Of all three years of the lectionary cycle, this year’s All Saints readings have the most tears. Isaiah and Revelation look forward to the day when God will wipe away all tears; in John’s gospel, Jesus weeps along with Mary and all the gathered mourners before he demonstrates his power over death. On All Saints Day we celebrate the victory won for all the faithful dead, but we grieve for our beloved dead as well, knowing that God honors our tears. We bring our grief to the table and find there a foretaste of Isaiah’s feast to come.
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The Lessons: Readings – All Saints Sunday 2021
First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-9
Isaiah sees a vision of the end of days, when the Lord will gather all God’s people on God’s holy mountain and will prepare for them a rich feast. At this banquet the Lord will wipe the tears from all eyes. And there will be no more sorrow, for God will destroy death itself.
Psalm: Psalm 24
They shall receive blessing from the God of their salvation. (Ps. 24:5)
Second Reading: Revelation 21:1-6a
Here is a vision of the new heaven and new earth in which God resides fully with God’s people so that mourning, despair, and pain have been eradicated. These renewing words from the God who spans all of time are trustworthy and true.
Gospel: John 11:32-44
Through the raising of Lazarus, Jesus offers the world a vision of the life to come, when death and weeping will be no more.
Almighty God, you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen