1 John 3:1-3

We Know

            Have you ever made a countdown clock for something you’re looking forward to? Something for you to keep track of the days, hours, or even minutes left until it? I remember being in high school, it was my senior year. Several of my friends and I made a countdown clock to graduation. We shared it among everyone as a reminder of how long we had left before we all graduated. The clock was a simple reminder that among the stress and monotony of the regular school days, that something better was just around the corner. I remember also doing the same thing for my wedding. I couldn’t wait to marry the woman of my dreams. Yet, no matter how close it may have been, it always seemed forever away. So, I had a clock that I could look at and remember that the day was indeed getting closer. Knowing that the end of the countdown meant something wonderful was always the little bit of inspiration I needed to keep going. Now, I’m sure you’re all well confused as to what a countdown clock and All Saints’ Day have in common? All Saints’ Day is a day that we remember those who have died. It’s not something that we often countdown to. We’re not looking forward to it. And indeed, this is true. But All Saints’ Day isn’t just about those who have died. It is itself a sort of countdown clock. It’s our time to stop and look at the clock and remember. And what are we counting down towards? Well, isn’t it obvious? The end. The conclusion of all of our struggles. The final page of the story and the end of death itself. 

            On this All Saints’ Day, we do well to remember those who have died in the faith over this last year. However, let this day be also our strengthening during these stressful and evil days that something better awaits us. The clock is ticking towards a greater future for all who believe in Christ, as we learn: 

WE WAIT WITH PATIENCE AND HOPE AS JESUS FULFILLS ALL OF HIS PROMISES!

I.

            It’s no big secret though that we all struggle with waiting. There’s a reason that a simple phrase like, “Patience is a virtue” is often repeated among us. That is, we have to be reminded to be patient. But I don’t think it’s just a matter of waiting. I don’t think our issues all stem from the time. It’s rather a combination of the time we have to wait along with the struggles and turmoil we face in this waiting. Consider the example of waiting for graduation. It’s not that waiting is the issue. It’s all the book reports, the homework, the papers, and projects that are required in the waiting. So too is it with life. We’re waiting for the culmination of this life in Christ’s return, but it’s not that we’re struggling with waiting. We’re struggling with the sins that constantly afflict us, the disasters, the ills of body and soul, and most especially, death. We suffer a great deal at the loss of a loved one. We mourn and cry knowing that our time together is no more. Our suffering is the separation we feel because of sin and death. It’s this separation, this growing isolation that makes us wonder if the clock is even ticking. 

In this world, we must understand that death is not a friend. It’s not an escape, nor a welcomed guest even for the elderly, the sick, or the infirmed. Death isn’t natural. It’s not what God had intended for us. This is why what is natural for us is to cry and weep at death no matter the age. For we come to recognize that things aren’t how they should be. Consider what John writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared,” 1 John 3:2. There’s this gap between the now and not yet. We realize that what we experience now isn’t what we’re waiting for. We’re waiting for something better. And the reason it becomes so hard to wait is that we never see any progress towards it. We don’t see the clock ticking, life getting better, nor illness disappearing. When we suffer, the clock seems to stand still. When we experience death of a loved one, a day can feel like an eternity. Indeed, it’s not that we’re bad at waiting. It’s that we suffer while we wait.

II.

            May this All Saints’ Day be our version of a countdown clock. May today be a day that we’re able to pause and be encouraged for our struggles and waiting. For as we’ll be remembering those who have died in the faith, we’re also meant to learn from their lives. What do we learn? That God is faithful. God cared for them throughout their whole life and even in death. That though it seems like an eternity before Christ returns, the day is surely drawing near. What All Saints’ Day reminds us is that there’s an end in sight for our sufferings, our sins, our struggles, and even death. For as the Apostle John foretells in Revelation, “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes,” Revelation 7:15-17. What we look forward to as Christians is that we know the end of our story. We know what we’re waiting for and who we’re waiting for. 

            Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, we are God’s children now! We’re the ones whom God has washed in the blood of the lamb, in Christ’s blood shed for us on the cross. We’re the ones whom God has shown such great love that he has forgiven us all of our sins. We’re the ones for whom God now prepares paradise! Everything that we are, we are now in Christ. God has lavished us with such love in Christ and his death for us, that God won’t fail to bring us unto our eternal rest! Even as John concludes in his Epistle, “But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure,” 1 John 3:2-3. Our standing before God shall not be changed by something as meager as death, much less any of the struggles we face in this life. Nor has it changed the standing of those we love who have died in faith. This we know for certain, that when Christ comes again, he shall raise us from the dead, cleanse us from all sin, and bring us in his resurrection glory unto life eternal! We have hope, certain hope, because we know the end. We know what we’re waiting for... we’re waiting for Christ. 

            Blessed are we who mourn, for Christ has given us the comfort of our wonderful reunion at the resurrection of the dead and the gift of life everlasting! Take heart, then and be strengthened in faith as we wait patiently for the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the glory of God for life everlasting! In Jesus’ name. Amen!