The Feast of All Saints
has in recent years become one I’ve greeted with particular joy. Perhaps it is because I have gotten to
celebrate it in Oxford. Or because
it is for me the first harbinger of the approaching Advent season I so love.
More important than these
personal affections, All Saints Day celebrates that in Christ all the saints
have an eternal, and wonderful, bond that even death cannot break.
Below is an excerpt from
my novel Pilot Point that I find
appropriate for All Saints. I
don’t think I had the holiday in mind when I wrote it. But it reflects my view of the bond of
all the saints in Christ – and contains a vision of the Holy Communion of which
all the saints share.
(Readers may wish to read
this earlier excerpt first. And any pagination issues are due to blogger. The less said about that the better.)
May my good readers have
an excellent Feast of All Saints this Sunday.
-------
After the offering, the
confession of sins, and more prayers, [Father] Luke stood behind the table and
the bread and wine and pronounced the Comfortable Words as the congregation
stood.
“Hear what
comfortable words our Savior Christ say-eth unto all who truly turn to him.
“Come unto me, all ye
that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.
“So God loved the world,
that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.
“Hear
also what Saint Paul say-eth.
This is a true saying, and worthy
of all men to be received, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners.”
Clayton glimpsed a
hill through the dust.
“Hear
also what Saint John say-eth.
If any man sin, we have an
Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the
Propitiation for our sins.”
Then immediately
Father Luke lifted up his arms and sang, “Lift up your hearts.”
The congregation
sang in response, “We lift them up unto the Lord.”
“Let us give thanks
unto our Lord God.”
“It is meet and
right so to do.”
Father Luke
continued singing in prayer, “It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty,
that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee . . .”
And suddenly Clayton
saw that his worship, their worship, was more than that of himself or of
Mustang Anglican, much more than he could think or imagine. For to him, the walls of Mustang
Anglican and even the walls of time and space dissolved. And he and the congregation were giving
thanks and praying not just with themselves but with a multitude of the
faithful in different times and different places, both exalted and humble, both
present and past, ancestors and children, kings and peasants, church fathers
and new converts. . . .
“.
. . O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God. Therefore, with Angels and Archangels, and with all the
company of heaven . . .”
Now even the barriers of
death and of heaven and earth melted away. And Clayton looked and saw myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands in heaven and on earth, a
great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes
and peoples and languages, worshipping before the throne and before the Lamb.
“. . . we laud and magnify thy glorious
Name; evermore praising thee, and saying . . .”
And the congregation and
heaven and earth erupted in worship:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:
heaven and
earth are full of thy Glory.
Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Leslie glanced over at
Clayton. He was sweating.
“Are you okay?” she
whispered.
“Yes. . . . I am.”
The prayers came to the
Lord’s Prayer which the congregation prayed in unison.
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Then Father Luke and the
congregation kneeled, and he prayed, “We do not presume to come to this thy
Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold
and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under
thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy .
. .”
After further prayer, as
the congregation continued to kneel, he stood, raised his arms and proclaimed,
“All glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that thou, of thy
tender mercy, didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the
Cross for our redemption . . .”
And though the years of
dust, Clayton saw a hill he had almost forgotten. On top of it walked a lone man, carrying a cross
amidst a field of crosses.
“ . . .who made there by
his one oblation of himself once offered a full, perfect, and sufficient
sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction . . .”
Wind and dust were
whipping around him. And the cross
was heavy. But, though burdened
and weary, he did not totter or waver.
“. . .for the sins of the
whole world. . .”
The Man was so forlorn
and windblown, and so alone, as he carried his cross. As Clayton saw the lonely shadow bowed over through the
dust, he was carrying the whole weight of the dust storm as well.
“. . .and did institute, and in his holy
Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death
and sacrifice, until his coming again. For in the night in which he was
betrayed, he took Bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it
to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my Body, which is given for you;
Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, after supper, he took the Cup; and when
he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for this
is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the
remission of sins; Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.”
And the memory was not
just a memory. For Clayton, the
lone Man was present, very close somehow, though obscured by the dust.
After a silence, the
congregation began singing.
Oh Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the
world
Have mercy upon us.
Clayton found himself
singing as if that Man was there before them . . . before him.
Oh Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the
world
Have mercy upon us.
Oh Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the
world
Grant us thy peace.
Clayton felt a strange
peace mixed with fear before a presence he could not understand.
The priest began distributing
the hosts. The sanctuary was
silent except for his hushed voice.
“The Body of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto
everlasting life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee,
and feed on him in thy heart by faith, with thanksgiving.
“The Body of our Lord
Jesus Christ . . .”
----
Pilot Point
is available in both print and Kindle on Amazon.
In addition, it is available
at the Hastings in New Braunsfels, Texas.
Recycled Books in Denton, Texas may still have copies although I am not
sure of that.
