ALL SAINTS' SUNDAY
Worship
Scripture Notes
For use with Common, Lutheran and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
The relationship between God and the "saints" is the basic theme of these texts and of this occasion. The "saints," as the term is used here, are the Holy People of God. This includes the Holy People of God who are still living in a covenant relationship with God here and now, those who have lived and died with faith in God, and those who are perceived as being with God now. Some Christians perceive the "saints" in a narrow, limited sense that may even be restricted to their own denomination or local fellowship; other Christians have a much more open, broader perception of the Holy People of God in which God, rather than they, keep the statistical records.
As we pause to remember on this occasion those loved by us who have died within the past year or within the scope of our memories, we have a point of contact with the writers of the texts selected for this event. Let us acclaim the writers of these texts, along with those loved by us who have died within the scope of our memories, without worshiping them. Let us boldly worship God as perceived within Christianity, as Creator Father of Jesus and of all of us throughout the expanses of time and space, as Redeeming Son, the Risen Christ our Savior, and as Living, Active, Sustaining Spirit, continually involved in our lives.
Common, Lutheran: Psalm 34:1-10
In many respects a Beatitude Wisdom Psalm such as Psalm 1, or a psalm such as the Roman Catholic selection (Psalm 24:1-6), would be more appropriate for us with the Matthean Beatitudes than is this portion of Psalm 34. Nevertheless, the reference to the afflicted (humble ones) hearing the psalmist has a point of contact with Matthew 5:5, and the mention of "his holy ones" (saints) in Psalm 34:9 forms an important association with the "All Saints" theme of this day. Psalm 34 has many of the characteristics of an Individual Hymn of Praise (Thankoffering Psalm). The psalmist bears testimony and invites the members of the congregation to join with the psalmist in proclaiming the glory of Yahweh. It should be noted that in this psalm "his holy ones" (saints) are holy already in this life, holy by association with Yahweh, who is Ultimately Holy.
Roman Catholic: Psalm 24:1-6
Since the Lord (Yahweh) is Ultimately Holy, the entire earth that belongs to the Lord is also relatively holy. All who dwell on the earth are relatively holy. Those who "have clean hands and a pure heart" and who come up to the holy temple of the Lord to worship the Lord there are especially holy. They shall receive blessings from the Lord. They are the saints of the Lord. The Lord will certainly enter into a covenant relationship with them.
Lutheran: Isaiah 26:1-4, 8-9, 12-13, 19-21
This interesting selection of verses provides a reading of Isaiah traditions from the Restoration and later Persian periods. The Isaiah traditions theme of "Hang in there! Do not give up!" is prominent in 26:1b, 4. The later Persian period is suggested in 26:13, "O Yahweh our God, other lords beside you have ruled over us, but your name alone we acknowledge." It is likely that the Lord (Ahura) Mazda of the Persian Empire Zoroastrianism Civil Religion, as well as Marduk of the Babylonians, was in mind here. Almost certainly, this Isaiah tradition text was a principal source for the writer of the Revelation 21:9-11, 22-27 selection that is read with it on this day, especially because of "Open the gates of the city" in Isaiah 26:2 and "The gates of the city will be open all day" in Revelation 21:25. The apocalyptic thought of resurrection from the dead comes to us in Isaiah 26:19 and of hiding during a brief period of horrible judgment in lsaiah
26:20-21.
Common:
Revelation 7:9-17
Roman Catholic: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
The intimate relationship between God and the People of God in the great multitude of those gathered around the throne is beautifully expressed in this text. These verses provide great comfort to the afflicted in all times. They provide for us a graphic illustration of the life to come with God that we, by the grace of God, joyfully anticipate.
Common, Roman Catholic: 1 John 3:1-3
The followers of Jesus within the Johannine community of faith are called "children of God" here. There is an anticipation in this text that the life to come with God and with Jesus the Risen Christ will be far better than the present life with its toil and turmoil. The anticipation is that in the eternal life that is to come the relationship with God will be much closer than anything that can be imagined now. It is that way also for us.
Lutheran: Revelation 21:9-11, 22-27 (22:1-5)
Not merely apocalyptic thought, but also highly figurative language of apocalyptic form abounds in this selection. As in Isaiah 26, there is no interest at this point in a temple in which animal sacrifices can be offered. The Lamb has been slain; nevertheless, he lives and his jeweled ecclesiastical Bride is presented to him in this text.
In some way, we should indicate to the congregation that this imagery is typical of apocalyptic form, a product of inspired imagination. It provides beautifully descriptive imagery rather than historical documentary.
Matthew 5:1-12
The introductory first two verses of Matthew 5 are probably Matthean redaction, as a comparison with Luke 6:17-19 indicates. The concluding two verses (5:11-12) are probably highly influenced by the Sitz in Leben of the early Church when in its cult stage it suffered persecution and to some extent gloried in it as a proof that it was right within a world that was wrong. The main body of the pericope (5:3-10), the Matthean Beatitudes proper, is an excellent collection of happiness sayings" ("Happiness is ...") applicable to the saints living or dead and proleptically perceived as having been raised from the dead. It is likely that not far behind this Matthean arrangement of "Q" material lie the words of the Jesus of history expressing concern and love for his own fellow Israelite people oppressed by the Roman occupation forces in Palestine. There can be no doubt that the Jesus of history, followed and loved dearly by large numbers of poor and oppressed Israelites such as those depicted in these sayings, appeared to the Roman occupation force officials to be a Jewish Messiah figure, the center of potential trouble for them in this occupied land. Because of this, they crucified this man who was giving so much hope to the oppressed poor of the land. Our attention should be focused, therefore, on the central portion of this text, Matthew 5:3-10, and we should see them from the perspective of the poor and oppressed, such as the poor and oppressed in South Africa, Latin America, and in our own land. We should recognize that the poor in these Beatitudes are poor because they are oppressed. The oppressed are always poor. Perhaps also the poor are always oppressed. The poor are not necessarily lazy. The poor are poor because they are oppressed. If we understand this, and if we proclaim this, we will have more poor people within the Church.
As we pause to remember on this occasion those loved by us who have died within the past year or within the scope of our memories, we have a point of contact with the writers of the texts selected for this event. Let us acclaim the writers of these texts, along with those loved by us who have died within the scope of our memories, without worshiping them. Let us boldly worship God as perceived within Christianity, as Creator Father of Jesus and of all of us throughout the expanses of time and space, as Redeeming Son, the Risen Christ our Savior, and as Living, Active, Sustaining Spirit, continually involved in our lives.
Common, Lutheran: Psalm 34:1-10
In many respects a Beatitude Wisdom Psalm such as Psalm 1, or a psalm such as the Roman Catholic selection (Psalm 24:1-6), would be more appropriate for us with the Matthean Beatitudes than is this portion of Psalm 34. Nevertheless, the reference to the afflicted (humble ones) hearing the psalmist has a point of contact with Matthew 5:5, and the mention of "his holy ones" (saints) in Psalm 34:9 forms an important association with the "All Saints" theme of this day. Psalm 34 has many of the characteristics of an Individual Hymn of Praise (Thankoffering Psalm). The psalmist bears testimony and invites the members of the congregation to join with the psalmist in proclaiming the glory of Yahweh. It should be noted that in this psalm "his holy ones" (saints) are holy already in this life, holy by association with Yahweh, who is Ultimately Holy.
Roman Catholic: Psalm 24:1-6
Since the Lord (Yahweh) is Ultimately Holy, the entire earth that belongs to the Lord is also relatively holy. All who dwell on the earth are relatively holy. Those who "have clean hands and a pure heart" and who come up to the holy temple of the Lord to worship the Lord there are especially holy. They shall receive blessings from the Lord. They are the saints of the Lord. The Lord will certainly enter into a covenant relationship with them.
Lutheran: Isaiah 26:1-4, 8-9, 12-13, 19-21
This interesting selection of verses provides a reading of Isaiah traditions from the Restoration and later Persian periods. The Isaiah traditions theme of "Hang in there! Do not give up!" is prominent in 26:1b, 4. The later Persian period is suggested in 26:13, "O Yahweh our God, other lords beside you have ruled over us, but your name alone we acknowledge." It is likely that the Lord (Ahura) Mazda of the Persian Empire Zoroastrianism Civil Religion, as well as Marduk of the Babylonians, was in mind here. Almost certainly, this Isaiah tradition text was a principal source for the writer of the Revelation 21:9-11, 22-27 selection that is read with it on this day, especially because of "Open the gates of the city" in Isaiah 26:2 and "The gates of the city will be open all day" in Revelation 21:25. The apocalyptic thought of resurrection from the dead comes to us in Isaiah 26:19 and of hiding during a brief period of horrible judgment in lsaiah
26:20-21.
Common:
Revelation 7:9-17
Roman Catholic: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
The intimate relationship between God and the People of God in the great multitude of those gathered around the throne is beautifully expressed in this text. These verses provide great comfort to the afflicted in all times. They provide for us a graphic illustration of the life to come with God that we, by the grace of God, joyfully anticipate.
Common, Roman Catholic: 1 John 3:1-3
The followers of Jesus within the Johannine community of faith are called "children of God" here. There is an anticipation in this text that the life to come with God and with Jesus the Risen Christ will be far better than the present life with its toil and turmoil. The anticipation is that in the eternal life that is to come the relationship with God will be much closer than anything that can be imagined now. It is that way also for us.
Lutheran: Revelation 21:9-11, 22-27 (22:1-5)
Not merely apocalyptic thought, but also highly figurative language of apocalyptic form abounds in this selection. As in Isaiah 26, there is no interest at this point in a temple in which animal sacrifices can be offered. The Lamb has been slain; nevertheless, he lives and his jeweled ecclesiastical Bride is presented to him in this text.
In some way, we should indicate to the congregation that this imagery is typical of apocalyptic form, a product of inspired imagination. It provides beautifully descriptive imagery rather than historical documentary.
Matthew 5:1-12
The introductory first two verses of Matthew 5 are probably Matthean redaction, as a comparison with Luke 6:17-19 indicates. The concluding two verses (5:11-12) are probably highly influenced by the Sitz in Leben of the early Church when in its cult stage it suffered persecution and to some extent gloried in it as a proof that it was right within a world that was wrong. The main body of the pericope (5:3-10), the Matthean Beatitudes proper, is an excellent collection of happiness sayings" ("Happiness is ...") applicable to the saints living or dead and proleptically perceived as having been raised from the dead. It is likely that not far behind this Matthean arrangement of "Q" material lie the words of the Jesus of history expressing concern and love for his own fellow Israelite people oppressed by the Roman occupation forces in Palestine. There can be no doubt that the Jesus of history, followed and loved dearly by large numbers of poor and oppressed Israelites such as those depicted in these sayings, appeared to the Roman occupation force officials to be a Jewish Messiah figure, the center of potential trouble for them in this occupied land. Because of this, they crucified this man who was giving so much hope to the oppressed poor of the land. Our attention should be focused, therefore, on the central portion of this text, Matthew 5:3-10, and we should see them from the perspective of the poor and oppressed, such as the poor and oppressed in South Africa, Latin America, and in our own land. We should recognize that the poor in these Beatitudes are poor because they are oppressed. The oppressed are always poor. Perhaps also the poor are always oppressed. The poor are not necessarily lazy. The poor are poor because they are oppressed. If we understand this, and if we proclaim this, we will have more poor people within the Church.
