November begins with All Saints Day and ends in or near Advent, when we anticipate Christ’s coming again. It is fitting, then, that the readings today tell of the final resurrection and the end time. In the turmoil of hope, fear, and disbelief that these predictions provoke in us, Hebrews sounds a note of confident trust. Christ makes a way for us where there is no way, and we walk it confidently, our hearts and bodies washed in baptismal water, trusting the one who has promised forgiveness. The more we see the last day approaching, the more important it is to meet

together to provoke one another to love. Throughout the church, the bounty of nature’s harvest becomes our symbol for the final gathering of the saints. We are in our yearly “end-time,” a season in which we reflect on transitions and transformations, endings and beginnings. As we focus on Christ’s promised return and the new life that awaits his saints, we are reminded that we are all God’s harvest, the saints on earth and the saints above, in the mystical union of the body of Christ.