Solemnity of All Saints – Years ABC
Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 1st John 3:1-3 Matthew 5:1-12a
In times of genuine persecution, the world seems off balance and unstable. The human imagination needs profound power to hold life together in a setting filled with violence and the anxiety it produces. The first lesson for the Solemn Feast of All Saints appeals to just such a powerful and consoling religious imagination, an apocalyptic imagination. Reasonably and soundly educated Christians of the 20th and 21st Centuries in the USA and many other countries live in an era of relative peace and security (although many Christians in other parts of the world do, in fact, live in fear of their lives by religious extremists and cultural terrorists). Therefore, we are not apocalyptic in our attitude towards reality as are people living in fear for their mortal lives. Apocalypticism causes believers to perceive reality in exaggerated, even warped, ways from the context of fear during religious persecution and fear of final judgement (i.e., punishment and reward) by God. Most of the Book of the Apocalypse of John (aka the Book of Revelation) was set in such an apocalyptic context. Today’s text is two sets of verses woven from that book for the purpose of conveying the greatest consolation and encouragement to the hearers. The great crowds of people in the vision consist of both Jews and Gentiles. The huge number of Jews “marked with the seal” of God’s salvation is described as 144,000. This is not a precise numeral which comes off an accountant’s balance sheet. Rather it is the number twelve (the number of tribes of ancient Israel) squared into an ancient idea of perfection. And, then that perfect number of Israelites is multiplied by 1,000 which was conceptually the largest numeric quantity most ancients could intelligently comprehend. Hence, 144,000 really indicates the totality of all God’s Chosen People (the Jews), however many that might ever be. It is essentially an infinite number and thereby an all-inclusive number as well. The same interpretive analysis must be used for that “great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue” wearing white and holding palms. Again, this innumerable multitude is essentially an infinite and all-inclusive number. These two groups are center-stage in John’s apocalyptic vision. Their presence indicates that God’s Goodness is completely superior to any evil which this world allows and, thus, that all people (past, present and yet to come) are full beneficiaries of God’s ultimate salvation. No one is left out. There is a place for or room in heaven for everyone whom God has ever created, whether Jew or Gentile. This is the ultimate assertion of hope and confidence in God’s saving Grace and Goodness on the part of John the Seer (the book’s author). This is the final goal of God’s Good News, the Gospel! (This interpretation is likely to irritate and rile literalists who use a wrath-of-God-fear-factor from this book to frighten the religiously weak-minded with an alleged maximum capacity of heaven. But, literalists insinuate by this interpretation that God is not supreme, not all-powerful, not all-merciful and not all-loving! Such is not the Catholic faith!!)
The 1st Letter of John which provides today’s Second Lesson asserts just that, i.e., that “God is love.” A parallel assertion is clearly asserted in today’s lesson, “We are God’s children now.” We are God’s children already, not merely once we’ve died in this mortal life. Salvation is also and already current, not only future. Lectors really must emphasize the word “now” when proclaiming this text. It is the balance to the phrase which follows immediately, “what we shall be...” The assertion is that there is much more to this mystery of God’s great salvation, but full consolation and encouragement must be ours now, already!
Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes in today’s Gospel proclamation comprises one of those lists of religious beliefs many of us once memorized from either sacred scripture or our childhood catechisms. Memorization and recall might have been sufficient in childhood, but as adults, this is no longer the case. Yes, one ought to know the Beatitudes by heart, but one must also reflect upon them, plumb them and allow them to critique our very lives. The Beatitudes (from the Greek word “makarios” for “blessed” or “blessings”) are Jesus’ descriptions of his then-current disciples. “Blessed are...” The verb “are” is present and active. This is not a picture of how Jesus’ disciples might be after they get to heaven. It was a sober description of how his disciples (those then and us now!) must be already! To be a disciple of Jesus is to be blessed with the lived and active qualities attached to each assertion. Disciples are poor in spirit, mournful, meek, seeking righteousness (justice), dispensing mercy, embracing purity of heart, making peace and enduring persecution. These are various dimensions of embracing and living the cross of Christ, that metaphor (for us) of engaging life fully, effectively, enthusiastically, intelligently and confidently. For Jesus, the cross was a wooden, physical reality of unimaginable cruelty and suffering. For us our “cross” is likely not wooden, but it is reality nonetheless. Sometimes that reality is painful and fraught with suffering. At other times, one’s reality is glorious even if challenging. The cross and the crucifix are worn as body decoration by many. Sometimes the cross or crucifix is somewhat realistic portraying suffering. At other times they are made of precious metals and gemstones and take on a glorious and glimmering appearance. Such is the reality of life! Discipleship comes in every possible shape, size, depth and ability. In well-lived life we celebrate the success and gratitude of genuine discipleship in the Gospel whether in peace and security or in persecution and suffering.
On this feast of All Saints, those in John’s vision in the first lesson were those nameless, countless, enthusiastic and thankful Jews and Gentiles of every time, place and era in history who have met the Savior God in Christ Jesus. Today’s feast day is that of the entire Church membership and, in hope-filled terms, it anticipates the time when all humanity of all eras and locales is made one with the victorious and Risen Jesus Christ, God and Spirit, in that beatific vision of heaven, for ever and ever. Amen!