Collect and Readings for All Saints Day – Daniel 7.1-3, 15-18, Psalm 149, Ephesians 1.11-end, Luke 6.20-31
The Prayer for today
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body
of your Son Christ our Lord: grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly
living that we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love
you; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
I am told that there are occasions when people go caving that they suddenly find themselves in huge, lofty underground caverns with the most beautiful rock formations and colours that take your breath away. And they realise that there would be no easy way of seeing these wonders; the tight and terrifying passages that they have just squeezed through are an essential part of the experience.
Perhaps this is a little like the pattern of our spiritual experience, too. We are all chosen in Christ to be saints, and part of the glorious life awaiting God’s chosen ones in heaven is the challenging and often uncomfortable journey towards it. You cannot have one without the other, and the expectation of that promised, but unimaginable destination can actually make us happy to be spiritually crawling through mud or holding our breath through sumps.
Nearly all of us share the forgotten but impressive experience of birth through a narrow and uncomfortable tunnel out into the breadth and light of this world, and many mothers find that the pain of the birthing process is different from other pain because of being positive and full of hope. They are in no way denying the pain but seeing it (at least with hindsight!) in a wider context.
It is in the wider context of eternity that the Beatitudes make sense, and that our attitude to earthly pressures and persecution lightens. Even these times catch the light of God’s love and glory, and so become not just possible to bear but reasons for rejoicing, as they mark out and confirm our route.
As we celebrate this week the many who have persevered on this route and now cheer us on, we catch the excitement again of our calling, both individually by name, and as the entire Church of God.
Some things to reflect on:
· Would you be willing to suffer persecution for your faith?
· Reading the Bible passages for this week, how does the Church of your experience live up to its calling?
God bless and stay safe and well.
Rev’d Fiona Robinson
