All Saint’s Day - November 2, 2025

Summary

Mother Suzanne delivers a heartfelt All Saints Day sermon celebrating both the saints who have gone before and three individuals being baptized that day: baby Hailey, Anthony, and Calvin. She emphasizes that baptism is not a solitary act but a community celebration where the entire church family promises to support these new believers in their faith journey, surrounded by the communion of saints both past and present.

THE GOSPEL

Luke 6:20-31

Jesus looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
 for yours is the kingdom of God.

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, 
 for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now, 
 for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets."

"But woe to you who are rich,
 for you have received your consolation.

"Woe to you who are full now,
 for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now,
 for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Artwork:  The Sermon on The Plains

Transcript

Mother Suzanne:

In Him, you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in Him were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. This is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God's own people and to the praise of his glory in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Please be seated. Well, there is something about sacred spaces that beckon one's heart and soul to them. This notion of what it means to be called home, might you have a place that beckons your heart home?

And there is also an awareness and attunement in a person that must be there in order to answer that call. For me, it is a reminder that we aren't moving through life alone. We're not moving through life without purpose, but in fact, we are all part of a grander story. We are part of the narrative that God is writing and God is always, always calling his creation back to himself. On holy days such as this in the church, I am deeply aware. This is a day in which we remember those who are saints, those who have lived extraordininary lives of faith and also those new saints who want to be a part of the life of God, choosing by way of baptism to be initiated into the life of Christ.

And for you all as the family of grace, I hope you are waiting on bated breath with the opportunity to offer yourself to each person that will be baptized today, to promise to them that you will be here to help raise them up and to help reflect what it means to live a life of devotion to God and to be fellow pilgrims on the spiritual path. You see, this is just one of quite a few great thrills about what it means to be baptized. Primarily, we don't enter it alone. There is an entire host of support, a village, so to speak, who enter into this covenant together, for it is a kind of communion and it's pure gift and it's pure grace. That's why in the Episcopal church, baptisms are celebrated during mass, not behind closed doors or only with family and a few select friends.

Instead, baptisms are celebrated in front of the entire body of Christ, the church, so that everyone can take part and enjoy in the pleasure of witnessing bringing God's children into the fold of God.

And today is also grace's observation of all Saints Day, a day in which we remember those saints who have come before us and will come after us in the life of faith. Those folks, if you can recall a name, a person who has modeled a life of faith and devotion to God, this is a day in which we never lose sight of what it means to do this, to choose God over all other things in life. That is what the saints have done and do for us. They remind us that there is a higher calling in life to ascribe to and only and only with God's help are we able to.

This day reminds us that every time we worship, we are surrounded by the communion of saints. It's probably one of the most beautiful parts of the Episcopal church in her theology. What does that mean, Mother Suzanne, to be surrounded by the communion of saints? Well, it means this. Those who have come before us and those who will come after us in the life of faith, those spiritual mothers and fathers, those who we can try to emulate and be like, those that we can call to mind in times of duress or times of joy, those who now have the sheer pleasure of being in the pure light and grace of God are with us somehow mysteriously. They are with us every time we worship.

And each time we partake in the Eucharistic feast, we know that they also feast with us because they are always with us. And how fitting on a day like today, we celebrate the saints, those who have lived lives worthy of remembrance. And we also remember those who have been saints in our own lives, those who we've done life with, those who have made our lives better because they too have walked the pilgrim way of faith, knowing full well, it is never a path to be walked alone. And on this day, it is a day that the church has set apart to baptize, to publicly welcome the new saints into the family of God, to call to mind that we are a church that believes in resurrection and where there is death, there is always new life. And when we remember, we also hope for what is to come and what could be.

The juxtaposition of those who have died along with those starting their new life of faith today doesn't fall light on me. And as our gospel text reminds us today, the greatest among you will be your servant and all who exalt themselves will be humbled and all who humble themselves will be exalted. Your baptism day, our baptism day is the tantamount expression of what it means to be humbled, of dying to oneself so that we might be raised to new life in Christ. And so we have three this morning who will be baptized, our youngest Hailey, this precious baby girl who has graced the ground grace with her grandmother, Althea, the last four or so months, making everyone's day brighter by having a little one, so astute, curious, good natured, not even a year yet, almost, but not quite, and has already sat through many church services, been in the priest office numerous times, and has also been blessed in front of you, God's people.

And today, this brown eyed angel will be marked as Christ's own forever.

And Anthony, you are desiring baptism as you want to make sure a lingering feeling has told you that maybe, just maybe it didn't happen for you when you were a child. And so today, before your grace church family, you too will be marked as Christ's own forever, so that there's never a doubt to whom you belong. And Calvin, you have watched services online for weeks. And when the call out was given last Sunday for baptism, you got on the phone and you called the church saying, "I've never been part of a church and I want to be baptized. Will you do it, Mother Suzanne?" And I said, "Yes, of course." You desire communion. You want to be formed as a disciple of Jesus.

Your quest has led you to grace and it is here you will begin your new life of faith. Thanks be to God. Yeah. Each of you are stepping into a larger story in which you want to claim your faith as your own. There seems to be a sense of God calling you to this place and this place would be where you are marked as Christ's own forever. It is the story that God is writing for you, coming full circle to this moment and today. But what you don't know is that each of you have given me hope. Hope to watch each of you grow in the life of faith. Hope that by you saying yes to God in this moment, the life of faith won't just be something to aspire to do one day when I'm not so busy, but you have said today, "This is important.

It's worth it. And I want to live as Christ lived, loving God and loving our neighbors." I have no doubt that all of you will be a blessing to grace because you have said yes to God. You've also said yes to this little parish on Lang Street.

So know this day, surrounded by the saints who have passed on and those who are present here in this moment, that you will be given back to God, held up as the treasures that you are, and we will trust that our good God is ushering you into this new life of faith, all of your days. Amen.