Home

Our Church

Services of Worship

Our People

Getting Married at Holy Trinity

Youth

Sermons

Prayer Groups

Education

Parish Magazine

St. Augustine's

Anglican FAQs

Inspiration

Links

All Saints
by Reverend Murray Spackman, Vicar.
Sunday 5th November, 2006
Rev 21: 1-7.   Luke 23:32-43

November 1^st , in our Church, or liturgical Calendar, is celebrated as All Saints day . Its observance on November 1^st appears to date back to the time of Pope Gregory III who died in 741 A.D., but we read of this day being observed on other dates as far back as 373 A.D. All Saints Day, then, has a long history in the life of the Christian church. This history is itself an indication of the importance which this feast day held. The octave of All Saints tide, which means the 8 days following All Saints Day, is that special period when the church remembers and reflects on the lives of the saints who have served God faithfully in this life, and are now at rest in His presence.  It is commonly a time when we also think about life and death,  time and eternity.  This morning at the 9:30am Family Service we will be picking up this theme of All Saints, and endeavour to introduce to the children the associated concept of what happens when we die and of our entering into the greater presence of God. All of us are familiar with the reality of death, and its important that we consider and examine our own thoughts and understanding about it. The bible, of course, is our guide in this matter, but it is not quite as simple and straightforward as we might think. There are different pictures which are used to describe death and what lies beyond. Most often death is described simply as a “sleep”, but when that sleep ends is not quite clear either – St. Paul, in 1 Thess. 4,  speaks about the dead in Christ rising to life when the Lord returns with the sound of the trumpet. And we who are still alive when the Lord returns will be caught up to meet him.  In 1. Cor 15 he says “When the last trumpet sounds the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed.” Yet Jesus, speaking to his disciples at the last supper, reminded them that he was going to prepare a place for them, and that he would come back and taken them to himself. Jesus doesn’t mention anything about a sleep. On the cross, Jesus words to the penitent thief were that on that day, he would be with Jesus in paradise. 

Once we start talking about matters beyond this world we are bound to run into difficulties – the same as when we try to understand the nature of the Trinity. Our language and our experiences are totally inadequate. So how DO we try to grasp eternal truths which are outside our experience. I find it helps to use simple, rather than complicated, illustrations of ordinary homely events and circumstances.

In answer to the question of “what happens when we die?” I have often referred to a fairly common experience when I was small boy. Often after dinner on a Saturday night, when we were bathed and ready for bed, my Dad and Mum would take my older brother and me out for a drive  to view the “fairy lights” as we called them – the lights of Auckland city. We lived at New Lynn , and the drive would take us up Titirangi Rd and along the Scenic drive. It was quite a long drive for two small boys at the end of a busy day, and once we had viewed the Fairy lights of the city from the top of the scenic drive, we settled down in the back seat under a rug, for the journey home. The swaying motion of the car as it negotiated the bends in the road, and the swishing as we passed the overhanging trees all tended to make us sleepy, and gradually we dropped off to sleep, safe in the knowledge that Dad was in control, and all was well. 

The next thing we knew we were waking up on Sunday morning in our own beds, refreshed from a good night’s sleep! We never worried about how we got there, how long the journey took , how long we were asleep in the back seat of the car, or how we got from the car to the bed - we just knew that we were fine, and a new day had begun. So, on other Saturday nights, we knew there was no fear associated with falling asleep in the back seat of the car when we went for a drive. We knew that when we fell asleep we would be taken care of! And for me, that’s what I like to think death will be like. Not something to be frightened of, but a falling to sleep to this life, and a waking up to a new day in the greater presence of God. Jesus gives us the assurance that he himself will come and take us to himself .

If we have a relationship with Jesus in this life, and we have already experienced his love and grace, then we will know that there is nothing to fear.