Day 232
Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of faith
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland
pastorrobert@paxpres.org
Week Thirty-four Sunday 1 November 2020
All Saints’ Day
“Knit Together”
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. - The Book of Common Prayer: prayer for All Saints’ Day 1 November.
For me this is the most meaningful Sunday in the church calendar eclipsing Christmas and Easter. Maybe it’s because it involves people I know, as I don’t know and have never met the people populating the Christmas and Easter narratives – except, of course, for Jesus and even that is an unseen faith sort of thing. All saints – my mother who knew the Lord and had a vision of heaven as she was dying; her mother, my grandmother, who was responsible for me becoming a Christian; my two grandfathers, who as young men sought to follow Christ into pastoral ministry; Godly pastors I have met in countries around the world; pastors and missionaries whose stories and testimonies, regarding the power of God to change lives, helped shape my life in college chapel in my early twenties. Yes, “All Saints’ Sunday” for me is populated by people I know, whose faces and voices I can recall, whose lives have touched and changed my life. We are, as the prayer reminds us, ‘knit together in the mystical Body of Christ.’ Who would you list?
SAINTS
Saints on earth for whom I want to thank God and why:_______________________________
Saints in heaven for whom I want to thank God and why:______________________________
Reflective question: Are you a saint?
Reflective Scripture: Psalm 116:15 – “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
Reflective hymn:
“For All the Saints” – William How (1823-1897)
For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
No comments:
Post a Comment