All Hallows' Day Reflection (1 Nov. 2020)

 Psalms 111, 112

2 Esdras 2:42-47

Hebrews 11:32-12:2

 The passage from Hebrews would probably seem less than encouraging to begin with, especially for us living in the comforts of the "developed world." We see throughout scripture most notably in the New Testament, and all through history of those who laid down their lives for their faith in Christ. We see this continuing even today im our own time of our brothers and sisters mostly in the Middle East, Central and Eastern Asia, China, North Korea, and even in parts of South America being killed. In France just this week (as I deliver this reflection) in Nice and Lyon Christians were martyred in their parishes. Sadly too many of us cower from the mildest forms. We may be ridiculed to the point of keeping our faith merely a private devotion or even walk away altogether for what ever the reason may be.

 We get attached to the tings of this world; things immediate to us and things for which we aspire. Love and excitement for them can cloud our love for God our savior and keep us from living fully to him. There is nothing inherently wrong with possessions and aspirations, but they are not our end or even the blessings God promises us, though they are given us by him. The author of Hebrews names some heroes of Scripture from (what we call) the Old Testament, which makes sense given the title and content to this point, who gave up what they had even at the last given second to attain to something greater, though not perfectly in any sense. That is actually an encouragement for me since I fall short every day, every moment in thought, word, and deed by omission and comission.

 The Saints we honor today continue that narrative serving as a light to us in our day persevering in their sundry challenges and afflictions amidst their sinfulness, and the stories of their witness is the torch passed to us to continue as the Church Militant facing obstacles no different than what they had to endure, though many of our struggles are unique to our time and place in the historical narrative. These who we celebrate today are the great cloud of witnesses by whom we are surrounded, to carry on the ministry in our many and diverse vocations, wherever God has us placed. As Clement of Rome has put it, let us be imitators also of those in goat-skins and sheep-skins. (Read Hebrews 11:37).

 None of the Saints we admire today persevered expecting their legacies to live on as Holy Days for the Church to observe; they were being faithful to their calling giving up high status in society, foregoing marriage, shunning social expectations, and even being beaten and killed in faithfulness to their respective callings in Christ. This is what Christ means by hating the world. Though painful, we ought not mourn giving them up. By Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension we are promised as believers in him and his followers, something greater. The first lesson in our holy liturgy today (1 Nov. 2020) is, for a lack of a better word, an odd one but I think it gives us even the slightest picture of what we could expect in our perseverance as his militant followers entering the Church Triumphant. Though an apocryphal book, likely authored in the 3rd Century AD, the selection from 2 Esdras should serve as an encouragement for our hope in the life to come, living in eternity praising our God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit amongst that great cloud of witnesses.

 It should be such in this life that we can be confident through the witness of the Saints that God's precepts are true if we have nothing else, that as seemingly unmoved as they were, so can we but not in of ourselves. They had God by their side, and so do we. We can trust in God through Christ as they did and receive the same power the Holy Saints bore. They in all actuality were no better off than we are, but God's grace works the same in every generation. The passage in Hebrews 12 continues to exhort us to press on and depend on God's grace and discipline to strengthen us and see him and give ourselves to good works, looking to our final hope in Christ Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. 

(The icon presented is not my own work.)