November 4, 2024
For All the Saints - Part 1
Revelation 7:9-10
11/04/2024
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude
that no one could number, from every nation, from
all tribes and peoples and languages, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in
white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, ``Salvation
belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to
the Lamb!'' (ESV)
Since the beginning of the Christian Church, ever since
Stephen was stoned as the first martyr, Christians have
remembered those who died making the good confession of faith.
By the seventh century, the Church dedicated the first of
November as the day upon which these confessors and martyrs would
be commemorated. The Feast of All Saints, which we celebrated
last Sunday, recalls the memories of all the faithful departed
and the triumph of Jesus Christ over all false gods.
Our first reading during the Divine Service was from
Revelations, Saint John's vision of heaven and of the last days.
He wrote:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that
no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes
and peoples and languages, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm
branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud
voice, ``Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb!''
The host robed in white are celebrating the victory of Jesus
over sin, death, and the power of the devil. This scene reminds
us of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday while the crowds
waved branches, crying, ``Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the
Name of the Lord.'' Indeed, ``Hosanna'' means, ``Save us,
Lord.'' That salvation comes to us through the Lamb of God, the
Paschal Lamb, who is the very Son of God.
This week we will study John's vision which brings us
comfort and hope. May our Lord grant you the peace of knowing
His mercy. Amen.