All Saints’ Sunday
November 3, 2024
John 11:32-44

The audio of this sermon can be found here. The livestream of the worship service is available on the Trinity Episcopal Church YouTube channel.

Every morning, the alarm clock on my phone wakes me up. Lying in my bed, as I wake up, I check my phone and it tells me the weather, what’s on my schedule for the day; it tells me my heart rate, my blood sugar levels; it tells me the stock futures for the day, and I check the news; instantly. I roll out of bed and I do my morning exercise; every mile I run and and every squat I do, is tracked, digitally. And most importantly, my pre-programmed coffee pot makes my first cup of the day. Thanks be to God.

Just think of that, just the span of that first ninety minutes of my morning. The digital world has stepped in for the tv weather reporter, a personal secretary, my doctor, my stock broker, a personal trainer, and a barista. And while there are humans behind every one of those digital functions, I never see them. I have no relationship with them. 

That, I think, is part of what we are dealing with now. This automated, online society is incredibly wealthy. We have so much money and information right at our fingertips. But we are relationally poor. If I feel like I’m coming down with something, why call my doctor? I can just look it up on WebMD. If I want a new show to watch, I don’t need friends to recommend something. The algorithm on Netflix will do it for me. Even the architecture of social cohesion is crumbling. Public libraries are struggling, not because people don’t know how to read anymore. Literacy rates are high. But because there is little reason to go to a library, to have to see other people. We are all plugged in, and yet so distant. 

This is what makes Christianity so radical, so counter-cultural. On this day we celebrate and remember all the saints of God who have gone before. From the great heroes of the faith to those whose faith is known to God alone. Stretched over these millennia, over the face of the whole world, the saints of God are those who worshiped God in their own day. Who lived, who gave, who served, and many of whom died for the Lord Jesus who had died for them.

And what’s more, is that we are connected to them. Connection. By sharing with them in baptism, by sharing this holy meal, we believe that the saints of God are not distant, but that they are near. We are one holy, catholic, and apostolic church; we are not divided by death. No, it’s the death of Jesus that unites us. It’s why on All Saints’ Sunday we read aloud the names of those who have died in the last year. We are connected. It’s why we insist on gathering, week by week. Even though it’s the same service. Because we connect with each other and with those who have gone before. It’s what this online, automated, digital world cannot offer. The Church on earth and the Church at rest are one Church. 

We see this in that story of Jesus, Lazarus, and his sisters. Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, has died. Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary, are understandably distraught. Even Jesus weeps. So Jesus and Martha and Mary come to the tomb of Lazarus and Jesus orders that they roll away the stone. And then comes one of the most honest lines from holy scripture, you can almost feel Martha’s queasiness – “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” She’s saying, “are you sure you want to do that?” 

Jesus says to hear, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Think of that – they are about to see the glory of God. And so what is the glory of God? Is it all the angelic hosts in dazzling array? Is it the Lord God seated on the throne with peals of thunder and lightning? No. The glory of God is when Lazarus is called out of the tomb. The glory of God is when Lazarus walks out of death itself. The glory of God is when humanity is restored, and when the dead and living are united again through Christ. The glory of God is the communion of all the saints. God’s glory is humanity restored. 

Take this for the good news that it is. You do not have to search high and low for God’s glory. You don’t have to wait till you find the perfect sunset. You don’t have to wait till you hear God speaking directly to you. God’s glory will probably not be revealed to you in a thunderbolt, or in a flash, or through some divine message. No. You can see God’s glory in the face of the person sitting next to you, right now. You can see God’s glory in the mirror. And yes, you can even see God’s glory when you stand in line to vote on Tuesday. When you stand in line with people you don’t know, from all walks of life, from all persuasions. Because God’s glory is revealed in the human soul. 

And that’s why we gather on All Saints’ Sunday. Yes, we get to sing those great hymns and we have the honor of remembering the people who have gone before. But really, we gather because this is how we know God’s glory. It’s that we see each other, face to face, and in each other we see someone whom God loves. This is the stuff of revolution. As the rest of the world continues to separate, and segment, and automate, we choose to be together. I’m not anti-technology. Of course not. It’s that we have to remember that we are real people. With the temptation to hide behind our screens, to do everything digitally and at a distance, we must choose to see each other. To sit with each other in the same room. To be with and next to each other; as we trust that the Holy Spirit is with us. Even now. 

And I’ll tell you – All Saints’ Sunday is exactly what our world needs right now. We are facing an epidemic of loneliness, of isolation, of fake connection. What the church has to offer is real. Sometimes I think the church makes it harder than it really is. All we have to do is to open up the space for people to meet. To talk to each other again, face to face. To hear the voice of another human, and not through a digital speaker. To laugh together, to make jokes. To see kids running around out there on the lawn. To listen to the wisdom of our elders. To gather at this table for a meal. And yes, to remember those who have died in the Lord; because God’s glory is revealed in the human soul.

If there is any exhortation I have for you this morning, it is simple. Look at each other in the eyes. Listen, and speak with gentleness. Be kind, and tender. And know that in the person you see, you can see the glory of God.