Today’s service is led by the Revd Andy Braunston
Welcome
Hello and welcome to worship. Today we think about both All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days which were celebrated yesterday and Friday. These are times of the Church’s year to think about those who have gone before us and whose lives, love, and examples inspire us to follow Jesus day by day as our song from Godspell reminded us. My name is Andy Braunston and I am the United Reformed Church’s Minister for Digital Worship. I’m a member of the Peedie Kirk URC in Kirkwall in Orkney, our most northerly congregation. Let’s worship God together.
Call to Worship
Come all you saints, from west and east, from south and north:
we come to worship the living God.
Come all you sinners, here find healing for soul,
and grace for the journey: we come to worship the living God.
Come all you searchers, find rest for your restless hearts,
and inspiration for change: we come to worship the living God.
Hymn For All the Saints
William Walsham How (1864) Sung by the virtual choir of the Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York, USA
For all the saints who from their labours rest,
who Thee by faith before the world confessed;
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
in praise of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Prayers of Approach, Confession and Grace
We come to worship this day, O Sovereign One,
seeking rest from our labours, balm for our souls,
and Your refreshing word.
We come to worship this day, Lord Jesus,
our might and our rock,
knowing you to be our light in the dreary darkness,
our compass in the journey through life.
We come to worship this day, Most Holy Spirit,
in the company of the fellowship of all who have gone before us,
who cheer us on our way, and who inspire us in our struggles.
But as we come to worship You, O Trinity of Love,
we are conscious of the times
when we have neither rested nor sought your Word,
when we have neither seen you as our might nor as our rock,
when we have neither followed your light in the gloom,
nor responded well to the example of Your saints.
Forgive us, O God, and give us time to change,
that we may remain, body and soul, in your hands and be at peace. Amen.
As a father who runs to welcome home the estranged,
as a mother who gathers her chicks under her wings,
as a rock on which we stand,
God is loving and faithful and forgives our sins.
Have the strength to live as forgiven people, to forgive others,
and to forgive yourselves. Amen!
Introduction
November, it seems to me, is a month for memories. Remembrance Sunday is marked next week where we reflect on those who, through war and terror, have had their lives taken. On Friday the Church invited us to celebrate the memories of all those whose lives have pointed to God through their love, words and actions. Yesterday we were invited to remember those we’ve known and loved, saints and sinners, and so this can be a poignant time of the year. A poem by David Harkins, I often use at funerals after the committal gives a series of choices:
You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back
or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left.
Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her
or you can be full of the love that you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she is gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she would want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
The act of remembering those we’ve loved and who have gone before us, those who have taught us and served as examples of faith doesn’t have to hold us back. Moving on doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten. So, in worship today, we will remember with love those whose lives have inspired us, those whose loving presence we still mourn and, through God’s loving kindness, continue our journeys with thanksgiving, fun and fellowship learning to trust only in God. A wee prayer and then we’ll hear our readings.
Prayer for Illumination
We lift up our heads and our hearts to You, O God,
that as we hear Your Word read and proclaimed,
our hearts may resonate with Your love,
that as we let you, the King of Glory, into our lives,
You may teach us to make a difference in our world. Amen.
Reading Wisdom of Solomon 2:21 – 3:9
Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them, and they did not know the secret purposes of God, nor hoped for the wages of holiness, nor discerned the prize for blameless souls; for God created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it. But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction, but they are at peace. For though in mortal sight they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples and the Lord will reign over them forever. Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.
Hymn Ye Gates Lift Up Your Heads On High
Psalm 24 sung by Commissioners at the Church of Scotland General Assembly and used with permission.
Ye gates lift up your heads on high;
ye doors that last for aye,
be lifted up, that so the King of glory enter may.
But who of glory is the King? The mighty Lord is this,
even that same Lord that great in might and strong in battle is.
Ye gates, lift up your heads;
ye doors, doors that do last for aye,
be lifted up, that so the King of glory enter may.
But who is he that is the King? The King of glory? Who is this?
The Lord of hosts, and none but he, the King of glory is.
Alleluia! alleluia!
alleluia! alleluia!
alleluia! Amen, amen, amen.
Reading Revelation 21:1-6a
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; 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.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
Sermon
I am fortunate in living fairly near the sea. If I travel a few miles in any direction I come to the coast; evening walks on Skaill beach never fail to disappoint with the light of the setting sun on the water often coming very late on long Summer evenings. In Stromness the Hoy hills frame the view with the sea with the isle of Graemsay dividing the sea between the Orkney mainland and Hoy. In Kirkwall we have the hustle and bustle of a busy port with freight and passenger ferries alongside a range of pleasure craft, fishing boats and, in the Summer cruise liners. The sea is a highway now for us as it has been for all of Orkney’s history. Saints and sinners have travelled to these islands, settled and made their lives here. We’ve a little island called Eynhallow, believed once to be a centre of pilgrimage. We’ve two of our own saints, Magnus and Rognvald, whose remains grace our cathedral whose steps were once lapped by the waves until some land reclamation made it more secure. Living by the sea, however, is not all midnight sunsets and light reflecting on the water in a myriad number of ways. The sea is changeable; wind and swell disrupt shipping and, even with modern navigation technology, a sea fog can stop the ships. There’s something chaotic about the sea; something that the ancient Jewish writers knew and were disturbed by. Living on the edge of the Mediterranean they had a hearty respect for and fear of the sea seeing the chaos it could cause as being a sign of evil. Not for nothing does that reading from Revelation promise a new heaven and earth without the sea.
Revelation is a dangerous book often preached from by dangerous people. It nearly didn’t make it into the canon of Scripture in the second century when these things were discussed. Divine revelation can be dangerous stuff – people fight over ideology particularly competing religious ideologies. Revelation is a book of hope and promise even as it’s difficult to understand with references, in code, to long forgotten people and events. It’s a book which affirms God’s final victory over evil – but one which encourages in the long battles which come before that final victory. Revelation attracts more than its fair share of people who should not be let anywhere near a pulpit, yet the Church offers this reading for All Saints day!
The writer of Revelation borrowed Wisdom’s idea of the souls of the righteous being with God to cast his vision of the martyrs singing around God’s eternal throne, so we have an image of the saints in heaven. The twin festivals of All Saints and All Souls are times to look back, to remember all who have gone before us and are now with God; they are also times to remind ourselves of this great cloud of witnesses, the saints, who cheer us on through the race of life like spectators at a sporting event. Today’s passage is often used at funerals to offer hope of a world to come where death, pain, mourning, and crying will be no more. It offers consolation that those we mourn are now with God.
Revelation is not meant to be a fanatic’s source book or a divinely dictated plan for the future but, rather, a book of consolation, a vision of comfort for the distressed and oppressed. In eras of persecution the Church has always had to safeguard its primary identity of being in Christ over and against states that have wanted to subjugate and control the Church as a matter of policy. Periodically in the Roman Empire Christians were subject to persecution for being different, unsafe, in an era where the Roman state wished to sanction and control religious belief. The Church itself became a persecutor in sections of history where it wanted to sanction and control belief and, of course, in large periods of the history of Soviet Russia the Church was left weak, persecuted, and slavish to the very state that persecuted it seeing subservience as the only way to survive. In China now the Church must navigate between its own values and those of the ruling Communist Party. Passages like today’s offer hope in persecution and an assurance that the Christian identity and ideology is one that will triumph long after the ideologies of our age have disappeared into the history books.
In an age of imperial terror these words of a new heaven and earth, a new Jerusalem offered hope that things would get better, that the brutal Roman Empire – we might say all subsequent brutal empires – would not have the last word. We can read this passage in solidarity with all who are and who have been persecuted stretching back to the first Century Roman streets to the struggles with the Church in contemporary Nicaragua; from the drug infested slums to the Mafia dominated villages where the Church might be the only incorrupt institution, from the labour camps in China to the prison cells in Iran. These words give comfort to those who suffer for their faith in Christ; these are words that sustain, and have sustained, Christians throughout the ages, Christians with whom we are in communion.
This idea of the communion of the saints is seen also in our reading from Wisdom. It’s another book with a chequered history. Whilst they settled the argument about whether Revelation should get in the Bible quickly, they argued about Wisdom and other books like it for centuries. The Wisdom of Solomon is a text written in Greek in the century before Jesus, by a Jew living in Alexandria. As such it isn’t found in the Hebrew collection of what we now call the Old Testament and the Reformers entered a historic debate about whether it, along with other Greek language books, should be seen as being part of the Bible. Their decision to remove these books were a propaganda gift to Catholics sick of being told they didn’t follow the Bible well enough. Protestant Bibles never used to include them, but more and more of them do now, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles always have. Happily, the Lectionary includes some of these writings and this passage is often used at funerals dealing, as it does, with what happens to us after we die exploring themes of God’s justice, the communion of saints, and life after death.
Today’s passage asserts that all righteous souls are in God’s hands and shall not perish but have eternal life; it’s a comforting thought when we are bereaved and when we think of our own fates. The writer is clear that the soul lives on with God. The final verses in the passage give a glimpse of eternal life where righteous souls will run like “sparks through stubble” and where those who have been on the bottom in life will rise to the ruling class in the hereafter and where love, grace, and mercy are hallmarks of the next life. At face value we all end up in the grave, or at the crematorium regardless of how we lived in life; the author of Wisdom urges us to look a little closer and see that choices in life have consequences in death.
Seeing things at face value leads to some faulty conclusions; then as now we must resist the feeling that people suffer because they are being punished by God or that God is absent. Instead, the writer reminds us that pain and loss (whilst awful) can become places where faith, and human relationships, are deepened. The sense in the passage that our souls are in God’s hands gives confidence to trust in God and God’s plans for us.
In the contemporary Church we have become very good at proclaiming the coming Kingdom with a powerful emphasis on the values of that Kingdom in the here and now; we’re less good at preaching on the soul and the afterlife. These texts remind us that when we die we will be in God’s presence as we await the new heaven and earth that is promised but more than that. These readings give All Saints and All Souls an edge – it’s not just about looking back in gratitude and forward in hope; it’s about an uncompromising trust in God – not in stewardship campaigns, not in charismatic ministers, not in contemporary music, not in brilliant worship, nor even in heart-warming social justice campaigns (important though all these things are) but in God alone.
Those the Church recognises as saints understood that; they lived with an uncompromising faith in God the King of Glory as our metrical Psalm today puts it. We can find that hard; we worry if the Church will still be here for the next generation (spoiler alert it will but may not in the ways we imagine). We worry if the next generations will find the comfort, joy and inspiration in Christianity that we have, just as we worry what the future holds in a warming planet too addicted to the weapons of war. But here’s the thing; we not the first to worry about the future. The writers of Wisdom and Revelation offered hope for people wondering about their security in this life and the hereafter. The ancient saints had to trust that the message of the Gospel would take root whether that was the peaceful Viking St Magnus or St Francis the rich kid who rejected his wealth and preached to the poor. The saints showed their radical faith in God by pushing at their societies’ boundaries – whether that was Jewish convert to Christianity Edith Stein murdered by the Nazis or Mother Theresa daring to love the unlovely.
Those who have gone before us knew that trusting in God alone is the only way to ensure we have a legacy and a future. Trust made easier by these ideas of our souls dwelling with God when we die and waiting for the resurrection when all shall be made new. Trust embodied in how we live now. Let’s pray.
Eternal God as we long for all things to be made new, renew us!
Lord Jesus, as we mourn those we’ve loved and lost, cheer us!
Holy Spirit, as we yearn for the ability to fully trust in you, encourage us!
That through our renewal, good cheer, and encouragement,
the world will become the place where you dwell,
where the souls of the righteous will be firmly held in your love. Amen.
Hymn Going Home, Moving On
The Revd Michael Forster © 1990 Kevin Mayhew Ltd OneLicence # A-734713 Frodsham Methodist Church Cloud Choir. Accompanied by Andrew Ellams and produced by Andrew Emison and used with their kind permission
Going home, moving on, through God’s open door;
hush, my soul, have no fear, Christ has gone before.
Parting hurts, love protests, pain is not denied;
yet in Christ, life and hope span the great divide.
Going home, moving on, through God’s open door;
hush, my soul, have no fear,
Christ has gone before,
Christ has gone before.
No more guilt, no more fear, all the past is healed:
broken dreams now restored, perfect grace revealed.
Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again:
death destroyed, life restored, love alone shall reign.
Going home, moving on, through God’s open door;
hush my soul, have no fear,
Christ has gone before,
Christ has gone before.
Affirmation of Faith
We believe in God, creator of all that is,
the One in whose hands the souls of the righteous rest,
the One in whom we find safety and security.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh,
the One whose hands and side were pierced for us,
the One in whom we find renewal and rest.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, fire of divine love,
the One who animates the Church from age to age,
the One who makes us like sparks in the stubble.
And we believe in the Church,
the one that’s meant to be united, holy, universal, and apostolic,
but is often found faltering and failing.
Yet it contains all the saints and sinners of old, who, like us, were called
to trust in God alone. Amen.
Intercessions
As God’s people, held in the security of God’s hand,
we watch and wait for the long-promised new heaven and new earth,
and pray to the Most High saying:
O God have mercy and wipe away our tears.
We pray for Your Church, here on earth, O God,
often broken, often unholy, often exclusive,
and often out of touch with its radical roots,
and pray that You will give us the grace
to become a true communion of saints, valuing unity in diversity,
showing exciting holiness, demonstrating the wideness of Your mercy:
O God have mercy and wipe away our tears.
We pray for the world wherein we live out our discipleship, O God,
a world at war, a world we heat beyond endurance, a world divided,
yet a world of beauty, ingenuity, and startling energy
with the potential for renewal;
Help us, O God, to destroy the shroud of death,
the weapons of war and the rule of wealth,
that your Kingdom may come.
O God have mercy and wipe away our tears.
We pray for this community, O God,
dwell in our midst, let us be a habitation of peace,
a place of refuge and safety, a source of healing and support.
O God have mercy and wipe away our tears.
We remember those we’ve loved and lost,
those whose faith, care, wisdom and example inspired us on our way,
who now, in your tender love, take their rest.
O God have mercy and wipe away our tears.
As You have sustained Your saints throughout the ages, O God,
we pray that You sustain us; keep us faithful in Your service,
help us to place our trust only in You, until your Kingdom comes.
And so we pray as Jesus taught, Our Father…
Offertory
The saints gave; they poured out their lives in service of God, often at great cost to themselves. They strove to embody the loving presence of God – often getting it very wrong – but always seeking to make a difference for the sake of the Gospel. They gave of their time, their talents, and their treasure. Now they urge us to do the same, standing around us as an unseen cloud of witnesses and cheering us on as we run the great race which is Christian discipleship.
We give in any number of ways – the charities and causes which make a difference, through quiet loving service, through offering a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear, and, of course, through our financial contributions where we are able. So, let’s give thanks for all that’s been given:
Loving God,
You give us so many good things,
and we ask Your blessing on the gifts of time, talent, and treasure,
that animates our church and shows our fidelity to you.
Help us to use the resources we have wisely, carefully, and sensitively,
that those who come after us will give thanks for our faithful witness.
Amen.
Hymn For All the Saints Who Showed Your Love
John L Bell, Graham Maule © 1989, WGRG c/o Iona Community, GIA Publications, Inc., agent One Licence # A-734713 sung by the Praise Band, Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church, Tampa, FL and used with their kind permission.
For all the saints who showed your love
in how they lived and where they moved,
for mindful women, caring men,
accept our gratitude again.
For all the saints who loved your name,
whose faith increased the Saviour’s fame,
who sang your songs and shared your word,
accept our gratitude, good Lord.
For all the saints who named your will
and saw your kingdom coming still
through selfless protest, prayer and praise,
accept the gratitude we raise.
Bless all whose will or name or love
reflects the grace of heaven above.
Though unacclaimed by earthly powers,
your life through theirs has hallowed ours.
Holy Communion
God be with you! And also with you!
Lift up your hearts! We lift them up to God!
Let us give God our thanks and praise! It is right and proper to do so!
It is our duty and joy, at all times and in all places, Eternal One,
to praise and acclaim You – the One all creation reveres.
All the angels and the heavenly powers cry out to you in endless praise
and so we join in with their song:
Holy is the Lord
Brian Doerksen Vineyard OneLicence # A-734713
Holy is the Lord. (Holy is the Lord)
Holy is the Lord. (Holy is the Lord)
Holy is the Lord. (Holy is the Lord)
Holy is the Lord. (Holy is the Lord)
Righteousness and mercy;
judgement and grace;
faithfulness and sovereignty.
Holy are you, Sovereign One,
heaven and earth are filled with your glory.
The glorious choir of apostles sings to you,
the noble company of prophets praises you,
the white-robed army of martyrs glorifies you,
the holy Church throughout the ages proclaims you,
Source of life and love, worthy of adoration with the Son, Jesus Christ,
and the Holy Spirit, our advocate, comforter, and helper.
You, O Jesus, are the King of glory,
but Your reign shows the strength of weakness not power,
the force of love, not valour,
the quiet wisdom of the ages, not the loud noise of men.
You are the everlasting image of the Creator.
When you resolved to save humanity,
you did not scorn women, the poor, nor the outsider,
but overcame the sting of death and opened wide the gates of Heaven
to those who put their faith in you.
You are seated now in glory, the merciful judge who is to come.
We here, long to be gathered up to You, and so we come to this Your table in obedience to Your command to show forth Your sacrifice on the Cross
by the bread broken and the wine poured.
As we eat and drink, we know that You, risen and ascended,
are present with us giving Yourself for our spiritual nourishment
and growth in grace.
For we have received from You, Lord what we also hand on,
that on the night when You were betrayed,
You took a loaf of bread, and when You had given thanks,
You broke it and said,
‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’
In the same way You took the cup also, after supper, saying,
‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’
For as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup,
we proclaim Your death until You come.
Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith:
Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!
Come, Most Holy Spirit,
that we may have communion with the body and blood of Christ
as we eat and drink this bread and wine,
sanctify us that as we become the body of Christ,
we are united with Jesus and the whole Church on earth and heaven.
As we gather at this table to present our sacrifice of thanksgiving
and renew the offering of ourselves, give us joy in the promise
of Jesus’ coming in glory.
Day by day, we bless You, Eternal Trinity of Love,
and praise Your name for endless ages evermore. Amen.
The holy gifts of God are for God’s holy people. Let us share these gifts.
Music for Communion Jesus invites his Saints
Isaac Watts, public domain, sung by Lythan and Phil Nevard and used with their kind permission.
Post Communion Prayer
Lord of heaven,
you have brought us near to an innumerable company of angels
and to the spirits of the saints made perfect:
as in this, the food of our earthly pilgrimage,
we have shared their fellowship,
so may we come to share their joy in heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Hymn Hark How the Adoring Hosts Above
Scottish Paraphrases 1781 after Revelation 5: 11-14 Public Domain Scottish Philharmonic Singers
Hark how the adoring hosts above,
with songs surround the throne! (x2)
Ten thousand, thousand are their tongues;
but all their hearts are one. (x3)
Worthy the Lamb that died, they cry,
to be exalted thus; (x2)
worthy the Lamb, let us reply;
for he was slain for us. (x3)
Thou hast redeemed us with thy blood,
and set the prisoners free; (x2)
thou mad’st us kings and priests to God,
and we shall reign with thee. (x3)
To him who sits upon the throne,
the God whom we adore, (x2)
and to the Lamb that once was slain,
be glory evermore. (x3)
Blessing
May the God, the source of all consolation,
wipe away every tear from your eyes.
May God, the Word made flesh, renew you.
May God, the Holy Spirit,
Hold you safe in divine love.
And may the blessing of Almighty God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you all, now and always, Amen.