November 2, 2025
All Saints’
I have heard of your faith in the Lord
Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I
do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, 17 that
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of
wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so
that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the
hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious
inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the
immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the
working of his great power. 20 God put this
power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his
right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all
rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named,
not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And
he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things
for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness
of him who fills all in all.
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We’re
living in times when humankind is being divided up along all sorts of lines. We do a pretty thorough job using the
standard divisions of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability status, nationality,
ethnicity, political affiliation, geography, and favorite sports teams. Oh, yes: religion, too.
When
you add in the algorithms used by social media, we get even more categories and
subcategories, each of which is reinforced by the companies pushing more and more
particularized material. FaceBook at
least has the courtesy to add headings like, “Chosen Just for You” or “Based on
your stated interests…” but most of it happens without identification. I get ads for T-Shirts that say, “It’s been right
there in the bulletin for weeks.” I have
to admit I’ve almost bought that a couple of times.
None
of this is new, though. There have
always been tribes and there has always been tribalism. What is of interest isn’t the divisions. What is interesting is when God says, “Enough
of this!” and starts bringing them to an end.
That
began with Jesus.
When
the angel Gabriel visited Mary and
“The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you,” [Luke
1:35]
the distinction between physicality and spirituality was
overcome. When, as John put it,
“The Word became flesh
and lived among us,” [John 1:14]
Jesus, both human and divine, overcame that division.
If those ultimate
divisions are bridged, as Jesus did, then the divisions among people are like
nothing by comparison. Some of those are
the earthly divisions that I have mentioned, but there is also the division among
us, those who have gone before us, and those who will come after us, all who
believe in him, who trust him, who follow him, who look to him for direction
and for help to do God’s will.
“God put this power to work in Christ
when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and
power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but
also in the age to come. And he has put all things
under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which
is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” [Ephesians
1:20-23]
There are ways to bring that to clear expression in
our lives.
One of those is what we
specifically do today when we celebrate the people whose lives have been part
of our own while they lived on earth and are now part of eternity in a wider
sense. We recognize that whatever harm
they may have done is forgiven; that the good they have done lives on and may
even continue to grow; and they themselves are free now to praise God in a
fuller, more direct way. The distinction
between time and eternity is not a division between God’s people on earth and
in heaven nor a barrier to the shared love of God and of one another.
Of course, we express the
love of the God who joined his life in eternity to ours here on earth by living
for others, not just for ourselves. That
means sharing willingly in others’ troubles sometimes. Paul told the Galatians,
“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this
way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” [Galatians 6:2]
Starting yesterday, for example, one out of eight
Pennsylvanians has lost food assistance and nobody knows what things will look
like in the weeks ahead. Few are in a
position to be able to do more than nudge the people who can change that, but
if you can nudge, then please nudge. Meanwhile,
though, many are easily in a position to fast one day a week, and to use the
money that would have gone toward that day’s groceries to help a food bank or a
pantry feed someone who goes without, but not by choice. Beyond that, as people of faith, we can take
the time that would have gone into cooking and eating and cleaning up from
those meals and use it in prayer for a good solution to the deeper problems
that have created the whole mess.
God
has made us a people of hope, not of despair.
We proclaim our confidence in God’s ultimate triumph and rule by even
the small things that will leave the world a better place when it is our turn
to move on. Look to the future. Plant a tree when you see a parking lot being
built. Help a neighborhood cleanup. Share a piece of beautiful music with someone
who hasn’t heard it or introduce a child to your favorite book. Offer a good word to someone who is doing
well. Even better, offer encouragemet to
someone who is clearly having a hard time.
Remind them that no matter how much they may be up against, God holds both
the present and the future in his hand.
“God put this power to work in Christ
when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and
power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but
also in the age to come.” [Ephesians 1:20-21]
Someone I knew well, gone to glory, who did that for a
lot of other people used to say,
“Look for the rainbow, not the rain.”
In short, live
“so that, with the eyes of your heart
enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what
are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and
what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.”
[Ephesians 1:18-19]
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