A cluster of important days crowds the
liturgical calendar in late October and early November. We will celebrate All Hallows Eve, All
Saints, and All Souls during this week, and it is a good time to give thanks
for our forebears in faith whose witness continues to inspire us.
The book of Revelation
gives us a vision of the faithful gathered in the life to come:
After this I looked, and there was a great
multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples
and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white,
with palm branches in their hands. They
cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated
on the throne, and to the lamb!” (7:9-10)
This encompassing body expresses the hope of Christians, that
ultimately we will be found in God’s safekeeping.
Along with
confessing our belief in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting,
Christians confess that we believe in the communion of saints, a “Christian
symbol that speaks of profound relationship,” in the words of Elizabeth Johnson
in Friends of God and Prophets.
This relationship is surely enjoyed by those “whose
rest is won,” but the communion of saints speaks of an ongoing connection between
those alive in Christ this side of death and those treasured in memory and
hope. It is possible to be near to them
both, in the thinking of theologian Jürgen Moltmann. Because we are the one Body of Christ, we are
closer together than we may realize.
Remembering those
who have shaped our lives is an instructive spiritual discipline. Yesterday at First Baptist Church of Ann
Arbor, Michigan, I encountered the daughter of my great teacher, Dr. Dale
Moody, long time Professor of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary. Dr. Moody helped me integrate
Scripture and science in creative ways, which was a lifelong scholarly passion
for him. He encouraged me as a woman in
ministry and theologian, even as he continued to interrogate a patriarchal
system where women were not welcome in the pulpit or as professors in
theology. It was his advocacy that
helped me become the first woman to teach theology at Southern Seminary. Seeing his daughter Linda prompted a flood of
gratitude for this saint in my life.
Even more important
than our remembering these who have moved through death to life is the reality
that God remembers them. As the Psalmist
says, “The Lord redeems the life of God’s own servants; none of those who take
refuge in God will be condemned (Psalm 34:22).
God knows the names of those who have been largely forgotten; God
remembers them and creates a space for them in God’s eternity. For this, we give thanks.
Molly T. Marshall
Central prepares women and men for seeking God, shaping church, and
serving humanity.
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