November 2, 2011

All Hallows’ Eve

It is impossible to know how many we actually had on our
campus for the Harvest Hoedown on Monday night.
Just the children who registered and their parents put the attendance
over 2500. But we know that many did not
register. The Children’s Team did an
outstanding job in preparing for the evening.
And it appeared that those who volunteered to help had a good time.

Did you know that before Halloween emerged as a holiday,
Christ-Followers were celebrating All Hallows’ Eve? That word “eve” points to something that is
coming, something just over the horizon.
For example, Christmas Eve points us to the celebration of Christmas,
the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All Hallows’ Eve pointed believers to All Hallows or All Saints day. It was the day the Church celebrated the
“Communion of the Saints” as we affirm in the creed.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Saint?” Because of the influence of the Roman
Catholic Church, we tend to think of special people who lived extra-ordinary
lives. We think of the Apostles as
Saints; St. Matthew, St. John, St. Paul.
Some of the early church leaders are referred to as saints, like St.
Augustine and St. Francis. And more
recently we’ve heard about Mother Teresa’s journey to sainthood.

Sometime after the third century, the word “saint” began to
take on this different meaning in the church.
As the church became more of an institution in Rome, the emergence of
these special “saints” took place. That
was not the class in the early church.
In the New Testament, the word “saint” refers to those who are followers
of Jesus Christ. You may have heard the
saying, “Jesus transforms sinners into saints.”
By His grace we are cleansed of sin and made new creations. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are set
apart as holy, seeking after sanctification through His grace.

All Hallows or All Saints day emerged both to challenge
Christ-Followers to live as holy, set apart people and to remember those who
had joined the eternal Communion of Saints during the year. All Saints Day was celebrated in the Church
on November 1st. Hence, All
Hallows Eve, on October 31st, was the preparation for the All Saints
Day celebration.

Today, many churches take the first Sunday after November 1st,
to celebrate “All Saints Day.” It still
has that dual role, to challenge Christ-Followers to live as holy, set apart
people and to remember those who have joined the eternal Communion of the
Saints. In our 11:00 Service this Sunday
we will remember those from our Church Family who have become part of that
great “cloud of witnesses” referred to in Hebrews 12:1.

This Sunday our United Methodist Women will have their Soup Luncheon
for missions. Tickets are on sale
in the office for only $6.00 a person.
Be sure to get your tickets so they will know how much soup to
prepare.
As always, your responses to these
Reflections are welcome. You can
email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.