For many Christians, this weekend is a time of remembering the great women and men of God who were killed for or died in their faith. These days of remembering and celebrating are called All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Until about 11 years ago, I had only known of this weekend as most in America do: Halloween. Unfortunately, many pastors and congregations still only know it as such...and miss a great opportunity for their church to remember the lives of the Christians who have gone before them; the "saints" who modeled the Christ life for them and upon whose shoulders their faith is built.All Saints and All Souls days are not new. They are old; very old. One of the reasons many Protestants haven't heard of them, much less celebrated them, can be traced to the Protestant Reformation. Unfortunately, many important formative practices were thrown out at that time because they were considered "something that Roman Catholics do"...as if that were a bad thing. Ironically, in America, the same churches that find holy days such as All Saints/All Souls as too Catholic, have absolutely no problem remembering their war dead in the context of worship on Memorial Day weekend and Veterans Day and Fourth of July. Weird, huh?
The church needs to have their own Memorial Day; a day for bringing out the dead and holding their lives before their congregations as a reminder of how we might all remain more faithful to our calling. A day to remember the great sacrifices people have made for the sake of God's Kingdom. A day to celebrate the lives of parents and grandparents (not necessarily our own) who modeled the way of the Kingdom for us when they were alive. A day to reflect on the deceased church members who faithfully rocked us (or our babies) in the nursery, taught our Sunday School classes, and cried through the congregational prayer times for the sick and hurting in our churches. A time to celebrate the "Great cloud of witnesses" that are cheering on this current generation of Christ-followers to remain faithful and obedient until our time comes to join their ranks.
This weekend, I will remember the names and lives of holy ones from our history: the early martyrs, St. Augustine, Aquinas, the Desert mothers and fathers, Day, King Teresa, Luther, Calvin, Bonhoeffer, Barth, Yoder, Wesley, Spurgeon, Wigglesworth. I will also remember the lives of those saints I knew and who knew me, and shaped my life: my grandparents who modeled their faith; The men and women of Calvary Assembly of God and Frayser Assembly of God in Memphis,TN that formed my earliest images of God; the deceased men and women of Nederland First Assembly of God who prayed for me and believed in me through my teenage years; Aunt Bev, who was a kindred spirit in my journey; former church members like Mr. Britton, Ms. Moore, Ms. Roberson, Mr. Bozarth that taught me, as a young minister, about living and dying. I will remember my teachers: Dr. Conyers, Dr. Foster, and Dr. McEntire. I will remember my friends who were gone too soon: Kyle Lake and Jennifer Kelley.
So, this weekend - whether your church does it or not - bring out your dead. Remember the lives that were shared with you in order that you might know and live a more faithful Christian life. Allow those memories to cheer you on in your own following of Christ. Remember that your faithful life (notice, I didn't say perfect) is a model of faithfulness that others who are following behind will one day will remember and give thanks for as you, dear saint, take your place alongside those who have gone before.
Grace and Peace.
**If you would like, please leave names and/or stories of the "saints and souls" who have been models of the Christian faith for you in the comment section below**
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