All Saints Day (Ephesians 1:11-23)  11/03/2013

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This past weekend, I joined the group of folks from this parish and hundreds of delegates from other churches throughout the Connecticut Diocese as we gathered for our annual convention. After arriving in Stamford and registering at the convention desk, Colin and I set off to accomplish one of the most important tasks of convention…finding a really good seat! We picked the perfect table and as we began to settle in we introduced ourselves to the one person  already sitting at the table, the Deacon from Trinity Church in Newtown, Tom Mariconda. After a brief conversation about convention topics, I asked Tom the question that is on everyone’s heart and mind, “how are the people in Newtown?”…and I mean, how are you all, really? Tom replied, “Good days, bad days; still a little bit of everything, and the one year anniversary is coming up in December.” We expressed our concern and assured him of our prayers, but the expression and emotion of his words simply hung in the air. The convention room slowly filled in as people arrived and our table was quickly filled with delegates from St. John’s, Grace Church (Hartford), and Trinity Church (Newtown). Throughout the convention we discussed many topics; topics big and small, official and personal, and some serious and some quite funny. But throughout our time, sitting at our table, there remained an awareness of the journey the folks in Newtown were traveling, made incarnate before us in the delegates from Trinity Church. Saturday morning, Kathie Adams-Shepherd, the Rector of Trinity Church, addressed the Convention. Kathie gave her thanks for the continued prayers and support of so many people; and she eloquently expressed the experiences of Newtown and the connection of their journey with the everyday journey of so many others grieving and in need – a connection with people who experience loss nearly everyday in Hartford, in New Haven, and in so many other places throughout our country and the world. She also expressed a connection with gracious acts of mercy from others, from people in Newtown, and in CT, and gracious acts from the helping hands and hearts of the wider world. As she spoke to the delegates of the Convention, she was thoughtful and heartfelt, her voice moving with emotion; and those in attendance that morning were connected to her, our hearts moving up and down with her, connected with great emotion and gratitude.

This morning we celebrate the feast day of All Saints; a day of remembrance that we are connected in a most holy and sacred way, connected not just to those in our midst today, but connected to those whom we see no more. “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you.” (Eph 1:15-16) Beautiful words of praise from the author of the Letter to the Ephesians and a thoughtful expression of the power and importance of the truth that we are connected to each other, connected in gifts of ministry, connected in prayer, and connected as children of God. Our Epistle reading this morning is taken from the opening words of the Letter to the Ephesians; words that were written to teach and encourage the people of Ephesus; words that encourage because they point to the power and love of God, as revealed in the Christian understanding of faith and community. The love and power of God, once embraced and taken into the life of the community, is a power that reveals God’s sacred way and empowers the gifts of the community in our sacramental lives together. The letter continues, “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ…may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.” (Eph 1:17-19) As we open ourselves to God’s word, the eyes of our hearts become enlightened to God’s grace among us; as we create a space in our daily lives for Christ, the hope to which God has called us is revealed in the work of our ministry together, and as we remember our inheritance as saints of God, we are connected through sacred relationships with God and others.

Today is the feast of All Saints, a day to remember all the saints of God. Throughout the days of the calendar year, we remember individual people and tell their stories. As saints of God, we too have our stories and as we live our stories we witness to the power and grace of God in Jesus Christ; and our stories connect us to each other and to the ongoing, sacred story of God’s love for us. The people of Newtown have endured a great burden during these past several months and yet they have shown the world their steadfast faith and hope in the future. And people of great faith throughout the world have shown the grieving families of Newtown that they are not alone, that we are connected as children of God, connected in many deep and abiding ways. As we conclude our season of financial stewardship and continue our ongoing work of ministry, let us take some time during this feast of All Saints to reflect upon the grace of God that is made known to us through the many ministries and gifts of the community of saints….for the saints of God are just folk like us and I hope you will be one too. AMEN.