We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.
That’s what the location of the altar shows us. It is not placed in the centre of the church but in front of us to show us that we are only a part of a much larger company around the risen Lord Jesus, the multitude that no one can count. They complete the circle around the altar.
We are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.
Just imagine that you are running in a long distance race, race that is a bit like a marathon but much longer, because you run in it as long as you live. The point of the race is not to get there first but simply to reach to end of it.
It is a strange race because it is largely invisible. It is as if you are running a dark cloud that hides what lies around you. Most of the time you aren’t even aware in that race. You can’t see the track and where you are on it. You can’t see the finishing line that lies in front of you and who is there to receive you at the end of the race. You can’t see the stadium with the spectators that are barracking for you. But you can see some of other runners who are running with you at the same stage of the race as you.
This is the picture that author of Hebrews is painting for us today as we celebrate All Saints Day. The race that we run is the race of faith, the holy race that Jesus has marked out for us by his human life in this world, the race from earth with all its troubles to the joy of life with God in heaven, the race that you began to run in that race when you were baptized. You are now running in it together with all the other members of this congregation and the whole family of God. You will finish the race only when you die. Then Jesus will be there to welcome you together with all the other runners that have not gone before you. Then you will receive the crown of life together with them and all those who come after you.
God’s word highlights one thing for you today about this race. It tells you that you are surrounded by great cloud of witnesses. Like the spectators who watch a race at the Olympic Games, they barrack for you and urge you to keep on running. They are the spirits of the righteous made perfect (Heb 12:23), the saints who have gone before you and have now left this life. Like the holy angels, they surround you on all sides. Even though you can’t see them, they support and encourage you. They inspire you by their faithfulness and their witness to Jesus.
Today is All Saints Day, the day when we remember two things. We remember that we are part of the communion of saints, the family of God that is made up of those believers who are now living on earth with us as well as those who still alive in Christ even though they have died. We also remember the members of this congregation those who are dear to us who have died this past year.
- We remember that we belong to the communion of saints.
Jesus made you a saint by joining you to himself in baptism. He took on your sin and made you holy. He cleansed you from all impurity so that he could share his holiness with you. You are saints in Christ Jesus. But that is not just ancient history for you. He keeps you holy with his most holy blood. When you drink his blood in Holy Communion, he purifies and sanctities you in body and soul for eternal life with God in heaven. This means that you and all the members of the church are just as holy as Jesus is holy. As you come here before God the Father, he sees you clothed with the holiness of Jesus. Because you are united with Jesus, like a bride with her bridegroom, he is very pleased with you and admires you as people who are holy and blameless without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish (Eph 5:7). And he treats you accordingly.
So your holiness is not based your achievements; it is not produced by your devotion to God, or by the intensity of your faith in Jesus. It depends on Jesus. You borrow your holiness from him. You are all holy in Christ and remain holy only be holy only as long as you are attached to him and keep your eyes fixed on him. His holiness links us with each other and all the angels, just as it links us to God the Father. All those who trust in him are saints. Apart from him, no one is a saint.
We tend to see ourselves as individuals, isolated and separate, until we engage with other people. But that is not how God sees us. He sees us as part of a large community, as something like the branches and twigs of a huge tree that extends across the whole of human history. He locates us in the family tree of Jesus, the church. In that tree we are not just connected with Jesus as the stump of the tree as well as with all Christians throughout the world. By faith in Jesus we are also connected with all the saints who have gone before us. Even though we can’t see them, they support us, like living branches that nourish the growing twigs of a tree.
In the communion of saints Jesus links us together with all other faithful Christians all over the world. In this worldwide assembly every person has the status of Jesus as God’s Son. Like firstborn sons in the ancient world, we all stand to inherit everything that belongs to God. We are all citizens of heavenly Jerusalem. Even though we may be separated from each other by time and space, Jesus combines us with all Christians in faith and ushers us together into God’s presence already here and now. He unites all the saints around the world in faith and hope and love. We therefore stand together with them in heavenly Jerusalem. They are our unseen companions and support us in our spiritual journey here on earth.
In the communion of saints Jesus also links us with the spirits of the righteous made perfect (Heb 12:23), all God’s faithful people who have gone before us and have finished their earthly lives. In the Old Testament God resided with his people in a cloud the cloud that led them to the Promised Land, the cloud that then filled the temple in Jerusalem. At his ascension Jesus entered the cloud that veiled God’s presence. Well those who have died have entered that cloud with Jesus, the glory cloud that hides God’s presence from our human eyes. In this very place they surround us like a cloud. Even though we can’t see them, they are all around us. The book of Hebrews calls them a cloud of witnesses, a cloud of onlookers that stretches from Abel to Jacob, from Moses to David, from the prophets to the apostles (Heb 11:9-40), from the people who founded this congregation to our loved ones that have died this last year. We may be separated from them physically, for a while, as they wait for the day of resurrection and our physical reunion with them (Heb 11:39-40). But through Jesus we are still united spiritually with them.
- We remember the saints who have died.
The wonderful teaching that the saints who have died surround us in worship offers great comfort to those of you who have lost someone dear to you. You don’t have to stay in touch with them by visiting their graves, by keeping their ashes in your homes, by making a shrine for them in your bedroom, or by dabbling in spiritism. Instead of that, you can remember them in your prayers and thank God for them. You can also remember them at the Lord’s Table and stay in touch with them by receiving the body and blood of Jesus. That’s where you are closest to them here on earth. That’s where you can stay in contact with them. There the body of Jesus keeps you in touch with them. They complete the circle for us around the altar in our church.
So on this All Saints Day I encourage you to remember all our loved ones who have died. Remember them by thanking God for them as you come to receive Holy Communion. If you wish, you can also remember all our relatives and friends and congregational members who have died this last year by lighting a candle for them and saying a prayer of thanksgiving for them.
Whether we do that or not, God reminds us today that we run together with all his people in the same race to our heavenly home. Our life here on earth is a temporary visit, a time of preparation for eternal life with him. So then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.
You may think that you are not much good at running the lifelong race of faith. You may, in fact, feel like dropping out from it. But don’t give up! Your success does not depend on you, but on Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of faith. You depend on him for the stamina and strength to finish the race. The whole communion of saints urges you on. They barrack for you; they encourage you by their example when we feel too tired and dispirited to keep going. They urge you on, because the race of faith is a team race. It will not over for them and us, until we all reach the goal and celebrate the victory together with them (Heb 11:39-40).
But even though the surround you, they don’t want you to look around for them. They want you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus instead of them. So you honour them most, and remember them best, by looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, for you can stay in touch with them through Jesus and Jesus only.
The saints on earth and those above
But one communion make;
Joined to their Lord in bonds of love
All of His grace partake.
One family we dwell in Him,
One Church above, beneath,
Though now divided by the stream,
The narrow stream of death.
One army of the living God,
To his command they bow;
Part of the host have crossed the flood,
And part are crossing now.
Lord Jesus, be our constant guide;
Then, when the word is given,
Bid death’s cold flood its waves divide
And land us safe in heaven.
