All Hallows
A postcard for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Last night I joined with my neighbors and a gang of children to walk the neighborhood trick-or-treating.
In our group were several Hogwarts students, a trio of mermaids, and the artist Frida Kahlo. The grownups did not miss out on the fun—and were dressed as Hogwarts professors, a pirate, a fairy, and an octopus. I was a corgi.
As we walked through the neighborhood, we passed kids dressed as monsters, dinosaurs, a couple of Queen Elizabeths II’s, and a full array of superheroes from Marvel and DC Comics. Superheroes far out numbered the other costumes. We love a superhero story.
All of the frivolity of Halloween gives way to the seriousness of All Saints’ Day. Halloween allows us to celebrate our imaginations and to enjoy our community. All Saints’ Day invites us to celebrate the Saints and saints in our lives. Capital “S” saints are those people that the Church has identified as living lives exemplary of the Gospel. Lowercase “S” saints are those people that we as individuals experience as guides in our life of faith.
Saint Francis of Assisi is one of my favorite capital Saints. I learn from Francis’ joy, faith, and love and care of the poor and the Church. My grandmother Christine is one of my favorite lowercase saints. She taught me the importance of prayer and shared her love of the Book of Common Prayer.
So who are the saints in life that you want to remember today?
A sermon for St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Faunsdale, Alabama, on the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, 10/30/22:
Principal text: Luke 19:1-10
Coming next
November 6 - St. Barnabas — All Saints
November 13 - Messiah, Heflin — 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
November 20 - St. Paul’s Greensboro — Christ the King
November 27 - Messiah, Heflin — 1st Sunday of Advent
ICYMI: