Walking with All the Saints

       I’ve always loved the summer’s care-free adventures.  But autumn seems to say the party is over. It makes us wonder where all the time has gone.  

      Walking through the fall-colored hills where I grew up used to fill me with nostalgia.  My old haunts would bring back difficult memories.  Is there anything more painful than the memory of unrequited love?  Are there regrets that run deeper than thinking we have missed opportunities for friendship?  Such autumn walks can be difficult because many of the people we would most like to walk with us are no longer here.

     Yet, the more I become acquainted with grief the more I appreciate my autumn walks and the longing they awaken.  As death approaches I’m assured my “redemption is nearer than when I first believed.”   Once I could not see Hallows Eve as anything but a morbid obsession with death.  Now, I see the celebration of All Saints Eve as an affirmation of the truth Jesus taught: “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.” 

      Christians believe in something called the “communion of the saints.”  It means the dead are still present to us.  The Hebrew writer imagines us walking into an arena, where we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses” who cheer for us.   When the church receives the Communion, (or the Lord’s Supper) we mysteriously walk into this crowd.  We hear their reassuring voices re-echoing in our hearts.  By mysteriously connecting with Jesus, we are ushered into the presence of a great host who are joined to Christ’s cause.  

      Eating at the Lord’s Table takes us “back to this future.” It is a foretaste of the family reunion we don’t want to miss. With Mary in the garden of Christ’s resurrection (John 20:16) we discover that those who love Jesus never have to say good bye for the last time.   Someday we shall see the departed just like Mary saw the dead and risen Jesus. And, like Mary, we will hear our loved ones greet us again by name.