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Autumn – a season for remembrance.  Next week, we’ll be remembering those who laid down their lives for their country. This morning, we celebrate the feast of All Saints and All Souls; gathered together to remember before God, all those whom we have known and loved, and who have passed before us through the gates of Death, into the joy of God’s heavenly kingdom.

There are so many ways to remember the individual lives which have touched our own, and are on our hearts this morning. So, it’s not surprising to find that numerous traditions have evolved around this day in other countries and cultures.

Many nationalities visit the graves of their loved ones on All Souls’ Day. In parts of Eastern Europe, graveyards are covered with the twinkling lights of candles. In India, people take wreaths of bright flowers turning graveyards into places of beauty and colour, as they remember and celebrate with joy, the lives of those buried there. And, in countries around the Baltic Sea, families take picnics to the graves so that the deceased can be included in the party, as their relatives remember their place and legacy within their family.

Rituals

But how do such beautiful rituals speak to us? What is the Christian message reflected through them?

We live in an age and culture in which death can seem a taboo subject. In the past, bereaved people dressed in distinctive black clothing, and withdrew from society for a lengthy period of mourning. By contrast, today, we often feel under pressure to “get back to normal” as soon as possible after a death – although, of course, “normal” will never be quite the same again.

Whilst it’s important that we learn to live in this new “normality”, and to find meaning and purpose for our lives without those we’ve lost, it’s also important that we’re able openly to acknowledge our loss, and to cherish and share our memories with others.

On returning to everyday life, many of us shy away from airing our feelings for fear of upsetting or embarrassing others. Our grief and pain can lie hidden, as we dare not allow ourselves to think too deeply about the people who are gone, in case our emotions overwhelm us.

Faithful departed

But the Church today, in commemorating the faithful departed all over the world, offers us that safe space in God’s presence where we can freely remember those who are now hidden from us by the shadow of Death.

We may remember how they looked, how they sounded, the many things we shared, and acknowledge how much they continue to be present with us – in our hearts and in our lives. It’s an opportunity to give thanks for all our good memories, for joy and companionship, for the chance to love and be loved.

But this service also allows us a time and space in which we can, before God, acknowledge other emotions which we may also have experienced but tried to ignore or suppress – pain, anger, bewilderment or regret.

Crying out

The Bible, and especially the psalms, are full of such emotions; of people crying out to God in protest, anger and hurt, honestly expressing everything in their hearts; and God’s church remains a place where we too can come with all our anxieties, feelings, doubts and questions.

The Church is not here to offer trite or easy answers to some of our more difficult questions. Why do some apparently die too soon, whilst others live so long that their physical bodies and even their desire to live have begun to fade?

Such questions can be asked only of God, trusting that, as Jesus came to share our human lives, he also shares in and understands our grief and loss, as he wept at the death of his friend, Lazarus.

However, we can turn to God, and to the Gospel, to hear clear messages of comfort and hope. In the story of Jesus Christ, we recall that Jesus died on the Cross, but that God raised him from the dead to bring the eternal hope to his followers, then and now, that Death is not the end.

We place our trust in him in the knowledge that Christ has gone ahead of us, to prepare a place for each one of us in his Father’s house.

Rejoicing communion

Our faith reassures us, that those who have passed through death remain bound together with us, not just in our memories, but as part of that rejoicing communion which transcends all boundaries of time and space, worshipping God, our Creator and Redeemer.

We live, together with those who have passed beyond this world, within the love of that omnipresent divinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As he loves and cares for us here on earth, so he loves and cares for those who have entered into his kingdom, and so we too, remain united with them in love.

Returning briefly to the different cultural rituals for All Souls’, we may see how these different Christian beliefs may be reflected in physical acts of remembrance.

In the twinkling lights of the Eastern European graveyards, we see illustrated the light of Christ, the symbol of the Resurrection, and also every Christian soul’s baptismal vocation to “shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.”

The Indian wreaths and bright flowers remind us that today we may celebrate the joys and happy memories of a life on earth; whilst the Baltic family picnics remind us of shared love and companionship, and demonstrate that united in God’s love, we continue to love and be loved by those who are enfolded in his presence.

The Bible tells us that God has called each one of us by name, and made us his own. Those whom we name before him in our hearts continue, like us, to be called and owned by him and held in his merciful love.

As it is written in Lamentations: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) Amen.

‘To love and be loved’ was delivered by Sheila Beattie on All Saints’ Day, 2^nd November 2025 at St John and St Mark’s. It was based on Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 and Luke 6:20-31