Sermon for All Souls Evensong 30 October 2016 – Isaiah 65: 17 – end, Hebrews 11: 32 – 12: 2, Psalm 148
All you need is love – a sermon for All Souls
“The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of malice shall not touch them: in the sight of the unwise they seemed to die, but they are in peace.”
The words of the anthem which our choir have just sung so beautifully. They perhaps sum up our belief or at least our hope for what has happened to those we have loved and lost. But however strong our faith may be, grief is nonetheless very real. No one is exempt from this. And grief has markers as the years pass. The anniversary of the death, or of birthdays or wedding anniversaries, or perhaps this service. And sometimes there are particular places which mark our grief too, where a sadness and loss we have not known for months or years suddenly returns.
Or perhaps the feelings seem to return unbidden. A sudden sharp pang of loss; a dream of desperate longing, or of something we should or could have done to prevent the person from leaving us. We wake and realise that this is not true. There was nothing we could have done. We imagine we hear their familiar voice; we think we see them in the street – until a stranger turns their head. As the years roll on these things perhaps happen less often, but they can still catch at our heartstrings. The greater our love, the greater our loss, and it can seem a slow, lonely, painful journey at times.
This evening’s readings were both written to encourage people in difficult circumstances. The first, from Isaiah probably at a time when God’s people had returned from exile to rebuild Jerusalem. Things were not going well; they were disillusioned and tempted to follow the religions of the surrounding peoples. In order to encourage them the prophet gives them God’s alternative vision of the future. At the end of time God will “create new heavens and a new earth” (v17) where there will no longer be any suffering. There will be blessing and prosperity, “Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear (v 24).” God will not be silent, but will respond to their prayers. “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain” (v25). There will be peace.
Our second reading was written to Christians at a time of persecution. They are encouraged to remember the examples from the past, as we remember today the great saints who have gone before us, but also to fix their eyes on Jesus “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross …and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God” (12:2). Because Jesus went through suffering and death before he rose to glory, He comes alongside us in our suffering; because Jesus rose from the dead we trust that we and all those we love will also rise to be with him for ever. We have hope.
Both of these passages in their different ways assure us that God is love, and that His purposes for us are always loving – despite our loss, our suffering and our grief.
I have therefore chosen as our next hymn, one which talks about love.
“Love is kind and suffers long,
Love is meek, and thinks no wrong,
Love than death itself more strong
Therefore give us love.”
Firstly, our love for those we have lost remains unbroken by death.
Second, as we come to terms with our loss we need also to remember to love ourselves; to be kind to ourselves; to nourish ourselves – sometimes literally. To be patient with ourselves and not beat ourselves up about the things we cannot face – or not yet. And not to worry if other people are impatient with our grieving and think we ought to be all right by now.
Thirdly, we can be sustained by our love for one another especially in this church community, and by our compassion for all others who have suffered loss.
Lastly, we can rest in God’s love, knowing that God is love, and trusting that He is alongside us in our pain and that even if we can’t make sense of it ultimately all his purposes are loving. As the hymn writer puts it:
From the overshadowing
Of thy gold and silver wing
Shed on us, who to thee sing,
Holy, heavenly love.
Amen
[1] New English Hymnal, No 367 ‘Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost….’