all saints sunday
the PRAYER. . .
Almighty God, you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
the READING. . .
Then [Jesus] looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
the DEVOTION. . .
“Behold the host arrayed in white,” the hymn imagines, “like thousand snow-clad mountains bright, that stands with palms and sings its psalms before the throne of light.” This week, we commemorate Church! All Saints – past, present, future! But, for the most part, it’s, usually, all about heaven! Harps! Halos! Hallelujahs! It’s been that way for generations. Gathering, as we do, year in, year out, at the river that flows by the throne of god!
But this morning, as I was killing a few moments before coming over to the office, I stumbled over another image of church. One more recent. One, maybe, even more accurate. It’s from “The Greatest Showman,” a musical that came out a couple years ago …
Bob Barndt, pastor