Sunday of All saints
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
On the first Sunday after Pentecost the Church from ancient times celebrates the memory of all the Saints who have been well-pleasing to God in all nations, in all places and in all times. Why was this feast established?
If you open a Church calendar you may notice that on every day of the year, there is memory of many Saints. But for most of them no services have ever been written, in which their life would be glorified. On the other hand, there is a great number of Saints, of whom we don’t know even names, they are known to God alone.
So that their sufferings and labors would not be left without due praise, the Church has dedicated one day to the memory of all Saints. Because they all are one in God and struggled in the same Spirit, were inspired by the same thought, the same aspiration to serve God, though in different places, in different circumstances and in different ways of life.
This is not by accident that the memory of all Saints is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The feast of all Saints completes the cycle of Triodion, i.e. the cycle of the Church year which includes Great Lent, Easter and Pentecost. In this period all Divine Dispensation of the salvation of man is called to remembrance, all that God has done for us. The day of all Saints completes the Triodion, because this is the result, the response of humanity to God’s calling.
Pentecost means the beginning of the Church. The Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and filled them with divine strength to preach Good Tidings to the whole world. Through the apostles the Holy Spirit was poured on the Church.
Now, by the feast of all Saints the Church confirms that what the Lord did for us was not in vain. The good seed sown by the Heavenly Sower has brought fruit hundredfold; – all the Saints are a proof of this.
In the kontakion of all Saints it is said: “To Thee, the Planter of creation, the world doth offer the God-bearing martyrs as the first fruits of nature.” The first fruits are the best ripe fruits of the harvest which the Law of Moses prescribed to offer to God. Thus, the Saints are offered to God as the first fruits of human nature, its glory and adornment.
The Saints are our helpers and guardians, our intercessors before God’s throne.
But the Saints are also our judges and accusers.
St Paul writes to Corinthians: “Know you not that the Saints shall judge this world?” (1 Cor. 6) In the Gospel reading, which we heard today, the Lord says to Peter: “Verily I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Mat. 19)
What does this mean? How will the apostles judge? Isn’t the Lord Jesus Christ the only Judge of the living and the dead, as we sing in the Creed?
– Yes, of course.
When it is said that the apostles “will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” it means that on the day of the Last Judgment the apostles will make the Israelites defenseless. Because the apostles were also Israelites and they went through the whole world preaching the Gospel, but Israel didn’t believe them. Thus, the apostles will be their accusers before the Tribunal of God, and they will find nothing to say for their defense.
In this way the Saints will judge the world. In this way they judge each of us. They were young and aged; men, women and children. They belonged to all social groups. Among them there were kings and slaves, scholars and illiterates. They lived in different times from the beginning of the world to our days.
The Saints blame our idleness, tardiness and lack of faith, because they didn’t differ from us by their human nature; but how different we are from them in our life!
Even though we are not able to imitate their feats, could we at least take care a little about the salvation of our souls? If we wish to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven with the Saints, we should walk on the way which leads there. This way consists in the first place of forcing oneself to all good actions.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force”– the Lord says (Math.11, 12) – “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Math. 7).
Let us always remember that our life here on earth is temporal, that eternity awaits us, that we are summoned to possess the Kingdom of Heaven with all the Saints.
Amen.
