"Lighting Our Way"

A sermon remembering All Saints' Day, preached on November 2, 2003

by the Rev. Deana Frances Dudley

at Christos Metropolitan Community Church, Toronto, Ontario

Isaiah 25:6-9 and Revelation 21:1-6

Well, Happy All Saints Day, Saints. Actually, All Saints Day was yesterday, the day after Halloween, All Hallows, or all Souls, Eve. Did you all get lots of All Saints Day cards? Your All Saints Day tree decorated? It seems to be a much neglected holiday. And All Saints is a holiday, a Holy Day, on which Christ's people remember those who have gone before them in the faith and who have claimed that abundant and eternal life promised to us by God.

It’s a day when we remember special people, people who now dwell with God in heaven. People whom the scriptures and the church call saints. And one of the saints, St. John, in his Revelation, shares with us his vision of heaven and of what the life of the saints is like there. The passage that M.E. read from Revelation was one of those glimpses.

And in that vision, we see that in heaven everything is restored to the goodness of original creation. There’s a new heaven and a new earth. And just like in that first creation, God is with us in an incredible way. We see also that life in heaven is not JUST a life of exuberant praise. We see as well that there, next to God, there is neither hunger, or thirst, or pain any more - and that God tenderly wipes the tears from the saint's eyes, the tears that they shed here in this life,

And all the saints are there, the saints we remember this day. They’ve gone marching in. They’re there. I know it because at times I can feel them around me, telling me to hang in, telling me to be faithful, telling me that something wonderful has happened to them and that it will happen to me as well. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I have conversations with them, so I know they’re there.

So who are these saints that speak to me, reminding me of what I should do, and what God has planned for me? Well, the saints that occasionally reach out to me, the saints that I remember today, are my personal saints. They’re people who by their words and deeds revealed the love of God to me. They’re people who, before they went to heaven, strived in their own special way to be faithful, and in their faithfulness, they touched my life and gave me a special gift, often a gift of wisdom, but always a gift of love. So I’m going to tell you a little bit about some of the saints I have known and loved, and as I tell you about my saints, I want you to think of yours.

I remember a few nameless saints. I remember a man who always cleaned the church I grew up in. He never came to church, but he always cared for it. I learned later, that he had helped build it, with his own hands, so he always cared for it. I remember a woman who played the piano and taught children to sing... a child with Down’s syndrome who filled the church with her laughter... a teacher who made friends with and defended students other kids didn't like... I remember, and I think of, and at times I am sure I can hear their voices, all these people. They were saints to me, they were faithful in their way to God. They lived out the gospel as best they could. Who do you remember? Who showed you a bit of what God is like? Who sought to love their neighbours, and to love God? Who loved you?

This year, on All Saints Day, I remember Bruce Pennington. Bruce died a couple of months ago, and Anne and I went down to Washington for his funeral. We were neighbours; he lived upstairs from me, and we sometimes gardened together, and cooked together, and those are activities that kind of invite you to just talk together. Bruce was a pioneer in the Gay rights movement, from way back, and let me tell you, he had some great memories. He was also an extraordinary chef. And in recent years, he decided that he wanted to work at something that would make a difference in his community – even though everything he had ALWAYS done had made a difference – and he became a high school teacher. His life touched a lot of lives.

But when I remember Bruce, I think most of meals we shared together. Holiday meals, Thanksgiving and New Years parties. His meals were always a feast to tempt ALL of the senses, not just taste, but smell and texture, and beauty. He invented a dessert that I just love, kind of like a pineapple upside-down cake, but it’s a spiced-pear upside-down gingerbread. It’s incredible. And I remember one time, Bruce decided that Election Day was a good excuse for a party, and he cooked a special "chicken in every pot" dinner for the whole building. The election was horrible – Bush got elected – but the food was great! The thing about Bruce was, he was always setting a place for others.

And on this All Saints Day, I remember my Grandma Bessie. Now that woman could COOK. I remember tables laden with all kinds of things, there was never just ONE thing, there was EVERYTHING. Most of it from her garden. Those of you who know me may suspect that I inherited from her my tendency to plan for too much food at any given gathering. It’s all her fault. My mother will read this sermon online and I’m sure I’ll get an email telling me not to blame my poor sainted grandmother for my own failings. But I think, in some way, I’m always trying to follow her example, because around her table, there was always a gracious plenty.

And on this All Saints Day, I remember the Rev. Larry Uhrig. Larry was, for 17 years, the pastor of the first MCC I ever went to, MCC of Washington, DC. As I got more and more involved in the church, I got to know Larry better and better, and over the years we became quite close. And when I first got to know Larry, I thought he was pretty cool, for a preacher, first of all, because he was a GREAT preacher, but second, because he wasn’t always talking about God all the time.

He didn’t spend all his time talking about prayer or the bible, he didn’t spout doctrine or speak about Jesus with every breath. But he did say - once in a while - how important the church was to him and how God mattered. I remember one time he told me once how privileged he felt to be able to serve God. And how grateful he was for MCC,-- that it had helped him and accepted him when he was in pain. He said he felt the love of God in church, and that’s why he worked for it.

And when he tested positive for HIV, and when he had AIDS, he taught me how to embrace people even when you’re scared. And he said, "You know, we’ll face this the same way we’ve faced everything else. With God." The thing I loved about Larry, and the thing that can still cause me to cry when I think of him - even though I know he’s with God - was how he lived out the gospel, the good news of God’s love and justice, and made me want to do the same. Someday, I want to be a pastor like that.

But, you know, Larry and I never talked about that. If there was any topic that dominated our conversations, it was food. We both enjoyed the sensual pleasures of a gourmet meal. So it gives me some great pleasure to think of him partaking now, in a heavenly banquet. And I hope he’s saving some for me.

Are you beginning to sense a pattern here? A little food theme running throughout? See, that’s what I think heaven is all about. If we read through all of St. John’s Revelation, once we sorted through all the apocalyptic stuff, we’d see a running theme of the heavenly banquet set before the people of God. Back at the beginning, I said that on All Saint’s Day, we remember those who have gone before us and who claimed that abundant and eternal life promised to us by God. See, they’ve claimed it in heaven. But it’s here for us on earth too, ready for the claiming by all the saints. And that’s you.

See, the list of Saints includes on it some very notable people. People like the Apostles. Men and women like Saint Francis of Assisi and Teresa of Avila. But the list of saints includes not just the famous people, not just the ones that have been officially declared saints because of their deep faith and impressive works. No - the roll call of saints includes all those who love God and who strive to love their neighbours as themselves. It includes all those who seek to follow Jesus Christ. A saint is someone who, because of how they love God and lead their life, is worth imitating.

Oh maybe not in every respect. Larry could be petty and self-centred at times. Bruce could be, well, at his funeral, everybody seemed to allude to his irascibility. Which is a polite way of saying that he’d tear you a new one at the drop of a hat. Saints aren’t perfect people. Even the most famous saints, those men and woman the church as a whole points to, weren’t perfect. St. Peter was inconsistent, St. Paul at times seemed arrogant, Saint John and Saint James wanted honour and glory, and the list of defects goes on and on. All the saints, as the expression goes, had feet of clay, but for all that, they had something worth remembering, something worth following.

Because we’re on the same journey. There’s a book of meditations by Karen Casey, based on the "Course in Miracles," and she writes:

"Our destination is Heaven. We may not acknowledge this. We may not realize it, in fact, because most of us are stumbling through our experiences just trying to hang on. Understanding that we all are journeying to One Home eases the fear and subsequent pain we feel on occasion. We are learning that our lives make sense, and that we are sharing this trip with our Teachers. We are not traveling alone. Real solace comes in discovering our connectedness to others. Unfortunately, it may take a long time to appreciate this. The isolation we cultivate, often out of fear, obstructs our vision of the Real World. We are learning that the experiences we walk through serve only as steps to Heaven, and the steps yet to be climbed are as few or as many as our resistance to them demands. Every day brings us closer to the peace of Heaven. Let's be grateful for that push to reach for each other or for the hand of God. It's always extended."

We are not travelling alone. We’re not just fumbling around in the dark. Our path is lit by those who have gone before us. Those who made a positive difference to us and to their part of the world, because they tried to love and serve God, and to love and serve God's creation. Each of the saints that I remember, named and un-named, in some way directed me to God, they revealed by some portion of their lives that God made an incredible difference to them. That’s what being a saint is all about - making a difference, a positive difference, a loving difference, the kind of difference that inclines the hearts and minds of others to God. If you’ve ever heard Rev. Elder Troy Perry speak, he addresses everyone as "Saints," like I did at the beginning of the service. We’re all called to be that kind of saint. And because of the love of Jesus Christ, we CAN be saints. So, Happy All Saints Day, Saints.