All Souls' Day - November 2
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 130; PM Psalm 116:10-17; Isaiah 25:6-9; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; John 5:24-27
Today is the commemoration of All Souls’ Day, or the day we remember all of the faithful departed. It is an observance that sometimes gets swept up with All Saints’ Day. Often our prayers for the saints expand to involve those who are saints in our own lives. We may do this around this season, or on our own rhythms around a departed loved one’s birthday, date of death, or special anniversary.
The Mexican observance of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) began in the 16th century and continues today, being acculturated into the variety of ways Americans bring celebration and memory, grief and fun together. This occasion is described as a big family reunion in which the deceased are the guests of honor. Through the creation of ofrendas (altars of remembrance), special photographs and items dear to the person who has died are featured and arranged in a decorative manner.
After my mom died, I created an ofrenda unwittingly. I kept photos of her arranged with her jewelry box, perfume, hairbrush, and glasses. I could not bear to move them. It became an altar – a meeting place where I would pause or sigh. I needed that little connection point, because I missed her so much.
In the scriptures appointed for All Souls’ Day, an excerpt from Isaiah 25 is offered. The Lord makes a promise to “swallow up death for ever” and “wipe away the tears from all faces” and “the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth”. In the midst of destruction and loss, God’s people of Israel need to hear this assurance relayed from the prophet Isaiah. They are lost and aggrieved, untethered to a place of home or comfort. These words of Isaiah resonate with me in times when I mourn, for I want to believe that God can bring the kind of change that wraps up death and life together, removing the need to weep and wallow.
Jesus reiterates this promise in the gospel according to John: “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and he has given him authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son of Man.” (5:25-27) God gives power to Jesus to share shouts of welcome, to call to the dead and those living. To call the name of each beloved child of God with the resonance of resurrection. To open our ears and bring us to everlasting life. It is beyond my ability to fully comprehend, and yet I am rapt with this promise. My mind does not always grasp it, but I feel it in my chest. I feel that reality. I feel that reconciling love that binds me together with those around me today and those who have died. I know that my Redeemer lives, and that Jesus will not leave me comfortless. He will not leave you either.
So whether you dance in the revelry of the Day of the Dead festivities at Sloss Furnaces tonight or offer prayers to God in thanksgiving for those who have died, hear the encouragement of the apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth: “be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Katherine+
Questions for Reflection
When someone you love dies, how do you go about saying goodbye? What physical items do you hold onto? How do you pray to God in those times of loss?
Daily Challenge
Take a moment to reflect more on All Souls' Day and those you know who have died. Write their names down. Pray the prayers (in traditional or contemporary language) found in this link.