I preached a sermon on Wednesday, November 6 at Luther Seminary Chapel that had to address both All Saints’ Day and the results of the election that had just hit the news. It was a tough sermon.

May these words bring you comfort and peace today. The sermon starts at 14:10.

Before the Reading

Well, here we are.

I would like to name a couple things before we read the text for today.

First, this is a tough day.

On the one hand we are recognizing All Saints’ Day and the pain of loss and grief is very tender for many of us.

And,

the election happened. I honestly didn’t think we would have as much clarity on the results at this point, but…here we are.

Our system is designed to make some people feel like winners and others feel like losers.

If you are here today and your side won, you wonder if you can celebrate in this space.

If you are here today and your side lost, you wonder how you can move on. Many of us in this room are filled with the pain of loss, and fear of what might come.

This is a tough moment.

I would also like to offer a little context for the reading.

As I was thinking about this service last week, I decided to not follow the Revised Common Lectionary.

I chose Hebrews 12:1-3 because it is a common text for All Saints’ Day, and it just kept coming to my mind. I felt the nudge that this is the text for today.

Hebrews is a difficult document to interpret, but as I read it I imagine that it was written for a people whose world was falling apart around them.

The Hebrew people had spent centuries suffering under the oppressive regime of one pagan empire after another. They had a brief memory of fighting for their freedom, only to be crushed once again. Now, the Romans had actually destroyed their Temple.

Everything is gone.

And, there is a Jewish teacher, named Jesus, whose disciples claim to have raised from the dead and that he is their long-awaited Messiah.

What do they do with their history? What do they do with the promise to Abraham, the law given to Moses, the sacrificial system, the priests and the tabernacle and the temple.

It’s all gone.

This is a moment when everything is shifting. The author of Hebrews is reminding the people that

there is something deeper, something more core and more cosmic

that has always been beneath their cultural traditions.

Hear the words of

Hebrews 12:1–3 NRSV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

Word of God, word of life.

Thanks be to God.

Let’s pray.

Gracious God, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing to you, our rock and our redeemer.

I find three words of encouragement for us in this difficult moment.

I’m a big Chronicles of Narnia fan, and I like the way Lewis talks about the Deep Magic that overcame the White Witch.

In this text I see that we have three things that are deeper and more cosmic that our current moment.

First encouragement: We have a deep and cosmic connection

verse 1 says that We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

All Saints’ Day means different things for different people.

For some,

it is a day when we venerate a certain type of person in history who has lived up to a particular standard. They are exemplars of the way of Jesus.

That is good.

For others,

particularly on this side of the Enlightment and in a secular age, All Saints’ Day is a moment when we pause and acknowledge all the people who have died in the past year.

It is a tender moment.

And is it good.

AND..

I wonder if it might be something even deeper going on.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

What if it is a moment to acknowledge that we are not alone.

Who are your ancestors?

Prologue

My Dad was born in 1938. His mother was 18 years old and not married to his father. His Dad didn’t want anything to do with him, so he took off and joined the Navy. His mother died giving birth to him.

My Dad never knew his mother, therefore, I never knew my grandmother.

My Dad had no family, so when I think about my ancestors—my grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles—it is all on my Mom’s side.

Keep that in mind.

Soularize Experience

In May of 2023 I was part of a conference called Soularize. It happened at Chapman University in Orange, California. It was a gathering of leaders from around the world, from every world religion and many indigenous traditions, all coming together to grow as spiritual change-makers and seek mutual flourishing.

Each morning someone led the group in a spiritual exercise.

One morning a woman named Brenda got up front. She is a spiritual leader in a North American Indigenous tradition.

She led us through an exercise.

She told us to close our eyes and imagine that we were walking down a path in the countryside.

Then she told us to imagine a dog jumping out of our chest and starting to lead us down the path.

The dog is an important spirit guide in her tradition.

I’m getting into it.

I’m an artist. I have a vivid imagination. I can do this.

I see the path. I see the countryside. I see my little Schnoodle named Shasta pop out of my chest.

It was good to see him because we had to put him down during COVID, and that was a really hard day.

He was really happy to see me to and started leading me down the path.

“You see a cave up ahead,” she said. “This is the cave of the ancestors. When you get to the entrance of the cave, pause and take some corn meal and sprinkle it on the ground. This is a thank offering for the ancestors.”

I’m there. I’m sprinkling corn meal. Shasta is very pleased with me.

Now, at this point, my logical, rational, Western brain is telling me that this is a really fun exercise of imagination.

I’m about to enter the cave and I will see my grandpa and grandma, who I haven’t seen in many, many years. It will be great.

I walk in and there is a woman sitting at the entrance to the cave and facing away from it.

As I enter, she stands up and turns around.

It is my Dad’s mother!

What?!?

She opens her arms and gives me a warm embrace.

My Response

My body started shaking. I was not expecting that, and, honestly, I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on.

I tried to find Brenda during the rest of the day, but was not able to connect with her.

The next morning I went to take the shuttle van from the hotel to the conference.

The van door was open and there was no one inside.

I jumped in and plopped on the back bench, looked to my right…and there sat Brenda!

I told her what happened to me during her exercise.

She gently placed her hand on my shoulder and said, “She’s been waiting for you.”

Look around this room.

Imagine how many people have sat in these pews over the past 40 years who have been educated to be leaders and proclaimers of the Good News.

Imagine how many people have sat in the classrooms of this Seminary for over a century.

Now imagine all the people who have gathered at this table across time and space.

When we gather at this table, it is not just this small group of people, who often feel sad at how empty this room is.

When we gather, we gather with all the saints, across time and space, at the banquet feast of God’s steadfast love.

Second encouragement: We have a deep and cosmic savior.

verse 1 continues and says, “let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”

In our text study on Monday we talked about how the word race brings up the idea of winners and losers, and that seems very contrary to the teachings of Jesus, and very painful on this day.

Yet, the Greek word there is agona.

It means struggle and pain. We get the English word agony from it.

Life is struggle. It is hard.

Now, that we can relate to. Yes?

And here’s the thing. Jesus has done this struggle.

The mystery and beauty of the Gospel is that God took on this struggle with us and for us.

When we come to this table in a moment we remember that Jesus Christ is the one who shows us what this life looks like. The God who spoke all things into being is the God who entered into our humanity. Who knew the joys of eating and drinking and laughing and singing. Who knew the pain of grief. Who knew the anguish of betrayal, false accusation, incarceration, unjust systems, and the death penalty.

A better translation that pioneer and perfecter might be the author and the completer, the one who entered this struggle and showed us what it looks like to love God and love our neighbor, even when it means we might die for it.

He showed us that death is not the end. He showed us that the love of God defeats all evil and sets us free from sin and death.

We have a cosmic savior.

Third Encouragement: We have a deep and cosmic confidence.

Which leads me to the third and final reason for this text today.

“so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.”

There are so many reasons why we can feel weary and lose heart today.

 

The death of a loved one is brought to the surface.

The exhaustion of a political campaign cycle has knocked us down.

The fear of what might happen to the most vulnerable among us in the coming months.

Let us remember,

We are not alone.

We have a savior.

Let us not lose heart or grow weary.

Amen.