All Souls in a Covid World

Today we gather with Christians all around the world who will light candles and remember loved ones who have died over the last year. We do this because November 1st has for at least 12 centuries been All Saints Day. This is the day Christians have remembered all those who firstly died as martyrs, and then all those great people of faith (saints) who the rest of us look up to and are inspired by. From the twelfth or thirteenth centuries All Souls Day was held on November 2 to remember ALL people of faith, especially those we grieve. Today we remember all those who have gone before us, who have paved the way for us, and especially those we have loved and who loved us, and those who inspire us. As we honour their memory and give thanks for the ways they have blessed us over our lifetimes, we take another step in letting them go, trusting that they now rest in God, as they have always.

This year All Souls is particularly poignant. For many 2020 has been a hard year. Life as we knew it has changed. Some for the better. Some for the worse. While there is much to feel relief at when we look overseas, there is still a lot to grieve. This is true for those who have had friends or loved ones die, and is especially true for those unable to attend the funerals.

With Covid’s impact on the world this year, our usual ways of working through a bereavement have been upended. We are offered this opportunity to pause and take time to remember those who have died, and to acknowledge what their lives have meant to us and the impact of their loss on those who remain.

We do this reflecting on the gospel reading for today; Matthews’s version of the Beatitudes. We have referred to this a lot this year. In these and the whole sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches us that these people are the most honoured; they are the ones we look up to and aspire to be like.

Today we are invited to recall those we might call saints and how they inspire us in our lives today. We honour their lives and give thanks for all they meant to us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Get those PSA Blood Tests Done Boys!

I had a strange conversation a few months ago. I was lying back in a chair, naked from the waste down, holding a nappy over my bits while I waited for the skin under my bits to go numb enough from liquid nitrogen or some such thing, so that they could inject the local anesthetic and then punch a couple of holes through to the prostate. All in all a fun experience. And while I waited the nurse made small talk and asked what I did. "I'm retired", I replied. "Oh, what are you planning to do now you are retired? any travel?" "Turns out not" I said, "It seems I'm just keeping my dairy open for dealing with health things." And I am still keeping my dairy open and still dealing with them. This journey began last year. I was already dealing with two other things, including a lump in my parotid gland which has been slowly growing there for about 3 years. When I got back from being overseas on sabbatical my doctor called me in to talk about that an
Read more

What a Ride! - Thankyou and Goodbye!

Image
You can listen to this sermon here   Gate Pa - Ascension Sunday and Easter 7 Year B, 2024 Readings: Palm                            Psalm 1 First Reading:             Acts 1:1-11, 15-17,21-26                     Bible Page 884 Second Reading:        1 John 5:9-13                                       Bible Page 991 Gospel:                         John 17:6-19                                        Bible Page 879 What I want to say: A sermon to say thankyou -           To explore the process we are all going through – and that it is ok -           Use the ascension to invite us all to trust God in all this -           Offer some thoughts about what the future might be What I want to happen: People to embrace all that the liminal space might offer with thankfulness, hope and trust. The Sermon 1.      Introduction: Pancake Monday in 2012 – nearly 12 ½ years ago Bishop David Rice installed me as vicar of Gate Pa Telling everyone I didn’t know much about vicaring -          Outraged some
Read more

"Just Enjoy The Coffee"

I was just sent this on Anglicans All. Being a coffee enjoyer and a Franciscan I enjoyed it. I hope you do to: Even if you are not a coffee drinker...Have a good day!!!! A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain ,plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite, telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee, the professor said: If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the simple and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it is just more ex
Read more