November 7, 2004; All Saints’ Sunday Readings: Ecclesiasticus 44:1-10, 13-14; Revelation 7:2-4, 9-17; Matthew 5:1-12; Psalm 149.   The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith True Comfort "Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted." What comfort can there be in mourning? There is pain and sadness. Loss hurts. Loss hurts so much even for those who believe in eternal life. Remember Jesus at the tomb of his friend Lazarus? Jesus felt sadness, pain, and he cried. He wept because his friend had died even though he knew it was not the end of their relationship. Occasionally, you might cross paths with a Christian whose theology gets in the way of the grieving process. These are the folks who think that they should not grieve because their loved ones are in "a better place." That sort of thinking is part of what I call "fairytale" Christianity. Fairytale Christianity is that less than inspiring series of platitudes that do not relate to our lives. You know that you are connecting with the faith of the apostles and the prophets, of the saints, when it makes a difference in the actual events of your life. True comfort comes to us in the truth of our lives. The truth is, loss hurts. Jesus knew that; he felt the pain. Knowing the truth of eternal life does not eliminate that pain. In fact, feeling the pain is part of the process of being comforted. When we talk about eternal life we, are talking about our belief that God has created us for each other—created us for each other for ever. The pain we feel is in fact evidence of God’s plan. Because we are created for each other, it hurts when physical separate occurs. The longing, the desire, which we have, to be together, is evidence of God’s plan for us. True comfort comes to us in the truth of our lives. True religion comes to us in the truth of our lives. Today, as we do every Sunday, we will celebrate the communion that we have through God’s grace. When we receive the bread and the wine, the body and the blood of Christ, we are entering into the mystery of communion—the mystery of God’s connection with us, our connection with each other, and our union with all the saints. Jesus has instructed us to receive the bread and the wine—his body and blood—in remembrance of him. As we remember him, we remember all that God did through him to bring us together, forever. All Saints’ Day, which we observe today, reminds us of the communion that we have with all who have gone before us. Throughout the year we remember particular saints on particular days. Well-known Saints get a special day of remembrance in our church calendars, but our special saints are remembered by us everyday. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Today is a day of great comfort because it reminds us that God embraces all and keeps us united. We remain connected and in communion with those who have died. When I receive communion, I often think about the connection that God makes possible between me and those who have gone before me. They are now sheltered by God. They rest from their labors, and as a priest friend of mine likes to say, now they can pray for us full time. Life is not over—it is changed. All Saints’ is about connections. We are also connected to those who will come after us. What we do today—the ways that we choose to live out our faith—will make a difference in the lives of those who will worship on this spot a hundred years from now. Having the ingathering of our pledge cards on All Saints’ is entirely appropriate. The resources that we bring to our shared ministry will have eternal significance. The ministry that we share is God’s work in our world. The pledge of our resources makes that work possible. This work is not our private possession but, rather, it is God’s gift to the world and the work of all the saints. We are in communion with God and each other. We come together week by week to celebrate the reality of communion. In sharing the bread and the wine—in sharing ourselves and our gifts—we state that we are part of the body of Christ—connected to all others who are members of the body. May God grant us the grace of knowing that we are indeed one with the saints in heaven and on earth and are always being supported by this fellowship of love and prayer. Amen.