November 6, 2022, Feast of All Saints: Daniel 7:1-3,15-18; Psalm 149;
Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31
“The holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever.” (Daniel 7:18)
The celebration of All Saints is powerful, with the reminder of those who have gone before us. We remember famous saints and less famous ones, the saints who have illumined our lives in various times and places. We end our Litany of the Saints with names offered up by members of the congregation, those who have been their guides along the way.
Let’s be honest: the good thing about adding the names of those we have known is that they make sainthood more attainable. Most of the saints were probably insufferable, or at least difficult to live with. What allowed them to do the things we admire them for was a singlemindedness that puts their service to God before everything else. Few of us share that focus, that willingness to put God before all human connections.
All Saints is also a celebration of hope. Paul talks of the “hope to which Jesus has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints”. This is a hope we have through baptism, not through any special behavior. We too will join “the saints triumphant”.
That all sounds pretty good, until we get to the gospel. We hear the Beatitudes, Jesus’ blessings. Blessed are you, he says, if you are poor, hungry, grieving, under attack: your reward is great in heaven. But woe to you if you are rich and well fed, happy and admired: the reverse will be true for you. Not necessarily very comforting. Jesus is once again challenging the order of his (and our) world.
Then we get the command: Listen. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” He ends his admonition with a restatement of the golden rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. Now, this is hard. Most of us, when people hurt us, want to hurt them back: that’s human. Jesus is calling us to a different way so that we remake the world.
Sometimes this passage is read to mean that it is our Christian duty to be a doormat, accepting whatever comes. But that’s not what Jesus says: he never says being treated badly is good. He tells to pray for abusers, not to hang out with them. I try to be respectful to people who have treated me badly, but I do my best to not place them in a position to do it again. We have to treat ourselves, not just others, as we want to be treated. Love is an orientation toward healing. It is neither uncritical nor always “nice”. Sometimes tough love is necessary: a woman I recall every year on All Saints once lovingly told me to stop being so full of myself. It was hard to hear, but I needed it.
The golden rule is an ethical guideline in most major religious and ethical traditions. Treating others as we wish to be treated can be difficult, but it is transformative. The shift in orientation is healing for us. When I think of the saints who have guided me on my way, what I remember is the way they faced the world with love.
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day; the saints triumphant rise in bright array; The King of Glory passes on his way. Alleluia, alleluia!
–Hymnal 1982, Hymn 287