we are not praying for the souls of those who have departed. We are remembering them, and thanking God for their lives and all they meant to us. We are not praying for them because they are already with God. But we are praying for ourselves and each other as we commemorate the lives of our loved ones who have died.
Tonight we bring a mixture of emotions to this service, and we have space to reflect on those feelings. Maybe some are negative ones. Not all our memories will be good ones, although naturally we will try and concentrate on the good times and all they meant to us.
I say ‘we’ because I myself conducted the funerals of both of my parents in the last 5 years. In fact, my father’s funeral was the first one I ever took.
There may be feelings of regret. Loneliness. Missed opportunities to say what we felt. Remorse. Guilt perhaps. Even anger. Tonight we have space to think over these feelings, and perhaps leave some of them behind here – at the foot of the cross – knowing that God loves us all as he has assured us through the words of Jesus Christ, and we can consign them to his tender care.
The gospel readings for both All Saints and All Souls this year follow on from each other. Lazarus was a close friend of Jesus. His sisters were Mary and Martha. Lazarus fell dangerously sick, and knowing their friend Jesus had been healing people they sent for him.
Jesus delayed. By the time he arrived, Lazarus had been in the tomb for 4 days. Martha expressed some of those feelings of regret and maybe even anger. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died” were her first words when Jesus eventually arrived. Jesus assures her she will see her brother again one day. He will rise again. She knows that already.
Later on, Jesus visits the tomb of Lazarus and gives instructions for the stone sealing the entrance to the cave where he is buried to be removed. He calls to Lazarus who is restored to life and walks out.
Like many incidents in the gospels, this one works for us at many levels.
Firstly it is an actual event that is being reported. The raising of Lazarus from the dead.
Secondly, there is the message. Jesus is demonstrating God’s power over death. He says to Martha:
"I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
“Yes, Lord, I believe” she replies – even before witnessing the miracle of her brother’s call from the tomb.
Thirdly, before opening the cave everyone protests. It is a hot country. People are buried quickly. The body had been in the cave 4 days, and there would be a bad odour.
This represents for us all our negative feelings. The bad odour of our remorse, resentment, perhaps even guilt and anger. In the narrative, Jesus is able to confront all that, and the result is another empty tomb – like his own after the crucifixion – by which he shows God has power over death. What seems to us a terrible finality is not the end, because Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
And Jesus asks us the same question as he asked Martha. “Do you believe?” She answered at once. Martha had the benefit of her Lord right in front of her. We don’t have that luxury, but Jesus still asks us the same question. And by answering in the affirmative, we can be assured of God’s love, atonement and redemption, through which we can leave whatever negative feelings remain with us,` at the foot of his cross. Amen
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