Matthew 5:1-12
Today, we mourn the death of saints gone before us. This year, the list is long. We have mourned throughout the pandemic those we’ve lost to the virus, those who have died of mostly heat-related illness on the streets, those who have died as a result of police brutality or violent protest. Today, we may be mourning the death of someone dear to us, someone who died not of Covid-19 nor of heat stroke on the street, but someone who died of a heart attack or Alzheimer’s, of AIDS or cancer, of drug overdose or in an accident. Perhaps this dear one passed out of our lives years ago, but the sadness and anger of grief linger.
We may be mourning these deaths, and we may be saddened and angered because they could have been prevented. If only they had gone to the doctor earlier… If only they had not been exposed to the virus or the heat… If only we lived in a just society… The “if only”s haunt us.
Yet, on this All Saints Day, we don’t just mourn. We also remember and give thanks to God for the lives of the saints gone before us. We remember our grandmothers and grandfathers, our parents and godparents, our beloved partners and even children whose lives ended tragically early. We remember those with whom we’ve shared in Christian community, the ones who sat in this pew and served on that committee, the ones who taught us the Lord’s Prayer, the ones who listened to us during difficult times over a cup of coffee.
The Question of the Day is: On this All Saints Day, which saint do you remember? What is one way that person blessed your life? You may also post a photo of that person in the feed if you would like. To hear the community’s reflection, go to the Grace Facebook page live stream feed from November 1.
On All Saints Day, we also remember the saints of the church who came long before us. Martin Luther and Johann Sebastien Bach, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Florence Nightengale, Julian of Norwich and Oscar Romero, Martin Luther King Jr and Sojourner Truth. We remember and give thanks to God for the saints of the church commemorated by our church body whose stories are less familiar to us, like Toyohiko Kagawa who in his home country of Japan established schools, churches, and hospitals among those living in poverty and worked for peace between China and Japan in the mid-20th century. Like Catherine of Siena, the first woman in the Roman Catholic Church to receive the title Doctor of the Church in the 14th century. Both a mystic and an activist, she worked to relieve the suffering of God’s people.
On this All Saints Day, we also remember and give thanks to God for the saints of scripture: Peter and the apostle Paul, Mary and the Woman at the Well, prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, courageous Esther and loyal Ruth, the prophet Elijah and King David, Moses and Aaron and Miriam, Jacob and Leah and Rachel.
In Jesus’ teaching from Matthew, in what we call the beatitudes, he makes an odd proclamation. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. He speaks blessing upon those who, in our world, especially to those who are reeling from grief, would seem to be the very opposite of blessed, people in the midst of struggle, of emotions they do not understand or like. How is it that those mourning are blessed? Aren’t those mourning ignored, left empty, hurting? In his nonsensical blessing proclamation, Jesus shares good news with people in need of blessing, people who are mourning, and he calls all those who listen to participate in comforting. In Greek, the word comforted is not simply consolation but includes a sense of advocacy on behalf of the one grieving. The word is parakleytheysontai, a word used in the first century in legal contexts. Those being parakleytheysontai had someone intercede for them, to help make things right. Jesus announces this particular beatitude as well as two others in the passive voice, meaning we do not know from his words who is doing the comforting. Presumably God. But in the context of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount where he teaches all those gathered to love their enemies, to let their light so shine before others, to judge not lest they be judged, to bear good fruit, the promise of comfort leads me to believe Jesus invites all his followers to participate in comforting those who mourn. To intercede on behalf of those grieving, especially those who grieve people who died in vain. To make right the conditions that led to the death of beloved people.
How is the Spirit of God calling us to intercede, to comfort those who mourn? And what do we learn from the saints, the saints known to us, the saints lifted up by the church, the saints of scripture gone before us about following Jesus in this particular regard? While all humanity and, indeed, all creatures die, not all death is just or natural or simply the unfolding of an inevitable biological process. This year, more than any before it, I feel the Spirit of God moving us, the people of God, to comfort those who mourn not simply by bringing food (although that is appreciated), not simply by praying (though that is important), not simply by showing up for others (though that is loving and needed), but by working to end the unjust conditions that lead to untimely death. By taking precautions like staying home when we’re sick and wearing a mask, precautions that keep others healthy. By being a good friend to someone who is reluctant to care for themselves. By supporting leaders who make choices that safeguard health and seek to end situations, like homelessness, that make life precarious. By advocating for access to good quality medical care for all people. By advocating for the health and safety of all people, whether or not they have perpetrated a crime against others. These types of advocacy may be controversial, but in the gospel of Matthew, I see an incarnate God who provides healing for people regardless of circumstance, an incarnate God who seeks life and life abundant for all, an incarnate God who by the very way God comes into the world reveals the value of flesh to God.
The saints of scripture, the prophets and witnesses and vessels of God’s Spirit, worked to bring God’s abundant life to all. The saints commemorated by the church took up Jesus’ invitation to comfort the mourning, to intercede, to offer assistance to those grieving. Saints dear to us, our grandparents and parents, Sunday school teachers and friends, they too taught us Jesus’ way of love and justice. Today, good news comes to us not only from the God who comforts us but from the saints who enter into this work with God and alongside all who mourn.
Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Thanks be to God! Amen.