All Saints & The People-scape of Our Lives
“I thank my God every time I remember you.”
Around 1925, the quirky English artist Stanley Spencer painted a big 18x9 feet resurrection scene – of which the original hangs at the Tate in London and a sizeable but smaller print hangs high above my study desk. This resurrection scene is not depicted in ancient Jerusalem, but in Spencer’s home village of Cookham, some forty miles from London, in the cemetery of his parish church.
“Resurrection in Cookham Churchyard” portrays dozens of people stretching, sleepily waking up, being resurrected. Many people portrayed there are related to Spencer’s life: family, friends, teachers, and even Biblical characters. More than one place: he has his soon to be wife in his favorite dress; and several depictions of himself, one of which, thankfully for a well-placed shrub, protects us from perhaps more of nude Stanley than we might want to see.
Spencer was fairly eccentric in his art and faith. But I think close to the mark with his understanding that resurrection new life isn’t just about a quantity of life after we die, but a quality of living before we die. His aim he suggested was to call attention ‘to the possibilities of heaven in this life.’
So, in a sense, every morning we wake up, we are resurrected to get and give another chance. Surely, we can cite some little deaths along the way in our lives, and the goings on anyway that constitute a bit of resurrected life in our relationships and our general putting up with ourselves. (So much more to be said here, but mercifully, I won’t.)
Today, many of our churches will observe All Saints Sunday. The names of those in the congregation who left this earthly life in the past year will called and thanksgiving for their lives will be expressed. Likely, some words about their presence in the mysterious Communion of Saints will be attempted. How without denying the “suck-full” reality of death, God’s greater than death love enables us to experience how we are not through with them and they are not through pulling and praying for us. (Again, so much...but mercifully not now.)
A couple things: First has to do with the nature and reality of so-called saints. Those who have endured hearing me across the years may recall a working definition of saints I use. ‘A saint is an imperfect person through whom we experience a bit of God’s love.’
These people with their own foibles have loved us, put up with us, been patient with us, saved our bacon, given us yet another chance, ran interference for us and God know what else...usually not even recognized by us until in our rear view mirror years down the road. Some of them we will name in our hearts today.
In THIS TENDER LAND, by William Kent Krueger (ORDINARY GRACE), runaway orphan Odie encounters the deep care of Sister Eve, a 1930’s traveling revivalist/healer, who has her own imperfections. She chuckles and puts her arm around Odie when he gently calls her out.
“Only God is perfect, Odie. To the rest of us God gave all kinds of wrinkles and cracks... If we were perfect, the light God shines on us would just bounce right off. But the wrinkles catch the light. And the cracks are the way the light gets inside us. When I pray, I never ask for perfection, I ask for forgiveness, because that is the one prayer I know will always be answered.” (Pp. 208-209)
Considering our foibles and imperfections, it is amazing grace...also ordinary daily grace...how we can love and be loved...which a la Sister Eve makes the love more, not less, precious. So today and every res-awakening day, we get to name our saints, on earth and in heaven. Wonder of wonder, perhaps, someone will name you and me...preferably even while we are still on earth.
The other thing: portraits. I recall how my friend, mentor, and colleague Jerry Sisson would begin his sermons or writings from time to time... ‘Today, I want to share with you a portrait of my hope...joy...grief...or such...’ In a way, each of us is a person of many portraits.
Though I don’t think he phrased it that way, Stanley Spencer did a people-scape portrait of his life. Truth is, it takes not only more than a couple shots of our faces but also mosaic portraiture of many people’s faces invested in the making of us as good as and no worse than we are.
On All Saints Sunday, I invite us to consider the faces along the way that comprise the people scape of our lives. I know just the dress for Dianne.