Feast of the Faithful Departed (All Souls) 

November 2, 2002

by Rev. Herbert Nichols

 

Today we remember our beloved dead; kind of a religious Memorial day, but one which has many strange customs like Mexico where it is know as Festa de los mortos. On the previous evening women bake pastries and plant orange flowers on the graves. Men drink a wine toast to the dead and salute them in hopes that these spirits will not come back to possess them. Although Christianized, many of the Hispanic cultures still maintain pagan roots with re-incarnation and spiritualism. Irish superstitions also similar Celtic roots from pre-Christian times.

Concepts which make our boo-hoo Halloween almost comical; but it has it roots in Celtic druids and medieval superstitions. The Ancient Anglican Book of Common Prayer for centuries contained the intercession: From ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night, O Lord deliver us.

Our Christian faith teaches that us an essential is that life does not end with death. It is merely changed. It is changed not into some aboriginal horror show--changed not by the powers of darkness, but of light. Just as the son rises over the horizon every morning and shatters the darkness of night; so too, Jesus, risen from the dark and empty grave shatters the darkness and sting of death and invites us to the eternal treat of no more-trickery.

St. Paul tells us that this is the most important element of our faith. For if He is not risen; then He is still dead, and not only have we been deceived, but we have not been saved; but since he has been raised as the first fruit, so too we will follow on the tree of life.

If we really believe, why is it that we still fear death and how many would dare to say that they do not fear death? We find consolation in today's first reading from Maccabees, because we believe in the resurrection. It is not useless or foolish; but rather excellent and noble to pray for the dead; to offer atonement and sacrifice, not in physical appeasements like pagans, but in prayers and in intercession.

The color of today's vestments is not white--associated with instant canonization of the departed. Nor is it a morbid black reminder that swallows up all light and hope. Rather we use purple, or gray, symbolic of waiting (as Peter directed Jesus in last Saturday’s gospel). Mother Nature has her seasons, so too Mother Church has liturgical cycles, during which we are reminded at this time that we are not yet perfect; that in all likelihood we die not yet perfect.

That is the wonder and love of God's grace that even on the other side there is still time of perfecting--otherwise there would be few if any in heaven. If it were not for our faith, perhaps Halloween would not be very funny at all.