The Same Spirit
Hi COTC Family!
The Collect for All Saints’ Day
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical Body of your Son: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
Every year I make a point to read The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. It is weird, confusing, and death is all around. It is also beautiful, inspiring, and full of glory.
It knocks something loose in me.
The building tightness of everyday worries, the varying needs of loved ones, and my own passions and repulsions can all swirl together to make life’s complexity overwhelming. I long for the Good News to break through and make clear and simple that which, at a minimum, appears muddied.
When I read Perpetua’s testimony, I am, somehow, mysteriously made more capable of holding simplicity and complexity in simultaneity. I hear the clarion in the midst of complicated experiences and people - myself included - with neither negating the other.
The stories of the saints cannot be sanitized to our modern sensibilities. The foibles, shortcomings, and sins of departed saints are not hidden from us. That’s to say nothing of the saints with whom we presently share the Table! These are not uncomplicated relationships.
And yet, the stories of the saints - in all their complexity - create space for the Spirit to give fresh courage, fresh thinking, fresh living.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead gave Perpetua and her companions wild visions and wilder courage.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead gave Augustineincisive words that even now perform surgery on souls.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead gave Dora Yumental, emotional, and spiritual companionship and strength amidst struggles.
On All Saints’ Day we remember we are One Body with complicated men and women of the past, as well as the present. That is designed not only for our good and our joy, but for the glory of God. Today, the same Spirit that animated their lives animates each of us.
This Sunday, we’ll celebrate these truths in a variety of ways:
Through the “saints” who will visit our kids in The Garden! Keep an eye out for saints from the past roaming the halls between services.
Through the welcoming of new members! From our membership classes over the past year, a number of men and women have decided to join the life of COTC, and we want to joyfully honor their commitment and pray over them.
Through the sacrament of baptism! Four among us will join in the One Body of Jesus - I invite your prayers for them, and for our community as we reaffirm our own baptismal vows!
With gratitude for you, the saints,
Sarah+