Sermon Illustrations for All Saints Day (2024)
Illustration
Isaiah 25:6-9
Isaiah’s prophecy reminds us that God can conquer all sorrow, all darkness, all pain, and death. God will and can provide rich food, aged wine, all those items used to celebrate in our human life. But more than that, God provides to us the removal of pain, of disgrace, so that we might be saved. We experience salvation through the goodness of God, no matter what has passed before. We celebrate the saints of the faith that have gone before us – not only those canonized by formal process, but all the faithful ones who have nurtured our faith, shared their faith experience in ways that helped us know the love of God. What a blessing to have been touched by them and thereby introduced to faith in God.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Isaiah 25:6-9
On this day of remembrance of the saints and all whom we love, this lesson leads us to consider death. The theory of relativity developed by Albert Einstein offers insights which might make death a little less fearful, for it implies that the length of time loved ones are separated from us is not long. For Einstein posited a reality (the speed of light) at which all time is simultaneous (Analen der Physik 17:891-921). It is a logical move to identify the divine reality as the location of the speed of light (for God is the light of the world), so that in his presence all time is simultaneous. Martin Luther spoke of the divine time in this way:
... you must not calculate how far life and earth are apart, or how many years may pass while the body is wasting in the grave, and how one after another dies, but endeavor to grasp Christ... For He does not calculate time by tens, hundreds, or thousands of years, not measure the years consecutively, the one preceding, the other following, as we must do in this life; but grasps everything in a moment... (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, pp.358-359)
From God’s point of view (and we the faithful do well to tell time God’s way) the separation from our loved ones, the time of reunion will not be so long. What a beautiful, comforting way to live.
Mark E.
* * *
Revelation 21:1-6a
I found this sweet story that had no attribution. I’m guessing this one’s been told a few times. One beautiful night a grandfather and his granddaughter went for a walk. The stars were glorious and bright in the sky. As the grandfather named individual stars and constellations, the granddaughter exclaimed, “Grandpa, if the bottom side of heaven is this beautiful, just think how wonderful the top side must be.”
John writes in Revelation 21:3-4, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” I heard about a minister reading this text to a suffering hospital patient. From jaws clenched in pain came the reply, “Won’t that be wonderful.” There will come a time when all who have a relationship with Jesus will live with him and the Father in a perfect place. John calls it “new heaven and new earth.” Someday, we’ll call it home. Amen to that.
Bill T.
* * *
Revelation 21:1-6a
I want to focus on one word in Revelation 21:6. The new heaven and the new earth have been revealed, along with the new Jerusalem, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” At the end of this scene, the revelator is instructed to write this all down, and then is told “It is done!” That’s one word in Greek: “gegonan”
What’s done? Everything. Salvation history. God’s plan. All that God willed is fulfilled, regardless of all the barriers that free will, the adversary, and our own shortsightedness have placed in the path.
Jesus says something like that from the cross in John 19:28 - “It is finished.” Though there’s that’s a different word entirely involved, the idea is the same. The central event of our history, the death of the Lamb of God for the sin of the world is the great work that’s done.
So, while we wait confidently for the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom, we also proclaim “It is done.” This is happening. No matter what the rest of the world sees, this is the world we live in. These are the rules we play by. This is the life that is real life.
Frank R.
* * *
John 11:32-44
This is a lesson for helping us appreciate that saints are also sinners. Ambrose Bierce, a 19th-century American journalist compellingly made that point with his definition: “Saint: A dead sinner revised and edited.”
John Calvin perceived a certain lack of gratitude reflected in Mary’s, Martha’s, and the crowd’s laments regarding what Jesus might have done for Lazarus prior to his arrival. He wrote:
Men have always been ungrateful to God in the same manner and continue to be so. If he does not grant all our wishes, we immediately launch into complaints. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/2, p.442)
This is another reminder that faithful people, that saints, are still mired in sin – simultaneously saints and sinners. Martin Luther made that clear:
But we say that the real saints must be good, stout sinners who are not ashamed to pray The Lord’s Prayer [pertaining forgiveness of our trespasses] ... They are not called saints because they are without sins or have become saintly through works... But they become holy through a foreign holiness, namely through that of the Lord Christ, which is given to them by faith and thus becomes their own. (What Luther Says, p.1247)
Mark E.
* * *
John 11:32-44
The miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus touches everything in us, especially with our human experiences of loss and death. The faith that Mary demonstrates touches the heart of Jesus, Jesus who loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus as dear friends and faithful followers. The certainty of Jesus’ prayer always touches my heart. Jesus doesn’t ask God to hear his prayer. Rather he says, “Father, I thank you for having heard me.” He is certain God has heard his prayer, certain that the resurrection of Lazarus will enable those who witness and hear about this event, will have an even deeper faith in Jesus and the power of God. My then four-year-old grandson once asked me how Jesus came to live after his own death. I said that the resurrection was a result of God’s love. That was true on Easter morning, and it is true in this moment of Lazarus’ resurrection. Oh, how wonderful the love of God truly is!
Bonnie B.
Isaiah’s prophecy reminds us that God can conquer all sorrow, all darkness, all pain, and death. God will and can provide rich food, aged wine, all those items used to celebrate in our human life. But more than that, God provides to us the removal of pain, of disgrace, so that we might be saved. We experience salvation through the goodness of God, no matter what has passed before. We celebrate the saints of the faith that have gone before us – not only those canonized by formal process, but all the faithful ones who have nurtured our faith, shared their faith experience in ways that helped us know the love of God. What a blessing to have been touched by them and thereby introduced to faith in God.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Isaiah 25:6-9
On this day of remembrance of the saints and all whom we love, this lesson leads us to consider death. The theory of relativity developed by Albert Einstein offers insights which might make death a little less fearful, for it implies that the length of time loved ones are separated from us is not long. For Einstein posited a reality (the speed of light) at which all time is simultaneous (Analen der Physik 17:891-921). It is a logical move to identify the divine reality as the location of the speed of light (for God is the light of the world), so that in his presence all time is simultaneous. Martin Luther spoke of the divine time in this way:
... you must not calculate how far life and earth are apart, or how many years may pass while the body is wasting in the grave, and how one after another dies, but endeavor to grasp Christ... For He does not calculate time by tens, hundreds, or thousands of years, not measure the years consecutively, the one preceding, the other following, as we must do in this life; but grasps everything in a moment... (Complete Sermons, Vol.3/2, pp.358-359)
From God’s point of view (and we the faithful do well to tell time God’s way) the separation from our loved ones, the time of reunion will not be so long. What a beautiful, comforting way to live.
Mark E.
* * *
Revelation 21:1-6a
I found this sweet story that had no attribution. I’m guessing this one’s been told a few times. One beautiful night a grandfather and his granddaughter went for a walk. The stars were glorious and bright in the sky. As the grandfather named individual stars and constellations, the granddaughter exclaimed, “Grandpa, if the bottom side of heaven is this beautiful, just think how wonderful the top side must be.”
John writes in Revelation 21:3-4, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” I heard about a minister reading this text to a suffering hospital patient. From jaws clenched in pain came the reply, “Won’t that be wonderful.” There will come a time when all who have a relationship with Jesus will live with him and the Father in a perfect place. John calls it “new heaven and new earth.” Someday, we’ll call it home. Amen to that.
Bill T.
* * *
Revelation 21:1-6a
I want to focus on one word in Revelation 21:6. The new heaven and the new earth have been revealed, along with the new Jerusalem, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” At the end of this scene, the revelator is instructed to write this all down, and then is told “It is done!” That’s one word in Greek: “gegonan”
What’s done? Everything. Salvation history. God’s plan. All that God willed is fulfilled, regardless of all the barriers that free will, the adversary, and our own shortsightedness have placed in the path.
Jesus says something like that from the cross in John 19:28 - “It is finished.” Though there’s that’s a different word entirely involved, the idea is the same. The central event of our history, the death of the Lamb of God for the sin of the world is the great work that’s done.
So, while we wait confidently for the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom, we also proclaim “It is done.” This is happening. No matter what the rest of the world sees, this is the world we live in. These are the rules we play by. This is the life that is real life.
Frank R.
* * *
John 11:32-44
This is a lesson for helping us appreciate that saints are also sinners. Ambrose Bierce, a 19th-century American journalist compellingly made that point with his definition: “Saint: A dead sinner revised and edited.”
John Calvin perceived a certain lack of gratitude reflected in Mary’s, Martha’s, and the crowd’s laments regarding what Jesus might have done for Lazarus prior to his arrival. He wrote:
Men have always been ungrateful to God in the same manner and continue to be so. If he does not grant all our wishes, we immediately launch into complaints. (Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol.XVII/2, p.442)
This is another reminder that faithful people, that saints, are still mired in sin – simultaneously saints and sinners. Martin Luther made that clear:
But we say that the real saints must be good, stout sinners who are not ashamed to pray The Lord’s Prayer [pertaining forgiveness of our trespasses] ... They are not called saints because they are without sins or have become saintly through works... But they become holy through a foreign holiness, namely through that of the Lord Christ, which is given to them by faith and thus becomes their own. (What Luther Says, p.1247)
Mark E.
* * *
John 11:32-44
The miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus touches everything in us, especially with our human experiences of loss and death. The faith that Mary demonstrates touches the heart of Jesus, Jesus who loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus as dear friends and faithful followers. The certainty of Jesus’ prayer always touches my heart. Jesus doesn’t ask God to hear his prayer. Rather he says, “Father, I thank you for having heard me.” He is certain God has heard his prayer, certain that the resurrection of Lazarus will enable those who witness and hear about this event, will have an even deeper faith in Jesus and the power of God. My then four-year-old grandson once asked me how Jesus came to live after his own death. I said that the resurrection was a result of God’s love. That was true on Easter morning, and it is true in this moment of Lazarus’ resurrection. Oh, how wonderful the love of God truly is!
Bonnie B.
