All Saints’ Day
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
Overview
Today is All Saints Day, a day when we celebrate, not just the saints who forged out faith and inspired us, but also our own calling to be saints. Both of our readings speak of difficulty, and of the hope that allows us to continue to thrive in the face of those difficulties. Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 gives us a vision of the ocean (the symbol of chaos) from which rise 4 beasts. But despite the strength of the beasts, Daniel is assured that the arc of history will bring justice and peace. Luke 6:20-31 gives us the beatitudes: blessed are the poor, blessed are the hungry, blessed are those who mourn. These do not seem like blessings, but the blessing is in the reversal: those who are poor WILL inherit the kingdom, those who are hungry WILL be filled. The church, the saints, are called to stand in the middle, between the struggle and the triumph: we are the ones who are to fill the hungry, we are the ones to bring joy to those who weep. Today, together with the PCC, we will explore the ways in which we might be called to be the agents of reversal and the agents of blessing in this place.
FIRST READING
Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter: ‘As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever.’
GOSPEL READING
Luke 6:20-31
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
