Rooted & Rising, our November series, is all about God’s faithfulness in every season of life; from the foundation of the saints who have gone before us to set the roots of our faith, to the fruitfulness around tables of plenty at a feast of Thanksgiving. None of us came to our faith on our own. Someone showed us what a life with God looked like so that we could show up and see what that means for ourselves. God’s continued presence with us is the one constant throughout every stage of growth we experience.
This week in the Justin Building, we’re spending time talking about those who have gone before us – our family ancestry, the saints of our faith, and all those who have been a part of our story, even if it was before we entered the story ourselves. This Sunday is All Saints’ Sunday, a day set aside to remember, celebrate, and honor those who came before us, both in our own lives and in the life of the church. It is part of a larger legacy of festivals of remembrance that have gone on for thousands of years throughout history, some familiar, like Dia de los Muertos, and some ancient, like the Celtic celebration of Samhain.
Though often we think of saints as a Catholic idea, All Saints’ Day is a day for celebrating that all followers of Christ—both living and dead—are bound up together in Christ’s love. In Hebrews 12, there is a very, perhaps, distinct description of this idea.
Hebrews 12:1-2 | “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The idea that we are ensconced by the memory and presence of those who have come before us in such a manner as a cloud does sound a bit strange, but this was an important theme in the Bible. There are pages and pages dedicated just to lineages and ancestry, and before it was all written down, these lineages were told and retold verbally by the nomadic people whose family lines were preserved entirely by memory. As they traveled from place to place, they knew that remembering the people and places that came before them was important and anchored their souls.
It is not very common to know much about our ancestors beyond our grandparents, but it has never been easier to do so. Technology like online family trees and DNA tests has made ancestor research readily accessible, and diving into the people and places we’re from can help ground us. I was fortunate enough to have grown up with an Ancestry.com subscription and a grandmother who has tracked our genealogy back hundreds of years, but that’s not universally true. Even though we no longer have to write down the many, many names of our ancestors to remember them, many people don’t take the time to research them either. If you’re reading this, I encourage you to at least ask your relatives for stories about your since-passed loved ones. I bet there will be something new to learn.
Though it can be fun to talk about our ancestors and family ties, it’s also sometimes difficult in equal measure. As much as All Saints’ is a day to honor our loved ones, it is also a day that allows us to examine our own experiences with the death of people we know and love. And pets too, we don’t discriminate. I have talked extensively before about my own experiences with grief across the street from the Justin Building’s stage, and I know many of us are, unfortunately, able to relate. Grief is tricky, doesn’t work on a specific timeline, and is different for all of us.
Thinking and talking about loss can be uncomfortable. If you’ve had a family member, friend, or beloved pet die, you know how hard it can be to feel like you’re carrying that person with you, to feel you’re honoring them and not forgetting them. All Saints’ Day gives us space to remember, together. Our saints’ names will be forever remembered, their memories held close to our hearts, and their rooted faith entwined with ours, pushing us forward into goodness, grace, and love.
Claire Manno
Youth Ministries Program Staff
