Today, November 1, is the Feast of All Saints. The collect and scriptures for today can be found here. The lectionary appoints John 11:23-44 as the gospel. As permitted by the rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer I lengthened the gospel to begin at verse 17.

¹⁷When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. ²¹Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” ²⁸When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³²When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. ³⁴He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵Jesus began to weep. ³⁶So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” ³⁸Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

– John 11:17-44

Today’s gospel hits close to home for me – too close. I know this story well. My son, Brandon, died one month ago today. I do not just know about Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. There is a part of me that is each one of them. I am Mary – the one who stays at home, not wanting to get out, go anywhere, or do anything. I just want to hide from it all.

I am Martha with all my “if onlys.” If only I had done…. If only I had said…. If only I could turn back time. If only you, Lord,…. There are so many ways in which I fill in the blank that follows “if only…..”

And I am also Lazarus stuck in the tomb of my grief, tied up and surrounded by the stench of death, unable to free myself and escape.

I hope you know, however, that this is not about only me. Today’s gospel is as much about each one of you as it is me. It is about every human being who has ever lived – including the saints. Today’s gospel highlights the reality of loss, grief, and sorrow. And it is not just about the death of a loved one. Loss and grief come to us in many other ways as well – the loss of a dream, the loss of a marriage, the loss of direction, the loss of meaning and significance, the loss of a job, the loss of health, the loss of one’s identity, and sometimes the loss of hope and faith. I suspect that every one of you can name the losses and deaths you have suffered and how you too are Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

You see, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus embody the human response to death, loss, and grief in whatever form it comes to us. Like Mary we hide from the present. Like Martha we live in the past. And like Lazarus we can see no future. But Jesus will not leave us where we are just as he would not leave Mary, Martha, or Lazarus where they were. He calls each of us out into a new place.

St. Mary is called out of the house to the feet of the one who is resurrection and life. St. Martha is called out of the past to see the glory of God here, now, in this present moment. And St. Lazarus is called out of the tomb to see the light of a new day. With each calling out all things are being made new.

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus stand before us today as saints. Through their lives they bear witness to our own experience of sorrow and loss. Through their lives they bear witness to the Christ who called them out into a new place. And they now join him in calling us out into a new place. That is what saints do. Through the power and love of Christ they call us out of our grief and loss wherever that may have taken us. They guide us to the one who is resurrection and life, to see the glory of God and the light of a new day. All along this journey we are supported by their prayers and encouragement.

On this journey of mine I see St. Anthony of Egypt trusting the silence and solitude and I take a step forward. I hear St. Julian of Norwich remind me, “all shall be well, all shall be well, every manner of thing shall be well” and I take another step. I feel the hug of St. Brandon of Texas and I take still another. We never walk alone. The saints are with us every step of the way – calling, guiding, comforting, encouraging, loving, and praying.

And so this All Saints’ Day we remember with thanksgiving and honor all the saints who have gone before us, all those with whom God has knit us together in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of his Son Christ our Lord.

————————-

For All the Saints