All Saints Sunday B –
Isaiah 25:6-9; Psalm 24;
Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44
Pastor Gayle M. Pope
What Would We Do Without Hope?
1 Peter 1:3-5 says, “Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth
into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and
into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in
heaven for us, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Let
me say that again, “By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
As
we hear the readings for this morning, the thing that stands out most strongly
is HOPE.
Hope
that, no matter how difficult things get for us here on earth – something
better waits for us on the other side.
Hope
that no matter how much we miss our loved ones when they leave us, we will see
them again.
This
is the hope in the story of the woman who asked to be buried with a fork in her
hand. When her pastor asked why, she said, “You know how, when you have dinner
somewhere and the host says to ‘save your fork,’ you always know there’s going
to be a great dessert coming? Well, when people see that fork in my hand in the
coffin, I want you to tell them it’s a reminder that the best is yet to come!”
And
what is the source of this hope? Our faith in the promises God has given us in
his Word.
Promises
like the one we heard in Isaiah, that the Lord will destroy the shroud that is
cast over all peoples and he will swallow up death forever, wiping away the
tears from all faces and taking the disgrace of his people away from all the
earth.
Promises
like the one we heard in the reading from Revelation that God will make his
home among mortals – that “He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more mourning and crying and pain will be no more for the
first things have passed away."
Promises
like Jesus’ words to Martha in the portion of the reading from John just before
what we heard this morning, before he raised her brother from death, when he
said, "I am the resurrection and the
life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone
who lives and believes in me will never die.”
What
would our life be without faith in God’s love and belief in God’s
promises? What would life be like if we
thought that this life here is all there is?
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen.” Thanks be to God
for the hope we have because of our faith in Christ Jesus.
Because of this hope, we light candles in memory of
our loved ones, believing that the faith we share in Jesus will bring us
together again. The light that we take
from the Christ candle is a symbol of the life of Christ which dwells within us
and still dwells within them, though they are no longer here.
As Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, “We do
not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died,
so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him
those who have died.”
This hope, borne of faith, we are called to share
with others. 1 Peter 3:15-16 says, “Always
be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for
the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.”
What a gift God has given us by giving us salvation
in His Son Jesus Christ, and faith to believe it is true.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy
Spirit. And may you share that hope with
someone who needs to hear it today!