The communion of saints is a phrase that proclaims both the union of all God’s people (past, present, future, on earth or in heaven) and the experience of our shared fellowship.
God, in Jesus, united / unites both heaven and earth – we don’t live in a two-storied universe! There is an essential oneness between heaven and earth – one continual world without end. To know this empowers us to a healthy communion of and fellowship with the saints. It makes real what we say when we say I believe in the communion of saints in the creed. And if we truly believe this, how might we on a day like today – all saints day / all souls day – deliberately practice their presence?
This is a day when we remember not only those who have been recognized by the Church and called Saints, but those ordinary people who have lived their lives in extraordinary ways that have inspired and encourage others in their pilgrimage of faith. Saints are often considered to be those people who are so holy that they are far removed from our lives and our daily concerns. People who seem to never have doubts or fears or worried, whose faith and trust in God seems unwavering. This is not true, for they were human beings just like any of us and should be remembered both for their faith and for their humanity.
Today, All Saints Day, is a day when we celebrate the faith and humanity of people who are just as human as we are, wrestling with God’s presence, in each aspect or season of our lives and our living. That whole company of humanity, those who have gone through tough times and good times, surrounding us with wisdom and support – to have this insight in our faith can be itself healing. Today is also a day in that whole company of humanity when it takes us out of ourselves, out of our own concerns and moves us into a more meaningful place, a place where we are God’s beloved, created precious in the image of God, and possess a wonderful hope.
Reflecting on All Saints Day, Sister Elizabeth Johnson, a member of the Community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, and distinguished theologian wrote the following: “A flourishing humanity on a thriving Earth in an evolving universe, all together filled with the glory of God: such is the theological vision needed in this critical age of earth’s distress. This moment of crisis calls for a spirituality and ethics that will empower us to live in the web of life as sustainers rather than destroyers of the world. Ignoring this need keeps religious persons locked in ultimately irrelevant concerns while the irreversible drama of life or death is being played out on the planet. But being converted to the earth sets our personal lives and communities off on a great adventure. Instead of living as thoughtless or greedy exploiters of the earth, we become sisters and brothers, friends and lovers, mothers and fathers, priests and prophets, cocreators and children of the earth that as God’s beloved creation gives us life. Only then can we join in praying the Sanctus with integrity: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna!’ No more monumental challenge faces those who are led by the Spirit of God, Lord and Giver of Life, at the start of the third millennium.”
This great adventure, in the company of all of humanity, on earth and in heaven, conveys a wonderful sense of joy and dance … life is heading somewhere! There is a great consummation ahead! … with a communion of all those bonded and bound together in the love of God – we are offered an opportunity and a challenge to respond now and always in love and trust. We get a message of this in scripture in the New Testament where ordinary people are described as ‘the saints’ – that Jesus has joined heaven and earth in a way that can never be separated, so that the living and the departed are bound up together in one communion and fellowship. On a day like today, we know in a real way that we are supported by the love and prayers of those who love us on earth and by the love and prayers of those who have gone before us.
There is a hymn in Sing a New Creation written by Sylvia Dunstan called “Those Hearts that We Have Treasured” – Anglican Church of Canada – hymn #59
Those hearts that we have treasured, those lives that we have shared,
Those loves that walked beside us, those friends for whom we’ve cared
Their blessing rests upon us, their life is memory, their suffering is over,
Their spirits are set free.
They still give hope and comfort, they did not lose the fight,
They showed us truth and goodness, they shine into our night.
Remember days of gladness, remember times of joy,
Remember all the moments that grief cannot destroy.
From hearts that we have treasured, from lives that we have shared,
From loves that walked beside us, from friends for whom we’ve cared
We’ve learned to treasure kindness, we’ve learned that grace provides,
We’ve learned to be together, we’ve learned that love abides.
Richard Harries in his book “Seeing God in Art” writes “On this feast day – the communion of saints – two things shine out for us. First, that this is a form of life that includes others, that human life is essentially social, and that is as true of heaven as it is on earth. Second, heaven is the fulfillment of our human longing to be taken out of ourselves in joyous ecstasy.”
John Donne’s prayer “One Equal Music,” envisions a state of perfection where all opposing dualities turn into a harmonious unity. He expresses for many of us that deep longing for unity and oneness. It has long been one of my own prayers and one that I have shared as a prayer with others on cards. It was first given to me many years ago by one of our senior Sisters, a treasured gift.
“Bring us, o Lord God, at our last awakening into the house and gate of Heaven, to enter into that gate and dwell in that house, where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; no noise nor silence, but one equal music; no fears or hopes, but one equal possession; no ends or beginnings, but one equal eternity, in the habitations of thy glory and dominion, world without end.”
I would like to close with two other hymns, that offer meditation ponderings that perhaps help expand our understanding of the Communion of Saints and All Saints/All Souls Day celebrations. They are found in the Hymn Book ‘Gather” # 885 and #883:
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One hymn written by John Bell called “For All the Saints Who’ve Shown Your Love” (Iona Community 1996)
For all the saints who’ve shown your love in how they live and where they move,
For mindful women, caring men, accept our gratitude again.
For all the saints who loved your name, whose faith in creased the Saviour’s fame,
Who sang your songs and shared your word, accept our gratitude, good Lord.
For all the saints who name your will, and showed the kingdom coming still
Though unacclaimed by earthly powers, accept the gratitude we raise.
Bless all whose will or name or love reflects the grace of heaven above.
Though unacclaimed by earthly powers, Your life though theirs has hallowed ours.
Another hymn written by Sylvia Dunstan called “For the Faithful Who Have Answered” (GIA Publications Ltd. 1991)
For the faithful who have answered when they heard your call to serve,
For the many ways you led them testing will and stretching nerve.
For their work and for their witness as they strove against the odds
For their courage and obedience, we give thanks and praise O God.
Many eyes have glimpsed the promise. Many hearts have yearned to see.
Many ears have heard you calling us to greater liberty.
Some have fallen in the struggle. Others still are fighting on.
You are not ashamed to own us. We give thanks and praise, O God.
For this cloud of faithful witness, for the common life we share,
For the work of peace and justice, for the gospel that we bear,
For the vision that our homeland is your love – deep, high, and broad –
For the different roads we travel we give thanks and praise, O God.