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Institute for Homiletics

A Collaboration of The Catholic Foundation and the University of Dallas

All Saints

Scripture Study for

In John’s vision, the sign-bearing angel comes from the east, the place of  the rising of the sun and the direction from which salvation is expected. The  destroying angels are told to cease their destructive actions so that the vast  assembly can be sealed with the seal of God and, presumably, preserved from  the suffering that these angels bring to the earth. The second scene takes place  in the divine throne room in heaven, where a multitude from every nation, race,  people, and tongue is gathered. This multitude consists of those who survived  the distress of the end of time because they were purified through the blood of  the sacrificial Lamb. 

It is a generative love that the Letter of John describes; it is transforming;  it makes all believers children of God. Everything that happens in the lives of  believers is a consequence of their having been recreated as God’s children. As children of God, they are new realities and, therefore, they are not accepted by  the world, the old reality. Having been made children of God, they are promised  an even fuller identification with God. They are also promised the ultimate vision  of God, a vision that is denied believers “now” but is promised for “later.” 

The instruction known as the Sermon on the Mount was meant for Jesus’ close  followers, not for the broader crowds. All the teachings of Jesus are in some way  directed toward the establishment of the reign of God. However, the values that  he advocates in the Beatitudes are frequently the opposite of those promoted by  society at large. Perhaps the way to interpret them is to look first at the blessings  promised. We may then see that the values are indeed at odds with what society  says will guarantee the blessings that we seek. It is clear that every Beatitude invites  us to turn the standards of our world and our way of life upside down and inside out. 

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The Aroma of the Heavenly Feast

The last time I made popcorn the smell reminded me of my  mom. The kernels exploded out of the hot-air popper into her green  and white mixing bowl. I melted butter as she had. I sprinkled the  buttered kernels with salt and stirred it all up. I popped three kernels  into my mouth. Delicious! (She ate her popcorn one kernel at a time,  so she was a bit more proper than I was.) It may make me old fashioned, but I don’t microwave popcorn in a bag. Why? It does not  evoke memories. It does not smell right. It does not bring my mom  back to life. 

On this feast of All Saints, we celebrate the dead and bring their  memory back to life. Yet, when we think about those who have  departed, those who have gone to heaven before us . . . well, I think  that we have it backwards. But, really, truly, they are the living. We  are the dying. From the flash when we were conceived, through our  first whiff of lilacs, until that moment when our breathing stops, we  are dying for the aroma of eternity. Something heavenly awaits us.

Can you sense that? My mom is alive! My grandma is alive! Your  mom or brother or child or sister or aunt or dad is alive! Within  the limits of our earthly snuffling, we only sense barrenness where we used to inhale their fragrance. We cannot perceive them. That hollowness can hurt. But they are partaking of the feast of heaven—the most sweet-smelling chocolate cake on earth cannot compare.  They have gone before us into the banquet of life. The God of glory  is the Fragrance of fragrances, the Delight of delights. Today, with all  the church, militant and glorified, may we get a whiff of that glory! 

Consider/Discuss 

  • What is your initial reaction when you read that we are the dying and those  who have gone before us are the living? Does that feel morbid or glorious?  How does it change your worldview when you shift that perspective? 
  • Who do you most want to celebrate today on All Saints Day? Which of the Beatitudes does he or she best exemplify? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

God of glory, you give us so many heroes and heroines of the  faith! They toiled for what was right. They fought for justice. Thank  you for giving us so many examples of people of holy virtue. They  lived and died for you. They knew you and loved you. We want to  be saints, too. Lift us higher! Empower our faith! Take us with you  to the banquet! Ah, the joy of All Saints!

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Scripture Study for

The scene in Revelation, which occurs as an interlude in the  depiction of apocalyptic judgment, focuses on those who will be protected because of their fidelity to God. The “seal of the living God” is like a signet ring used to claim ownership; those who have  been marked with the seal belong to God and are therefore safe.  They are among the “great multitude” that includes Christians from  beyond ethnic Israel who have “won the victory” and remained  faithful during the time of persecution. The robes washed white in  the blood of Christ signify renewal, joy, and resurrection; the palms  signify victory. Now safe, the faithful worship God with the Lamb, a fitting response to the salvation won from them both.

The First Letter of John has, up to the point of our reading,  been developing the theme of “fellowship with God,” which means  a sharing in God’s eternal life through Christ. This fellowship is  manifested in loving others, repentance, and avoiding sin. To be in  fellowship with God means to be a child of God. This places us  in the light, in truth and goodness, not in the darkness of moral  depravity. The relationship is in place and is safe as long as we remain  in fellowship with Christ. Those who have hope in the future glory  that they will share with Christ ensure that they are pure, avoiding  turning away from Christ and his commandment, which in the  Johannine literature is summed up in the phrase “love one another.” 

The Beatitudes are, on the one hand, good news of “blessedness.”  On the other hand, they make clear that following Jesus is difficult.  Poverty of spirit means renunciation of both material and other  “possessions.” Meekness, mercy, and peacemaking often go against  our desire to strike back or get even. We must work diligently to  develop the kind of single-minded devotion to God implied in purity  of heart and hunger and thirst for righteousness. And of course, no  one seeks persecution and insult. Those who are able, throughout  their lives, to finally meet the challenge of the Beatitudes are perhaps  few, as Jesus will later warn, but they will indeed be blessed. 

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The Power of One

Holy Trinity Parish in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., recently inaugurated a  one-day operation called “The Power of One.” The goal was to engage as many parishioners as possible in various kinds of service in the community during one day. The “one” is not the one day or any one individual, but one community—a community working together for the good of the greater community. The power, of course, is rooted in the love God poured into their hearts to flow out into the world. 

Today’s feast celebrates the power of one that entered into the world through the dying and rising of Christ, and has been a presence in the world through all those who have been drawn into the one body of Christ through baptism.  It is the power that comes when men and women are poor in spirit, mourn the world’s sorrows, are meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, are merciful, clean of heart, peacemakers, and withstand persecution for the sake of living in right relationship with God, others, and the world. They not only will receive heaven,  they bring it into the world during their lives. 

All Saints holds up a vision reminding us of our future when we will be fully joined with those who have gone before us, but with whom we are one even now in singing praise to our God, as we are reminded at every Eucharist. With them we cry:  “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” 

Consider/Discuss

  • Have you known the power of belonging to a community doing good?
  • Who are the saints who witnessed to you through their faith and now rest in the Lord? 

Responding to the Word

God and Father of all, thank you for the gift of your saints, especially those now forgotten men and women who embraced and incarnated the Beatitudes in their lives. May we join with them for all eternity to sing praise to your glory in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.

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Scripture Study for

The events of the first apocalyptic vision unfold on earth; those of the second take place in heaven. Both visions depict vast assemblies of the righteous. One hundred forty-four thousand is clearly a symbolic number. Twelve is squared and then multiplied by a thousand, resulting in a number that indicates completeness. The multitude gathered around the throne comes from every nation, every race, every people, and every tongue. The universality is complete. The multitude represents those who survived the distress of the end-times because they were purified through the blood of the sacrificial Lamb. This distinction entitles them to participate in the celestial celebrations. 

According to the Letter of John, love is generative, transforming. It makes believers children of God. Everything that happens in their lives is a consequence of their having been recreated as God’s children. They are a new reality and consequently they are not accepted by the world, the old reality. The type of behavior they choose is frequently in opposition to society at large. The “now but not yet” of Christian eschatology (teachings about the end-time) is clearly stated.  Though believers have already been reborn as children of God, their transformation has not yet been completed, nor has it been fully made known to them.

In form and content, the Beatitudes are wisdom teaching, not Christian law, as is sometimes claimed. Like most wisdom forms, they describe life situations that draw a connection between a particular manner of behavior and consequences that flow from such behavior. Most if not all of the sentiments expressed in the  Beatitudes are found somewhere in ancient Jewish teaching. While the teachings of Jesus are all in some way directed toward the establishment of the reign of  God, the values that he advocates are frequently the opposite of those espoused by society at large. This fact offers us a way of understanding the challenges set before us in the Beatitudes. They invite us to turn the standards of our world upside down and inside out. 

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