+ In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
The Greeting:Grace, mercy and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ
be with you
and also with you.
Prayer of Preparation:Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit
that we may perfectly love you
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our lord.
Amen.
The Gloria:Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God, the Father.
AmenThe Collect – All Saints DayGod of holiness,
your glory is proclaimed in every age:
as we rejoice in the faith of your saints,
inspire us to follow their example
with boldness and joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Readings:
Isaiah 25:6-9On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8 he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.
9 In that day they will say,
“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
Revelation 21: 1-6a21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
John 11: 32-44 32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.
Homily:Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. All Saints Day is actually tomorrow but this is the nearest Sunday. In fact, today we are beginning a season of remembering. Today, we remember those special people who lived their Christian lives in the fullest possible way. On Tuesday this week, we will remember at our All Souls service those ordinary but special to us people who have been influential in our own lives, giving us a godly example to follow. We remember such people as our parents and godparents. Others too, who maybe by their friendship or by being there at a particularly difficult time in our lives, made a difference to us.
On 5th November, we remember something totally different. It’s not a church festival this time but an excuse for fireworks, toffee apples and bonfires as we remember Guy Fawkes and his friends who were unsuccessful in their attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. If there is a serious side to remembering on 5th November, its surely about knowing that attempts of terrorism will always be seized upon and the perpetrators punished accordingly. Then we move on after another week to remembering those who gave their lives that we might have freedom in the two world wars and in many conflicts since. We remember on the 11th and on Remembrance Sunday by hearing the names of the fallen and spending two minutes in silence to acknowledge what they did for us.
So, the Saints we remember today. Here we are in a church dedicated to St Martin. A few weeks ago, I wrote about St Martin on the pew sheet. St Martin of Tours was his full name. He was born in 316 in Hungary and converted to Christianity at a young age. He had started going to Church against his parents wishes at the age of 10. When he grew up, he became a soldier in the Roman cavalry in Gaul but he left in 361 when he decided to become a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers. Whilst still a soldier he is probably best known for cutting his cloak in two with his sword and giving half to a beggar who was dressed only in rags in the depths of winter. Those who became saints were always very devout and at some point in their lives took the decision to live Christianity on the edge. They often suffered and were martyred for their faith. Martin became a monk and regularly had dreams and visions of God who directed all that he did . At certain points in his life, he lived as a hermit spending the whole of his life praying. He used to live on a diet of herbs, and it is alleged that he ate hellebore on one occasion which he did not realize was poisonous. He was on the verge of death and prayed and was miraculously cured. He eventually established a monastery and became the third Bishop of Tours in 371. He was extremely reluctant to be consecrated bishop. Legend tells us that he tried to hide away in a barn full of geese but their cackling because he had disturbed them gave him away to the crowd who were searching for him.
Martin died in 391 and interestingly, in this season of Remembrance, he is commemorated on 11th November.
After these remarkable men and women who we commemorate today eventually all leave the rigours and sufferings they have endured in this life, they are received by God into their eternal rest and home. Our readings today concentrate on various accounts of what the next life will look like. It’s a life that is not just for the great saints we can read about. It’s the place we believe that our loved ones who have now departed this life have gone on and where we will go because we are all present day saints. Of course, we won’t know fully what it is like until we get there but we can get some hints when we read the words of the Prophet Isaiah, St John and Jesus himself. The readings tell us that it will be somewhere very beautiful: God will be with us in a more tangible way and there will be no more suffering because tears and pain are things of this life not the next. Whether it will be the permanent banquet on the mountain with rich food and wine which Isaiah talks about today, we will have to wait and see but it will be a place where poverty and homelessness will not be a part. I like the phrase which says: “and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth.” The saints had many experiences of being misunderstood and trying to live a good Christian life amongst people who openly berated and scorned them. We too are called to speak out for living a different kind of life and when we do, we are misunderstood. That won’t be a part of our next life.
Everything will one day be made new and those who have gone before us experience that now. We glimpse that eternal life here in our church services when we pray and praise God. When we decided to follow God, he gave us an eternal life which began at that moment and continues on through our earthly death and into whatever comes next. I don’t know who wrote this – it wasn’t me – but someone said: “we are citizens of this earth but our home is in heaven”. We can visit our heavenly home every time we pray and think about God. We can bring God’s presence into our everyday circumstances in order to change them for the good. The saints give us examples of how to live the Christian life. We too can be an example to others. Who knows but that we may have a saint in the making amongst us here!.
Intercessions:United in the company of all the faithful
and looking for the coming of the Kingdom,
let us offer our prayers to God,
the source of all life and holiness.
Lord, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.Merciful Lord,
strengthen all Christian people by your Holy Spirit,
that we may live as a royal priesthood and a holy nation
to the praise of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
We pray for the work and witness of this church to the village of Thompson, giving thanks for all who have served in this place over many years and now enjoy eternal rest with God.
We pray for our Benefice and all who live within its boundaries.
At the end of this half term holiday, we pray for our schools and their teachers as they return and particularly for those teachers and children at Caston school who had Covid before the break.
Lord in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.Bless Graham, Alan and Jane our Bishops and all ministers of our Church,
that by faithful proclamation of your word
we may be built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets
into a holy Temple in the Lord.
We pray for the Breckland Deanery as we continue to look at how best to care for our churches and for those who make the decisions regarding placement of clergy.
Lord, in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.Give to the world and its peoples
the peace that comes from above,
that they may find Christ’s way of freedom and life.
We pray for Bishop Graham as he heads up the Anglican church’s response to environmental issues and for all who will be attending the COP26 conference.
Lord in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.Hold in your loving embrace all who witness to your love in the service of the poor and needy;
all who minister to the sick and dying
and all who bring light to those in darkness,
we pray for all those who look after sick and elderly relatives and friends.
We pray for all the residents and staff at Thorp House.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.Touch and heal all those whose lives are scarred by sin or disfigured by pain,
that raised from death to life in Christ,
their sorrow may be turned to eternal joy.
Today we pray for ……
Along with them we pray for all those who are lonely and feel unloved and those who have no one to pray for them.
Lord in your mercy:
Hear our prayer.We give you thanks
for the whole company of your saints in glory,
with whom in fellowship we join our prayers and praises;
by your grace may we, like them, be made perfect in your love.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen
The Peace:We are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, through Christ our Lord, who came and preached peace to those who were far off and those who were near.
The peace of the Lord be always with you
And also with you.The Lord’s Prayer: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.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.Final Prayer:God, the source of all holiness and giver of all good things:
may we who have shared at this table
as strangers and pilgrims here on earth
be welcomed with all your saints
to the heavenly feast on the day of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Blessing:God, who has prepared for us a city with eternal foundations, give you grace to share the inheritance of the saints in glory ….
And the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you
always.
Amen