Prayer of Tears - All Saint's Day

November 1, 2009
All Saint’s Day
Isaiah 25:6-9
John 11:32-44
Year B


Let me start by rereading the Isaiah scripture – it is not very long.

On this mountain the Lord will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well ages wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take way from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he moght save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

God makes a profound promise in this passage – he will swallow up death. Then God will wipe away the tears from all faces. Everything that we are struggling with at the moment will disappear.
This is a profound reversal of the human condition. Living on this earth just naturally causes pain, tears and suffering. It does not matter who we are. Every year – at All Saints day we need to stop and to honor the grief in our lives.
I just returned from a wonderful spiritual experience at the Upper Room in Nashville. Trevor Hudson was our spiritual leader for the week. Trevor is a pastor from South Africa- but he travels all over the world to talk about the spiritual journey. He talked about what it meant to be a minister. He said that it is important to listen to the life of everyone. All of us have a pool of tears next to us in life. There is something that we are struggling with. And it is important in ministry to acknowledge that sadness in every life. We need to give a healthy place for our grief.
Another profound part of the text in Isaiah is that God promises that there is a place for us to go and to meet God – to be fed richly and lavishly by God. The church is that place to come and to feel safe to grieve.
As a child, every year in my grade school we had this haunted house. As we got older and saw the same exhibits year after year – you got use to them, but we still went anyway. The highlight of the haunted house was sticking our hands into the black cardboard box. We were supposed to be grossed out by what was in the box. By the fifth grade, we all knew that the box had cooked spaghetti in it. But we stuck our hand in anyway.
I tell you that cheesy story because in many ways All Saints Day is that black cardboard box. It is the place we come to be in touch with the spirits that have passed on to the other side. We all know that this is just an ordinary candle – but in some way we also know that it contains the spirit of the departed. We are a part of the mystery and the veil between life and death. This is the day to realize that there is a thin line between our world and God’s world. There is a thin line between life and death.
Originally All Saints day was created because it was believed that departed souls had not made it to heaven, they needed the prayers of the faithful to finish their journey.
Today we celebrate the presence of loved ones. They are here with us. I used carpenters tape to keep our pictures of loved ones up and displayed, and they continue to fall down anyway. That is a reminder that this moment is not intended to last forever. Their spirit is with us right now, but wont be here forever.
A saint is a child of God – so they now have a place in God’s world. The sickness, the trouble, the pain, the suffering of this world is no longer present for them. They are at God’s table enjoying the feast. Their spirit is free and they have a new life.

All Saints day is for the living – for those left behind. It is for us to acknowledge that we still live in that world of pain. We are the ones to carry on the legacy of their life lived here on earth. We need to acknowledge our pool of tears. The spirits are here with us for now, but they are now seeking eternity.

John says that Jesus was so touched by the human condition that he wept. What is it that makes Jesus cry? He wept for us, yet reminded us of new life.

In scripture today – Jesus woke Lazarus and told them to unbind him and let him go on with his life. What is is that binds us today? What do we need to let go of in order to move forward to journey to that glorious banquet waiting for us?
We need to acknowledge the abundant feast we have before su everyday as our loved ones join us.

A man’s newborn daughter died recently. She had been sick for her whole life. One night he had a dream about his father and his wife’s father – both of whom had passed on. His wife’s father was holding a baby girl but he did not make the connection. Both men talked to the man and told him that everything was okay. They were both watching over the family from heaven. That their family spanned both heaven and earth. They were taking good care of the baby and she was happy. It was then that he realized that his was his baby girl – and he realized the wonderful connection he had to heaven through his loved ones. He woke up with a feeling of comfort and peace.

We cant have life without death. There are times like these that our friends and family come from heaven to invite us to the feast no matter what. We are all part of God family. We are at those thin places in life were for moments we are reunited.

All will be reconciled by God. We will all one day be at that table of God. But we cannot have the reconciliation of our whole family without hospitality, welcomness, forgiveness, and acknowledgement of our grief.

Tears are a part of life.
Finally I want to leave you with this poem
This is from a book by Edward Hays – called Pray in all ways. He says that our lives are a prayer, and that we can pray in many ways – with our hands, our feet, our hands. Our tears are even a prayer. There are times when we may not have to words to express our pain and request to God – it does not matter – God can read our tears….. This is the prayer of tears

Lord, beloved God,
since all communion with you is prayer,
may even my tears be psalms of petition
and canticles of praise to you.
This is a prayer that you value greatly:
the prayer of my tears;
it is a prayer that you always hear
for you are a compassionate and kind God.
And, Lord, I know you understand
that whan I am overcome by my tears -
unable to speak or form a prayer -
that these very tears voice volumes of verse.
All truly great prayer
rises from deep inside
and springs spontaneously to the surface.
It would then seem
that from among the many beautiful prayers,
the sacred songs and canticles of praise,
my tears may be the best worship of all.
Help me not to be ashamed of them;
show me how I can let go of control
and let this prayer of my heart, my tears,
flow naturally and freely to you,
my blessed Lord and divine Lover.
In times of joy or sorrow,
blessed be my tears,
the holy prayers of my heart.
AMEN.