All Saints' Day

 

Video of Service

All Saints’ Day 

November 1, 2026

Text: Rev. 7:9-17

            There is but a thin veil separating this assembly from that of the angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven.  Such that we are one.  One assembly.  One Communion of saints.  And that Communion of Saints… a thing we know only by faith, not by sight… a thing to be believed and confessed… that Communion of Saints manifests most vividly to us on this side of the veil, in the Holy Communion.  That is, the bodily presence of the Lord Jesus on His altar, gathering us Christians from all times and places around Himself.  The Lamb, slain, but standing… crucified, but risen from the dead… giving Himself to His beloved Christians for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

That is to say, in the Divine Service, heaven comes down to us, as Jesus comes to us, really and truly, and bodily, in the Holy Sacrament.  St. John, still physically alive on this side of the veil, is given a glimpse of how it looks on the other side of the veil.  There he is, exiled on the Isle of Patmos for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus (do you remember this from Chapter 1 of Revelation?), “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10; ESV) when he has his vision, which is to say, participating in the Divine Service.  He’s doing the same thing we’re doing here.  But then, his eyes are opened to see the reality in ways we are not given.  

And so, we have our reading from Revelation 7 this afternoon.  What is going on on the other side, as we are gathered here on this side, lauding and magnifying the Lord’s Name, basking in His saving presence with us?  They are doing the same thing we are.  Only they see Him.  A great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, tribe, people, and language.  They see Him, as they stand before His throne (the altar), clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.  They are crying out.  They are praising Him.  And we join them.  And they join us.  One Holy Communion.  

Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?  These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  That is, they are dying and going to heaven.  Now, this is a tremendous reality.  You know some in that number.  You love them.  You ache over the empty space next to you in the pew, or at the family table.  These are not just the great saints of history and the Bible: Mary, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Augustine, Martin Luther (though it is them, too).  These include your spouse, your brother, your grandparents, your mom, or your dad.  Those who died in Christ, yet they live.  John sees them.  You see them through the preaching of St. John (now, also, blessedly part of that number).  They are coming out.  They suffer no more.  They are caught up in the surpassing joy and beauty of heaven.

What qualifies them for this?  What makes them righteous?  What makes them pure and holy?  In other words, what gives them the right to be in this exultant throng?  Not their own works.  That’s not what the text says.  What is it?  “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (v. 14).  They are baptized into Christ.  They are joined to Christ by faith.  They have died with Christ, and so live in Him.  He is their righteousness.  He is their holiness and purity.  It is for His sake that they are given to take their place around the throne, singing their praise.  His blood washes their robes whiter than any bleach or fuller’s soap could make them (remember Jesus’ robes in the Transfiguration?).  The palms they are holding are the symbol of His victory over sin (He atoned for it… all of it!), over death (He is risen from the dead), and over the very devil (the serpent’s head is crushed!).  

And what are they doing, these saints?  Standing (we thought they were dead, but they’re standing, just like the mortally wounded Lamb around whom they are gathered!)... standing before the throne, and singing.  Praising.  With the angels, and the elders (the Apostles and Patriarchs), and the four living creatures (the Gospel writers).  Falling on their faces and worshiping God.  It’s the posture of humility.  The same reason we bow, or kneel, before God’s throne here in this place.  Serving Him day and night.  He is, after all, the King.  We’re joining the heavenly reality.

And what is God doing for them?  This is beautiful.  Always remember this, when you wonder about your loved ones in heaven.  He is sheltering them with His presence.  Such that they hunger no more, nor thirst anymore.  Such that the sun no longer strikes them, nor any scorching heat.  They suffer no lack.  The things that once afflicted them, afflict them no longer.  And they are guided by the Good Shepherd.  The Lamb Himself is their Shepherd.  He guides them to springs of living water (in fulfillment of the 23rd Psalm).  That is, refreshment.  Like an ice-cold glass of water on a hot summer day.  Replenishment.  Life.  The Spirit (the Lord and Giver of life).

            And then, the image I find most comforting.  He is wiping away every tear from their eyes.  Our Father stoops down to dry the tears of His children.  All the pain and sorrow they suffered here… all the brokenness of sin, the thorns and thistles, and the curse of death.  All the heartbreak.  Broken bodies.  Illnesses.  All the crafts and assaults of the devil.  Because Jesus was broken for us on the cross, and made whole in His resurrection, He now makes His people whole.  There, on that side.   

            This is such a comfort for us, this side of the veil, as we suffer the tribulation of this earthly life.  This is our future we’re hearing today.  And, in some sense, it’s our reality, now, through the preaching of the Gospel, even as we wait for the veil to be removed so we can see it with our own eyes.  And it is a comfort for us as we grieve the death of saints we’ve known and loved.  There they are.  With Jesus.  Which is to say, here they are.  With Jesus.  For, wherever Jesus is, there is heaven, and so the angels, the archangels, and all the company of heaven.  Which is to say, our loved ones who have died in Christ.

            We love to comfort ourselves with all sorts of silly ideas about death.  “That star up there is Grandma, shining down on us from heaven.  She can always see us (yikes!  Creepy!  I’m in the shower, Grandma!).  She is always listening when we talk to her (Oh, so you are for praying to the saints, now?  Where is that one in the Bible?).  Heaven gained another angel (is that what you learned about angels in Catechism?  That they are dead saints?  Isn’t that more like Highway to Heaven, or Looney Tunes theology?).  Ah, Grandma loved the snow, and it’s snowing today, so that must be a special message from Grandma (granted it’s January).”  I’m not making light of these silly sayings to hurt your feelings.  But it’s harder to teach you these things when we’re sitting by the deathbed, or at the funeral parlor.  Beloved, you have a better comfort than all of this schlock.  You have real comfort.  Your loved ones who have died in Christ join you, really and truly, here and now, around the throne of the Lamb.  As heaven comes down.  Do you remember the old Swedish Lutheran Church architecture, confessing this reality?  The altar rail formed a half circle around which God’s people knelt for the Supper.  And the idea was, the circle is completed on the other side of the altar… the other side of the veil… by the heavenly host who join us here.  Heaven comes down.

And then what?  Never forget what happens in the End.  The same thing that happened to Jesus on the Third Day.  When you attend a funeral, it is not a Christian funeral, unless this, specifically, is proclaimed.  What is it?  You know.  The resurrection of the body.  This body will rise.  The body of your loved one who died in Christ.  Your body.  Jesus, the Crucified but risen One, will call your body forth from the grave.  And all the bodies of all people.  Unbelievers to eternal death (Lord, have mercy).  But believers to eternal life with Him, in the New Creation.  And then, your empty, aching arms, will embrace your Christian loved ones again.  This is not a pious wish.  This is truth.  Even as Jesus, who is risen from the dead, is Truth.  

So, this day, you, too, get a peek behind the veil.  And it is beautiful.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and make it so.  Fully manifest.  Take away the veil.  We long for that Day.  We live for that Day.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.