This morning we enter the portion of the church year in which we contemplate “end-times.” The natural cycle of seasons and the final portion of the Church Year direct our reflections toward transformations and transitions, the endings and beginnings in our own lives. On this, the first Sunday in November we observe the Feast of All Saints. We give thanks for the men and women who have gone before us in Christ and look to their lives of faith as models for our own. We remember those near and dear to us, who, by patient example and encouragement, shaped and nurtured our own faith. In the prayers we remember them by name and give thanks that their names are written in the book of heaven.

Of all three years of the lectionary cycle, this year’s All Saints readings have the most tears. Isaiah and Revelation look forward to the day when God will wipe away all tears; in John’s gospel, Jesus weeps along with Mary and all the gathered mourners before he demonstrates his power over death. On All Saints Day we celebrate the victory won for all the faithful dead, but we grieve for our beloved dead as well, knowing that God honors our tears. We bring our grief to the table and find there a foretaste of Isaiah’s feast to come.