The Reverend Dr. Regina Christianson
Last week we remembered Veterans and their families with a special collect and the singing of America the Beautiful. The last week in October we remembered our ancestors in the faith as we sang joyfully I sing a song of the saints of God.
The lighting of candles during the Sunday Service for All Saint’s and All Soul’s Day, while the choir and congregation sang, gave opportunity to express in solemn ritual both our sorrow and our lively faith.
Today, as we remember that all things come to an end, we celebrate it as a commencement – a beginning – the Reign of Christ. As T. S. Eliot wrote, “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
November calls us to remember - from All Saints and All Souls through Veteran’s Day to Thanksgiving to the Last Sunday in Pentecost, closing out the liturgical year. As the days shorten, the sun is lower on the horizon, the leaves turn and fall, and the colder wind scours the land, we become aware of our own vulnerability, our own losses.
At our best, we remember that the thin places between this world and the Golden Land – paradise – are always there, we remember that God always holds all souls in life, and we remember it is by blessing those memories that we bring healing into this wounded world.
Sunday, after all, is always a recalling of the Easter Mystery - Sunday worship a re-entry into the feast of victory over fear, evil, and death. By fully entering into the liturgical life we hold again the touchstone of the reason for our lives of faith, hope, and charity.
This particular season, both individually and as a community, we experienced several losses. The death of the Rev. Dr. John Ruef on All Hallow’s Eve was keenly felt by all. Alice Overbey and Richard Chaney, though not members of our parish, were nonetheless mourned, their memories cherished. Several members of our parish have recently lost beloved pets. The shock of sudden or repeated hospitalization has challenged others.
And it would be remiss of me as your spiritual leader not to mention the loss felt by members of our parish and community at the national and local election results, even as others among us rejoiced. We have been called in this time to be particularly tender towards each other, to lead by example in compassionate presence.
Thank you for the tender care you have given, the steady presence of compassion in our parish.