John 11:32-44
Here’s one many of us grew up with:

Jesus Wept

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

But the one my mother-in-law made in needlepoint for Sophia says this:

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
May angels guard me through the night and wake me with the morning light.

I have mixed feelings about the change. On the one hand, I think it’s very appropriate – the older prayer is rather solemn, even ominous – certainly death has no place in a child’s bedroom.

On the other hand, however, I wonder whether the change was made to protect children, or avoid offending their protective parents. And I wonder, to what degree does this newer prayer simply reflect the tenor of our times.

I mean, have you noticed that while we seem to have a nearly insatiable appetite for graphic images of violence and death in our television, movies, video-games, and news, we simultaneously appear increasingly to be in denial of the common, every day, garden variety of death which awaits each and every one of us?

Hospitals, for instance, routinely refer to their patients not as “dying,” but as “expiring.” Generals do not record how many of their soldiers died, but rather the number of casualties their units suffered. And even the church has gotten in on the act, in wedding services these days, couples pledge fidelity “as long as we both shall live,” rather than “’til death do us part.”

We really live in a death denying culture and time. And in this light, All Saints’ Day can seem an oddity.

For in stark contrast to a culture which worships youth an boasts that “you can have it all,” All Saints lifts up the stark reality of our mortality by celebrating all those who have died – not those who have expired, or passed away, or been lost like a favorite pair of gloves – rather who have died…in the faith.

And so we will have the opportunity to name out loud people who have died and have passed into the nearer presence of God.

But notice something – the color for All Saints Day is not the black of Good Friday and mourning, but rather the white and gold of Easter and celebration. Because today we don’t merely acknowledge death, but we also place it in its proper context.

After all, we worship the One who was given power over death. The One who in our Gospel reading raised Lazarus back to life, the One whose own death and resurrection witnessing to the trustworthiness of the promise that God will one day bring to an end the reign of death, cause suffering to cease, and wipe every tear from our eyes.

Because it is from the light of Easter that we confront the darkness of death. And it is from the other side of Christ’s resurrection that we gain the courage, not to deny death, but to defy it, to defy its ability to overshadow and distort our lives, for the Risen Christ has promised us that death does not have the last word.

And this makes all the difference! Because it means that death no longer terrifies us. Knowing that Christ’s resurrection is for us as well, we can look death in the eye and not blink. This is why we can mourn the death of our loved ones, while we also celebrate their victory as they now rest from their labors and live with Christ in glory.

But when we’re in the midst of it – perhaps not staring death in the face, but perhaps crippling anxiety, or unemployment, or suffering, or worrying, or working hard and getting overlooked or getting an F, or trying to do the right thing and still our family is upset with us.

When we’re in the thick of it, is all we have is a future promise?
Well, our Gospel reading gives us more than confidence in the future. And it’s there in the two words that make up the shortest verse in the Bible: Jesus wept.

Upon learning that his friend had died – upon meeting the grief of Mary and Martha – the Savior of the World – very God Himself – cried. And he doesn’t just cry with Mary and Martha, he cries with us as well. He promises not just that we will be with him, but that he will be with us.

And so All Saints Day becomes more than a day for those died in the faith, or for those who are of great moral courage and kindness. The word “saint,” in fact, comes from a Greek word meaning “holy ones,” which comes from a Hebrew word meaning “set apart” for the Lord’s use. You see, Christians are set apart, consecrated, named, called, and commissioned by God to be His children, partners, and co-workers in the world.

When Christ comes to us, when he comforts, sustains and provides, he is sanctifying – making holy – setting apart – what is ordinary, what seems like slogging through – for His purposes – even for his glory. In this way God promises to use us – our talents, abilities, interests – our whole lives! – to further His purposes in the world.

This not only gives our lives meaning but also lifts our daily routines and roles – parent, spouse, child, citizen employer, employee, co-worker, student, volunteer, friend, and so many others – all of these become the places where God’s holy work is accomplished, by saintly / set apart people.

So while today is a day to look toward heaven to celebrate the life triumphant that some of our beloved now enjoy, it’s also a day to come to this table, knowing that the burdens we bring to the room and to this table, are made holy because Christ is with us. It’s also a day to be reminded that the seemingly mundane activities of our lives are actually invitations for saintly lives.

All Saints’ Day, is our day to see ourselves as those who have been set apart to do God’s work in the world, as those whom God has promised to accompany through all of our living and our dying, and as those who are joined to all the faithful who have lived, labored, and died in the faith before us.

And perhaps, at the end of the day, when we turn in wearied by the stresses and joys of the day, we’ll call to mind a prayer of confidence and courage which God has promised to answer for all his saints, young and old alike:

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Amen.