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| http://donsweeting.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/all-saints-day-2.png |
This image above is not the usual image one sees for All Saints Day.
Usually icons like this one...
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| Icon of saints surrounding Christ in heaven |
... or a painting or mosaic within a church like this one ...
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| Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, St. Petersburg |
... graces the front of our All Saints Sunday bulletin. But, for me this image ...
... is what a new choreography can look like. In this dance of all the saints around the Heavenly Throne there seems to be room for a poor saint like me to join in. Even though it's just as crowded as the other two examples (heaven is and will be crowded with people from every tribe and tongue and race and nation!), this view seems a bit more approachable, accessible ... more like you-and-me saint kinda people. No halos. They're inviting us to join arms and hands and rejoice with them ...even though they are in heaven.
... is what a new choreography can look like. In this dance of all the saints around the Heavenly Throne there seems to be room for a poor saint like me to join in. Even though it's just as crowded as the other two examples (heaven is and will be crowded with people from every tribe and tongue and race and nation!), this view seems a bit more approachable, accessible ... more like you-and-me saint kinda people. No halos. They're inviting us to join arms and hands and rejoice with them ...even though they are in heaven.
When we come to the Table today we join that heavenly throng - the angels and archangels and all the saints in heaven singing, "Holy, holy, holy! LORD God of power and might! Heaven and earth are full of your glory! Hosanna in the highest!" When we do this we practice the Presence of God with us ... His Perfect Provision for us ... today ... in the Bread and Wine, in the Body and Blood of Christ ... and we glorify Him and enjoy Him in a present that is for all eternity. Thanks be to God!
Today, may you know His Perfect Provision in His Always-present Presence. +++
Sermon yesterday blessed me... seems to go along with your 'there's room for me' comment so I'll share: readings were from ecclesiasticus and revelation and matthew. Father Tripp gave us a fresh approach to the beattitudes. Instead of it being a job description of being a saint, or a way of doing a spiritual inventory and then deciding if we can be 'blessed', he suggested that this passage is an assurance of God's (present tense) love for us, his blessing. (not future. Not blessed will be, but Blessed ARE). We are already in that list.. somewhere. We are already blessed. Blessed am I. I am (already) the "those". ahhhh. Now if someone could tweak the Proverbs 31 woman list for me in the same way, I'll be all set. !!!
ReplyDeleteYou ARE a Proverbs 31 woman!
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