by Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies…” (John 11:25)
This weekend is a long one with the yearly observance of the feasts of All Saints and All Souls. While the pandemic brought new normal (that includes restrictions) in the celebration of these two-day feasts their meaning remains the same. In the western and eastern churches tradition, the feast of All Saints is observed on the first day of November. It is also known as Allhallows or Hallowmas, a holy day in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. Originally a pagan festival of the dead, All Saints’ Day was established by the Catholic Church in the 9th century to honor Christian saints. The main reason then in the November 1 “All Saints Day” observance is the remembrance of all those who remained faithful to their faith even through severe trials: “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Revelations 7:14).
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All Souls’ Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, which is observed by Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations annually on 2 November. All Souls’ Day is often celebrated in Western Christianity; Saturday of Souls is a related tradition more frequently observed in Eastern Christianity. Adherents of All Souls’ Day traditions often remember deceased friends and relatives in various ways on the day. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and visits to cemeteries, people commemorate the poor souls in purgatory and gain them indulgences. Beliefs and practices associated with All Souls’ Day vary widely among Christian denominations. (Wikipedia).
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To the Filipinos, most do not find distinction between All Saints day and All Souls day as to their raison d’etre. Hence, most pay their respects to their departed on the day which is set by the church for the saints (November 1) – known and unknown. Whatever reason or reasons that make us celebrate or observe All Saints or All Souls day, let us not forget the certainty that both occasions are associated with: Death. It may be that life expectancy is getting longer to some with the advancement of science and medicine. But whether one lives up to 60 or 70 or 80 or 90 years, the end is still the same death. How then do we confront death? For us Christians, the mystery of death is unmasked with the coming of Jesus. For us death is not the end of the road, death is only a transformation from an earthly dwelling to a heavenly one, from the physical body to a spiritual body, from a death in this earthly life to a birth in the kingdom of God. St Paul says that if we are united with Jesus in his death on the cross, we will be united also with him in his resurrection. This is our hope, and this is our faith.
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Due to the successive typhoons and stormy weather some cemeteries are still under water and covered with muck. Other graves and niches are eroded exposing their contents. It is also noticeable the increase of newly dug graves as a result of the two-year-old pandemic – and still counting. But thankfully abating. Nonetheless, the graves that we visit on this occasion reminds us of the reality of death. “The grave that they dug him had flowers/Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colours/And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone… He’s gone..” (The Grave, Don McLean). But our Lord Jesus Christ assures us, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies…” (John 11:25).
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In the fourth chapter of his Rule, St. Benedict wrote: “Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die” (RB4.47). While he is not advocating an obsession with death, he is indicating the best way to embrace life. We can only turn our gaze to the one thing that matters by owning our mortality. The COVID pandemic has brought the reality of human frailty and mortality to our attention. While confronting our human frailty, it is important to keep in mind that we are mortal creatures who have been created for immortality. This awareness is addressed by the Psalmist. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain wisdom of heart” (Ps. 90:12). I wonder how different would our lives be if we kept death daily before our eyes? By keeping the reality of death before our eyes, we free ourselves to live richer lives.
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The celebration and observance of All Saints/All Souls help counterbalance our tendency to simply read Scripture texts that make us feel good. By remembering the souls of those who have gone before us and visiting their graves, we are forced to admit that we are dust, and like those whose graves we visit, we shall return to dust. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote: “We have no lasting city here, but we are seeking one that is to come” (Heb. 13: 14). The more we remember the past, the more accurately will we be able to set our gaze on the future. “For our citizenship is in heaven from where we eagerly await the return of our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). While we grieve the loss of loved ones, faith tells us that Christ has conquered death. Granted, each of us will die someday, but none of us is not subject to death’s power because in Christ God has conquered death.
There is a reassuring line in the Rite of Christian Burial. ‘In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend our loved one to almighty God’. Faith tells us that what we commend to the earth is a clay vessel that contains the seed of immortality. The faithful departed see God face to face and are absorbed into God’s love. Having been consumed by the fire of divine love they are purified from the contagion of sin. Having abandoned themselves to God’s infinite mercy, they are drawn into communion with the Trinity.
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Today, the church invites us to pray for the souls of the faithful departed and to prepare for our own death. It is important that we maintain a relationship of love and faith with the deceased and that we view death and the afterlife in the light of the Scriptures. By remembering those who have gone before us, we are connected with the history of human existence. At the end of life, death can deprive us of what is mortal, but it can never deprive us of what is divine. Having been stripped of mortality we will be clothed in a robe of immortality. Today allows us to be grateful for the life we have been given, for the people who have shared our lives and who have loved and supported us throughout our lives. Saint Ambrose wrote: “We loved them in life, let us not forget them in death.” Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen (Fr Jerome Machar, OCSO)
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What might we profitably do this All Saints/All Souls observance and beyond? Let us look backward, and consider those who went before us. The road ahead is inevitably dark, but to see where we have been may offer unexpected hints about who we are and where we should be heading. Triviality about the past leads certainly toward a trivial future.
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Our gospel lesson this Sunday (Proper 26):
v5When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to Zacchaeus, “Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today.”
v6Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed him with great joy. v7All the people who saw it started grumbling, “This man has gone as a guest to the home of a sinner!”
v8Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.”
v9Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham. v10The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (read: Luke 19:1-9)
The message that Jesus is trying to get across to us is that nobody is beyond redemption. There are no limits to the possibility of salvation offered by Jesus. God’s grace is able to turn a life upside down and change a sinful person. The greater the sinner the more forgiving he is. There is no past, however shameful, that cannot be given a fresh start. Lurking within each one of us there is sinful Zacchaeus, seeking out the Lord to save us and give us new hope.
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Desmond Knowles wrote, ‘The call of Jesus, “Hurry, because I must stay in your house today,” goes out to everyone. We must take full advantage of his passing, by acknowledging our sins and opening our hearts to his goodness. The real focus of the story is on the last line of the gospel: “The Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.” Before Jesus, all men are sinners like Zacchaeus. The Lord has come to save you and me and he meets us at the point of our need, with no strings attached. He is waiting to change our lives as soon as we show willingness to open the door of our hearts and let his salvation get to work in the very center of our being.’
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (ECP-BCP, All Saints Day Collect)**
