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An Introduction to Celebrating "All Saints and All Souls Days"

Trinity Cathedral
The Rev. Dr. Grant S. Carey
Canon Residentiary

All Saints

I sing a song of the saints of God,
Patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought, and lived and died
For the Lord they loved and knew.

And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
And one was a shepherdess on the green:
They were all of them Saints of God
And I mean, God helping, to be one too.

They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,
And his love made them strong;
And they followed the right for Jesus’ sake,
The whole of their good lives long."

And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
And one was slain by a fierce, wild beast;
And there’s not any reason, no not the least,
Why I shouldn’t be one, too.

They lived not only in ages past,
There are hundreds of thousands still
The world is bright with the joyous saints,
Who love to do Jesus’ will.

You can meet them in school,
Or in lanes, or at sea,
In church or in trains
Or in shops or at tea,
For the saints of God are just folk like me
And I mean to be one, too.

Lesbia Scott
The Hymnal 1982 (#293)
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If you have been as Episcopalian as long as I have, this song is one of the most familiar in the Hymnal.  It was in the Hymnal 1940 (the one I “cut my teeth on” (figuratively since I really didn’t have occasion to chew on the hymnals during a boring sermon).

When the latest hymnal was produced (the Hymnal 1982), those in charge sought to eliminate this one. The poetry was archaic in tone or had little relevance to American life (such as having tea, riding trains).  When word got out that the hymn had been eliminated, there was such a hue and cry that the editors reinstated it forthwith.

Why was this so?  It may have been because the music was easy to sing, of that the images were vivid, or because it was so very English (hence: Anglican).  But I think it was that it touched a deep church-centered Anglican nerve, very Episcopal, very faith affirming:  “The Saints of God are just folk like me.”

But are they REALLY “just folk like me?”

As for me, I would consider this question in typical Anglican fashion:  “Yes - - and - - no!”

I remember reading the reply of the much-loved and very wise  Archbishop of Canterbury who served during World War II - - William Temple.  When a reporter asked him if Anglicans weren’t a bit equivocal when it came to answering theological questions, he replied:  “Well - - yes - - and no!”

We Anglicans don’t like to be forced to answer “yes” and “no” even when it seems easier to do so. 

When I was in seminary, I recall a bright young man in his twenties who came from a conservative Protestant tradition but was attracted by the Episcopal liturgy. He was soon appalled by our freedom of interpretation of the Bible.  He had been brought up in a conservative protestant tradition that took everything in the Bible literally; there were no grey areas, no “maybes” or no:” but on the other hand.” After the first year, he left and enrolled in a Baptist seminary where there were no “grey areas.”  It was “In the Book.”  And that ended it!

Why this hymn (I sing a song of the Saints of God) is so refreshing to me is that it removes the saints of God from their stained class windows and makes them real people doing real things in the real world.

All this leads us to the Gospel and other lessons appointed for this coming Sunday which is “All Saints’ Day.” (Followed on Monday by “All Souls Day which is sadly too often neglected or in a manner of speaking, often combined with All Saints though there are great differences in their intended meanings.

The Book of Common Prayer provides us with three sets of “propers” for All Saints’ Day - - three sets of lessons appointed to be read in three different years. The “propers” for Sundays and week days set the theme for the day or the season. So
Let’s take a moment to read and consider the Gospel lessons appointed for the feast of All Saints and see how they relate to the words Lesbia Scott wrote for her children.

Year B

When Mary came where Jesus was a saw him, she knelt as his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.  He said, “Where have you laid him? They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”  But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus again, deeply disturbed, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.  Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” And Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.”  Jesus said to her, “did not I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone.  And Jesus looked upward and said “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so they may believe that you sent me.  When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth and his face wrapped in a cloth.  And Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”  (John 11: 32-44)

How does this Gospel reading help to answer these questions?

What is a saint of God?

How do these words point toward being patient, brave and true?

Can you think of any modern days saints who would in some way fit the pattern expressed by Jesus.

I love the story of the rector who was giving a sermon to the children on Sunday morning and asked if any one could tell him what a saint was.  One little boy who raised his hand, pointed to the stained class window depicting Saint Peter and said:  “A saint is someone who lets the light shine through.”

Ms Scott wrote in the last verse; "They lived not only in ages past.  There are hundreds of thousands still.

Can we think of come contemporary saints of God - - not only those who might stand out  because of their great deeds like Mother Teresa,  but any you might be aware of who are not at all in the book!  And what is it about them that make them saints?
Are we saints of God?  Can we honestly say:  “I mean to be one too?”

Let’s shift our attention away from All Saints Day to All Souls Day.  Since it is not a major feast of the church if is most frequently put aside, but it has a long history and one worth our consideration this evening.

Part II

Subject: All Souls Day

There is a very thin line between past, present, and future. It is like breathing in and breathing out. The present is less than a breath.  We live in a world that it a constant mixture of all three - - past, present and future… the seen and the unseen.

 I have come to accept that the line that divides past from the future is the same line the divides what we refer to as “this world” from the “next.”

Actually, I had this figured out when I was somewhere around seven or eight - - after my grandfather, whom I loved dearly, was suddenly killed in an auto accident. Without benefit of knowledge of scripture or religious teaching on the subject, as I child I perceived that death was entering into another dimension that existed just beyond my sight.   I still believe this to be so.   Heaven is not “up there” but heaven is all around us. 

The theologian Tielhard de Chardin observed: “I am not a human being having a spiritual experience.  I am a spiritual being having a human experience.” He perceived that the world of the spirit was no less real than the world we live in here and now.

And so this day traditionally called “All Souls” or “All the Faithful Departed” is set aside for us to remember and pray for those whom we love but see no longer.  The Book of Common Prayer is insistent that they who have gone before - - who have passed through the portal we call death, are no less real than when they were among us.  And so we remember and pray for them, knowing that they remember and pray for us. . That they - - and we - - may go from strength to strength in the life God has created for us to experience...

Some Questions for Thought and Discussion:

Is there a relationship between All Saints and All Souls?

Why do you think the two days separated rather than being one?

When I lived in Puerto Rico, I visited a friend who was vicar of a small mission church on the island of Viequez off the coast of the main island. It was All Saints’ Eve (Halloween).  We visited the cemetery where hundreds of people were picnicking at the graves of their deceased relatives. Everyone was having a great time.  As we walked along (in cassocks) were invit3ed to pious, say a prayer, and eat a little food.

What do you think?

Should we pray for the dead?  (At the time of the English Reformation there was great debate as to whether the prayer book should authorize a day time set apart to pray for the dead. As a result, All Souls’ Day was eliminated from the liturgy.  Why should we pray for the dead?