This coming Sunday is unique in the Church year. Friday was All Saints’ Day and according to the rubrics in the Book of Common Prayer, All Saints’ Day can also be celebrated on the following Sunday. Only the year I was at the Society of St. John the Evangelist have I ever celebrated All Saints’ Day on the day and then the regular Sunday on the following Sunday. Usually the first Sunday of November is All Saints’ Sunday. But because I love the reading for Proper 26 and for All Saints’ Sunday, I’m going to write a little bit about both.
All Saints’ Sunday
The Gospel reading for All Saints’ Day is John 11:32-44. While one could write for years about this passage, one line stood out to me this year. Right at the beginning Mary comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” I know I talk about irony a lot but the reason is that there’s a lot of irony in the Gospels. Remember that the Gospels are written after Easter; the people who wrote them knew that Jesus would rise and that Jesus was still with them. So we look at Mary’s statement again: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” There has been a lot of hand-wringing and ink-spilling over the death of the Church and particularly about the death of “liberal” or “mainline” or “progressive” Churches. I don’t buy it. Are things tough? Yes. Are there days and weeks and months and years that bring challenges? Of course. Are we dying? Only if Jesus is not here. In the Gospel story, Jesus lingers and doesn’t come to Lazarus immediately, but in our common life, Jesus comes running! Jesus is here when we invite him in. He comes to us in bread and wine. He comes to us in the Bible. And he comes to us in our neighbors. Mary says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” I think Jesus is here, and we will not die so long as he is here.
Proper 26
If you are celebrating Proper 26 for any reason, you’ll be reading Mark 12:28-34. This is one of my favorite passages in Mark’s Gospel. What makes it great? In my opinion, of all the amazing parts of this passage, Jesus giving us his statement of faith is the best part. Those who remembered Jesus and wanted to pass down what was most important to him and to his disciples remembered the heart of Jesus’ faith: Love God and Love your neighbor. This is always amazing to me. It also seems doable. The other thing I like, but don’t know what to do with, is when Mark writes “After that no one dared to ask him any question.” When Jesus has told his interlocutor that he is “not far from the kingdom of God” the whole crowd was so awed that they would no longer ask him any question. Again, I don’t know what that means but I am always amazed the Jesus doesn’t beat down his opponents and interlocutors. Rather, he tells them, when they get it, that they are nearing the kingdom of God. That’s something to think about.
So whichever readings you are hearing our using this Sunday, I hope my ramblings and musings are at least interesting, and maybe insightful.
St. Augustine's Chapel 