The Preacher’s Study
First thoughts about next Sunday’s sermon
(All Saints’ Day, November 1, 2013, or observed on Sunday, Nov 3)
William H. Petersen
Contextual Considerations
The
festival of All Saints is the last major feast day of the liturgical year. It
has been particularly beloved by Anglicans, perhaps because of its origin in
the British Isles before migrating to Rome and becoming by the eighth century a
set feast on November 1st for the entire western church. It is the
only festal day of the medieval sanctorale
(apart from persons named in the New Testament) to have survived in the
calendar of the English Reformation.
In
modern times, the continuing significance of the day is attested by the 1979
American BCP and the 1985 Canadian BAS. In setting forth the calendar of the
church year, both books make special note that, though the day falls invariably
on November 1st, it may be celebrated on the Sunday following. This exceptional
rubric affirms, first, that the observance is principally a feast of Christ
according to the rule for all Sundays, and secondly, it tacitly recognizes that
most people today do not or cannot attend weekday liturgies. Thus, to highlight
its importance, the feast is, for all intents and purposes, transferred to the
Sunday following.
For
Anglicans, as well as for others who have adopted the Revised Common Lectionary, the observance has been further enriched
by provision of a three-year cycle of readings for the day. Thus, we are not
limited every year, as was previously the case, to only a single set of
lections, viz. Ecclesiasticus (“let
us now praise famous [sic] men”),
Revelation (“the multitude...standing before the Lamb”), and Matthew (the
beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount).
As
the final major feast of the sanctorale,
the observance of All Saints provides a fitting culmination of the liturgical
year as well. The festival in itself provides a vision of the corporate nature
of salvation, indeed implied by Christ’s resurrection, but in this celebration
the Paschal Mystery reaches toward its full manifestation. The petition of All
Saints is best realized by Charles Wesley’s hymn Love Divine: “Finish then thy new creation; pure and spotless let
us be; let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee: changed from
glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns
before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.”
All
Saints, as a watershed moment, also marks a conclusion of the liturgical year.
The atmosphere, indeed, the focus and content, of the lections for the seven
Sundays following All Saints day are exclusively eschatological as befits the
primary emphasis of Advent at the start of the new liturgical year. It is only
on the Sunday before Christmas that the focus begins to change from an emphasis
on the full manifestation of God’s reign, transitioning at the last moment to
an incarnational focus on the Nativity. There will be more about an expanded
understanding of Advent in weeks to come.
Reflection on the Lections
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18. Apocalyptic vision rather than prophecy is
the strategy of choice for writers, inspired or otherwise, when dealing with matters
that do not safely allow explicit reference. This passage from the beginning of
the second part of Daniel (ca. 165
BC) is a fair representation of the genre. Here, however, the passage is
truncated to emphasize two items pertinent to All Saints: an affirmation of the
ultimate triumph of God’s reign against its foes or any powers inimical to it
and, secondly, as a reference to Israel’s regard for God’s “holy ones” who will
see this victory. Among Christians, the Orthodox have outshone others by holding
up in liturgical observance and iconography the sanctity of figures from the
Hebrew Scriptures. There is some value in putting this before contemporary
western Christians, if only as a homiletical aside or contextualization.
Psalm 149. Older translations of this psalm (“Let the
saints be joyful with glory,” vs 5) go far toward explaining why it was
traditionally appointed when only one set of lections was provided for All
Saints’ Day. However, it remains a mystery (and not one of the good kind!) why
the entire psalm is still indicated for Year C. The implied or explicit
glorification of violence in verses 6-9 is totally inappropriate to the day. It
is strongly recommended, therefore, that these imprecatory verses not be read,
much less sung, but that this gradual be limited to verses 1-5.
Ephesians 1:11-23. This passage aptly sets forth the Pauline
theology of the Church as the Body of Christ (referenced also in the collect
for the day: “one communion...in the mystical body”). Here the promise and
power of the resurrection for the human community and, indeed, the whole
creation is made explicit in the communion of saints, whether among and between
those who have gone before and the church present or to come. This not only
gives occasion to the preacher to set forth the doctrine of All Saints Day in a
“true and lively” manner, but also to bring the missional aspect of the
celebration into focus: as love – even across the chasm of death – is the bond
of life, so faithfulness in living the vision is vital for those who celebrate
the feast.
Luke 6:20-31. Here the Year C reading for All Saints
provides an almost singular instance in the liturgical year when the injunction
to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us is publicly proclaimed.
Whether in the contemporary global context or in national or local situations,
the preaching opportunity presented here is not to be missed. This passage as a
whole, of course, contains the Lukan version of the beatitudes (and woes) from
the so-called Sermon on the Plain and, as such, provides a wealth of
formational emphasis for what goes to make up sanctity or what must
characterize the “holy ones” of God, that is, all those baptized into the Body
of Christ.
William H.
Petersen is Emeritus Dean & Professor of Bexley Hall Seminary, Columbus, OH.
An Honorary Member of APLM Council, he is Consultant to the Ecumenical Office, Episcopal
Church Center, NYC, and Founder & Convener of The Advent Project, North
American Academy of Liturgy
The painting pictured at the top of this post is “Communion of
Saints” by Elise Ritter. Her work is available through http://www.eliserittergallery.com/
Thank you, Bill. This is most helpful. I appreciate your insights.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Good to see your mug there. Hope you are doing well --
ReplyDelete