Grace to you all and Peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus, the
Christ.
Jesus speaks today, in your hearing:
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
It may be that the fathers of our church had something specific in mind,
placing the celebration of the Reformation the day before the holy All Saint’s
Day. It may be that they wanted to place their historic event in a humiliating
place, such as the evening before a holier, better day to teach us just what
the work of men accomplishes, compared to the work of God.
First off, what is All Saint’s? From the early Christian church, there
was always the celebration of martyrs, those believers who faced down
governors, kings, and wild beasts for the faith. Having been brought up on
false charges, these Christians gave their lives rather than give up their
faith.
So it is that these examples of brave souls were remembered with
reverence and as prime examples of the faith that moves mountains. From these
repeated memorials of the martyrs over time, an official Church festival day
was created for all those who have died in the faith, not just the extreme
cases.
All Saints was officially recognized in the 9th century to be celebrated
on the First of November. All Saints is how we say it today, but it means all
sanctified, all holy and was first named All Hallows Day, as in “Our Father Who
art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name”.
So we celebrate all those who’s labor is finished, who have completed
the race, and fought the good fight. We celebrate the beginning of the morning
of Easter forever, rejoicing in the Light of Christ which no darkness can
overcome, Holy to the Lord.
As the Lord created heaven and earth and there was evening and morning
the first day, so the Church takes her celebrating pattern from Him. The
celebration of All Hallows begins the evening before and it was called All
Hallows Eve, or today, Halloween.
The Lord begins His Work in darkness and finishes in His Light. The
Church likewise, does its work in the darkness of sin, death, and the power of
the devil, but finishes in the Light of Christ, having finally gained His side,
in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, the Day He returns.
The Reformation, being the evening before All Saints, is symbolic of our
struggle, the Church Militant’s struggle on earth. Surrounded by darkness and a
world full of devils, the Word remains, a shining light in the darkness, though
the darkness knows Him not.
But by faith, the light shines on us. The Gospel is given and Christ
declares sinners Justified in the darkness before the resurrection. In truth,
the darkness deepens and falls all around us, but Christ leaves us not. He
points towards the East where for certain, the sky is slowly brightening,
announcing the coming Last Day.
For as beautiful as the Beatitudes are, they are a tribulation for us.
It is easy to be blessed in the ways Jesus prescribes every once in a while,
but all the time? Impossible. Imagine the energy, imagine the time, imagine the
strain on our psyche.
And that’s the good works God has for us! This doesn’t even mention our
sins, but it doesn't have to. We already feel the sting of Jesus's words and
already know that we are dwelling in the land of twilight, the land of
evening.
This is why, when the sun is darkened and the moon turned to blood, our
Lord rested in the Tomb. His rest in the tomb was a part of His three-day work
of salvation for us. First that He enter the dark and it kill Him. Second that
He release the prisoners from hell’s grasp. And third, that He inaugurate a
morning that has no end.
Surpassing the evening of tribulation is the Morning of eternal Easter,
where every tear is wiped away and every hair from the head returned. For more
than just being blessed is being made in the image of God, that is, baptized
into the death and resurrection of the Body and Blood of the Christ.
For lo there breaks a yet more glorious day. The saints triumphant rise
in bright array. The King of Glory passses on His way. And as we remember the
saints that have gone before us this year
[Clyde Tressler, Carl Younkin,
Marlin Georg, Arlis Coccagna, Janice Georg, Wayne Georg, and Tom Williams],
we believe we follow after them as they follow after Jesus. We believe the
promise given to us, “This day you will be with me”. We hope in the
resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
And He who’s hope is in Christ, those hopes meet no denial and are of
God, preferred.
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