Something to Think About – “All Saints Day 2024"
This Sunday is one of the most important days of the year in the church’s life – at least this is something I believe. Not because it is November 3, but because at Central, we celebrate “All Saints Sunday” on the first Sunday after November 1. On the surface, this is the day we light candles for, and see pictures and hear the names read of, those loved ones who have passed away. Specifically, we do so for those church members who had passed away during the last year. But we also offer everyone the chance to light a candle for a loved one who may have died years ago or any time in the past. For as we know, grief is something we never “get over” as much as we learn to survive and live with.
I use the word “celebrate” to describe All Saints Sunday for a reason. Yes, death is about loss, emptiness, disruption, and sadness. But all conversations about death are really about life. As long as we live on earth, death will be the final reality for all of us. How we decide to spend our time now – before that happens – that’s what All Saints Sunday represents. It is an opportunity to commit to a certain way of living as much as it is about what happens when the earthly life comes to an end. And the loved ones we remember, who are now part of our cloud of witnesses, are encouraging us to live that fullest life we can imagine, whether there is decades left in it or not.
I hope you are able to make it to worship this Sunday. It is always an expression of the church at its best. It is why we are here, after all; to acknowledge the reality of death in the midst of life but also to proclaim life in the midst of death. Until we see each other this weekend, I wanted to leave you with these words from Michael Singer’s work “The Untethered Soul.”
You must not be afraid to discuss death. Instead, let this knowledge help you to live every moment of your life fully, because every moment matters. That’s what happens when somebody knows they only have one week left. You can be certain that they would tell you that the most important week they ever had was that last week. Everything is a million times more meaningful in that final week. What if you were to live every week that way?
The beauty of embracing deep truths – like death – is that you don’t have to change your life; you just change how you live your life. It’s not what you’re doing, but how much of you is doing it? What is it inside you that is so afraid that it keeps you from really and truly living your life? Life is not something we get, as much as it is something we get to experience. Life exists with or without us. It’s been doing this for billions of years. We simply get the honor of seeing a tiny slice of it.
Blessings, Michael