Sisters and brothers, grace to you and peace from the God of all peoples, the Christ of every tribe, and the Spirit of all the nations. Amen.

Today we gather to remember, to rejoice, and to imagine. It is All Saints Sunday, and on this holy day it is these three primary actions that we do together, in community, that matter. To remember, to rejoice, and to imagine.

The element of remembering is crucial. The psalmist sums it up this morning, “I will bless the Lord at all times, the praise of God shall ever be in my mouth.” Remembering God in times of pain and sorrow, in times of struggle and doubt, as well as in times of joy and celebration: this is the challenge of this day as we call to mind the loved ones from among us who have departed this life and with whom we have been separated. We remember them, and we remember what — and Who — keeps us connected with them.

In three brief verses, today’s second reading invites us to remember: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. Beloved, we are God’s children now…”

Remembering our primary identity as God’s beloved children, as those who are in a living relationship with a God who loves us is the first action of All Saints Sunday. Washed in the waters of holy baptism and blanketed in the forgiveness and grace of God in Jesus Christ, we are sainted, literally “set apart,” — set apart to be the people of God who reflect with our imperfect lives the perfect love of God in Christ.

The second primary action of this day is to rejoice. In the words of St. Paul to the ancient church in Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, ‘Rejoice!’” And in today’s Gospel we hear, “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The kind of rejoicing we are called to enact this day in community is not the “happy, clappy” variety. Rather, it is an undergirding confidence and hope–filled assurance that though we may mourn now, we shall soon be comforted. Though our spirits may be impoverished now, the reign of God will soon come near and enliven us again. Though we are hungering and thirsting for something more now, we will soon be filled and fulfilled. Though we may be persecuted now, for standing up for justice, truth, and love, the dominion of God will be ours.

The rejoicing to which we are invited this day is reflected in the psalmist’s words, “Look upon the Lord and be radiant, and let not your faces be ashamed. I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me and saved me from all my troubles.”

Finally, the third primary action of this day is to engage our imaginations, to let God so enliven us with the holy and creative Spirit that we can hear the words of the first reading from Revelation and allow the Spirit to translate these words into a vivid picture in our mind’s eye — a picture of the things yet to be for us and a picture of things already so for those whom we remember this day.

“After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces and worshipped God, singing ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’”

With imaginations animated by the Spirit and the Word, we too are caught up in wonder of this mystery: that one day we shall also gather with our beloved departed, before the throne of God, and worship God day and night within God’s temple, and we will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike us, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be our shepherd, and will guide us to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.”

This heavenly vision revealed to St. John is the reality for those who have gone before us, and it is our blessed hope as our imaginations are fueled by on this day of remembering and rejoicing in the communion of saints.

In just a few moments, we will as a community of faith “set apart,” or sanctify this piano as well as these brass altar flower vases. In doing so, we engage ourselves in these All Saints actions today: we remember those in whose memory they have been given; we rejoice in the gift; and we imagine the beauty of God’s presence of which they are a sign.

Like saints, they are “set apart” for God’s glory. This afternoon as the piano is played in the dedicatory concert, the instrument itself will not be applauded but rather the artist who plays it. Likewise, these vases will be the means by which the flowers will sit in silent praise, befitting the beauty of God’s holiness.

Today, with holy imagination, let us remember and rejoice that we too are such instruments and such vessels of grace, set apart and made holy to the praise of God’s glory.

Amen.