Date: November 3rd & 6th
Preacher: Pastor Ashley Rosa-Ruggieri
First Reading: Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18
Psalmody: Psalm 149
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:11-23
Gospel: Luke 6:20-31
When I was working in the theatre in college, I learned a lot about rigging. One of our theatres on campus had a full stage with a pulley system backstage so that sets, curtains, lights, or whatever else we might attach to the suspended bars above stage could be flown in or out. And one of the first lessons that we taught about rigging when we trained new members of the crew was how to make sure that each item added or removed from a bar had a counterpart of weight on the anchor. So, if I put on one light on the bar that was ten pounds, I needed to counteract that on the anchor side that held all the weights. This would then get a lot more complicated when the things you are adding or removing are over 100 pounds. It is all about balancing what you have so that one side is not too heavy or too light. Having unequal weights can be dangerous and cause serious injury if a line gets away from the person pulling on it. To avoid this, we learn from those who have done this work before us, to make sure we are always getting better.
This idea of unequal counterparts, when it comes to human interaction, is one that we find often in the Gospel of Luke. The stories highlight the inequalities of biblical times, which also coincide with many of the same ones we deal with today. Highlighting these unequal loads and then adjusting them through actions is a main theme for Luke, and we find that in our passage today. Poor/rich, hungry/full, weeping/laughing, and reviled or defamed/spoken of well are the four examples in this specific reading, many of which are present in other parts of Luke’s Gospel as well. Theologian Justo González refers to these types of passages from Luke as examples of “the great reversal.” This is the idea that the Lord works in ways that are different than what we might expect and oftentimes even reverse what might be the current situation. God evens out the unequal load, creating a great reversal of situation. In this way, God is claiming those who are disheartened, marginalized, and oppressed as the beloved children that they are not currently being claimed as. But not only is God claiming the marginalized as beloved in these moments of great reversal, but the Lord is also showing us how the Kingdom of God is different from the world that we currently inhabit. God’s Kingdom is not unequal. This understanding of the great reversal is an important part of our Christian tradition, and especially fits in on this day where we remember the faithful who are no longer living.
By remembering this part of our religious tradition, this day of All Saints remembrance gives us two ways we relate those who have died to this promise of great reversal. We can acknowledge how those who have died showed us how to live into the Kingdom of God better here on Earth, and also rejoice in the knowledge that the biggest great reversal of all is that the dead are made alive again through our savior Jesus Christ.
To start with the first way of relating to this tradition—we remember those who have died and how they taught us when they were alive how to bring God’s kingdom here to Earth. Faithful saints from all times and places have heard God’s call of great reversals and worked toward a more just, equitable society that follows the example of Jesus here and now, creating glimpses of the Kingdom of God. If I were to consider those who have died this past year that I have known, some of the things I have learned from them are: how to comfort the mourning, how to love without ceasing, how to instill generosity in the lives of those around you, how to care for the land, how to use your gifts to serve the world, and how to exude a joy that is contagious to those around you. These are certainly not the only things I have learned from the saints who have died, but they are some that have shaped and will continue to shape how I live into my Christian calling for the rest of my life.
When we are in our walk here on Earth, it can be so simple to focus only on our own path and ignore that of our neighbor, but that is not what is being suggested in this passage at all. The many great reversals that Luke writes about only happen when a community has decided that the good of all comes before the good of any one individual. Oftentimes we see this play out the opposite way, where power triumphs over community. But if we lean into the blessings and woes that Jesus gives in these verses, then we might find that there is power in a community filled with people journeying toward the same goal. The saints who have died, this past year or much earlier, were a part of this long journey that we take together, listening to Jesus and loving our neighbor however possible. That same path of faith is now offered to us to follow in their footsteps and example while we are still living.
The second way that this idea of the great reversals in Luke ties into All Saints Day traditions is when we acknowledge the Good News that is the foundation for our Christian life—the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. By rising from the dead and destroying death forever, Jesus has opened the way to everlasting life for all people. So that no longer are we defined or judged by the world, but instead can choose to find our identify in our God who created the world, became human, died on a cross, and rose again. By Jesus opening the door to the life everlasting, we have been set free of the burdens that could hinder our walk on Earth. No longer weighed down by the difficulties of sin or requirements, we are freed to live into the ways that the Holy Spirit calls us to live and bring the Kingdom of God to Earth as it is for the saints in heaven who have already died. We are connected with the great cloud of witnesses the most when we live into the great reversals already in place, simply by following Jesus.
Remembering and honoring the saints who have died on this day can mean many things. It can be a sad time of grieving, a joyful time of remembrance, a melancholy time of ever-changing emotions, or somewhere in-between any and all of those. And still, we are given the hope that each great reversal is an opportunity to give thanks for a well-trodden path that Jesus created, the saints before us paved, and the community around us continues to extend even now. Rejoice in the great reversals that God is calling you into today, and take heart in the knowledge that the greatest reversal of all was achieved by Jesus Christ, who even now is feasting at the table with all the all saints in everlasting light. Thanks be to God.