When the saints come marching in

On Sunday, November 1, 2020, we celebrated the 503rd anniversary of the Reformation and All Saints Day with first communion for four young women and one adult reaffirmation of faith. 

November 1 is often called “the Day of the Dead” in Venezuela, but it’s not like the Day of the Dead in Mexico, with elaborate rituals involving candy skulls and offerings of food to the departed. Rather, the first two days of November are when people lay flowers on the graves of loved ones, much like Memorial Day in the United States. As with the Mexican holiday and Halloween, it is related to the ancient church calendar which designates October 31, November 1 and November 2 as respectively, All Saints Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day. And so is the Reformation.

The tradition of All Saints Day began in the fourth century A.D. as the day to honor all who had died for the faith during 300 years of persecution by the Roman Empire. The original date was May 13 and Eastern Orthodox churches still celebrate All Saints Day on the first Sunday after Pentecost. In western Christendom, Pope Gregory III set the date as November 1 in the eighth century, when he consecrated a chapel to all the martyrs in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. 

In time, a prayer vigil on the preceding evening was added, which is All Hallows (Saints) Eve, from which the word Halloween is derived. Then November 2 was designated as All Souls Day in the 11th century as the day when prayers were offered for souls in Purgatory. By the end of the 12th century, it had become commonplace to ring church bells during these three days to remind people to pray for the souls of their loved ones in Purgatory. Not only was the false doctrine of Purgatory incorporated into these observances, in many regions so were pre-Christian customs associated either with harvesttime or honoring and/or placating the spirits of the dead. 

Lutherans added another twist to this tradition by establishing October 31 as the anniversary of the Reformation. Martin Luther is said to have begun the Reformation when he posted his 95 Theses on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on All Saints Eve 1517. This surely was not happenstance, as the 95 Theses deal with medieval conceptions of penance, purgatory, merits of the saints and the authority of the papacy.

The Roman church still teaches that in baptism we receive redemption from original sin and eternal death. We agree and therefore recognize baptism in a Roman Catholic church. But, after baptism, when the Christian falls into sin because of the sinful nature, he must do penance, because repentance is not a change of mind and heart effected by the Holy Spirit, but an act of recompense done by the sinner. If the sinner cannot do enough penance in this life, he may suffer in purgatory before entering the eternal life promised in baptism. Suffering in purgatory is not forever, and the Pope has the authority to cut the sentence in purgatory by a letter of indulgence. This is still the teaching of the Roman church, no matter that no part of it is found in the Holy Scriptures. It is the fine print that denies the good news of the new life in Jesus Christ. This system that contradicts God's Word arose because many did not believe that we cannot do anything to receive God's grace. 

 Furthermore, in the Roman church, the saints are the ones who have avoided purgatory on their own merits. We can know someone is a saint when requests to this person are answered by miracles verified by the church of Rome. The treasure of the church, according to this belief, is the abundance of the merits of the saints that the Pope can apply to the account of others. This idea is not from Scripture either. 

In contrast, Luther wrote thus in the theses: “Any truly repentant Christian is entitled to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters. Every true Christian, living or dead, shares in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted to him by God, even without indulgence letters ... The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God." 

So this year we received five sinners by Adam’s fall and saints by Christ’s resurrection and their baptisms into the full blessing and fellowship of the church. 

Rita Maria Zapata. “And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Mateo 28:20b 

Yusmelvis Naikeli Salas Medina. “Delight yourself also in the Lord; and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 

Lorena Alexandra Rujano Contreras. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should sho forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” 1 Peter 2:9 

Anyelimar Katiusca Meza Ruiz. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 

Jariannys Nathaly Rojas Arias. “Jesus sad to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 

Answered prayer 

We had a positive and productive meeting October 23, 2020, with representatives of the Ministry of Education charged with the care and education of preschool children. Most of them had not visited our campus before, and were surprised by its size and condition. They were impressed by our commitment and service to the community as a church (in the sense of a local congregation), tending to both spiritual and material needs. This bodes well for when we reopen regular classes in January. For now, our teachers continue to distribute food and online lesson plans to our preschool families.

 

The Holy Spirit guides us by Word and sacrament

“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14

A saint is a holy person, someone set apart from what is common or unclean. When Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the doors of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on All Saints Eve 1517, he struck his first blow agains the idea of saints as those who had made themselves holy through good works. All have fallen short of perfect obedience to God’s will (Romans 3:23), yet all have received the new life in Christ through baptism with water and the Word (John 3:5). The true saints are those who have been declared righteous in God’s eyes through the righteousness and innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ. We are justified by faith in this promise, and not by our merits, and this faith itself does not well from within us, but is given by the Holy Spirit.

One Lord, one faith, one baptism

Dubraska Rachell Alexandra Santana received the new life in baptism on October 13, 2019. Ephesians 4:1-6 was the appointed epistle lesson for the 17th Sunday after Trinity. For her, as for all, baptism was the invitation to the wedding feast that the Lord speaks in the day’s gospel reading (Luke 14: 1-11). It is not the only instance that He spoke of the kingdom of God as a banquet or wedding party.

But St. Paul makes another comparison. If Christ is our Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), baptism is our crossing of the Red Sea from slavery to Egypt (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). But we still have our pilgrimage through the desert with miraculous food and drink to sustain us (1 Corinthians 10:3-4).

To continue in the Word

Anyi Vanesa Garrido received the body and blood of our Lord in the Eucharist on October 27, 2019. On that Sunday, we celebrated the anniversary of the Reformation with our brothers and sisters from Corpus Christi Lutheran Church in Barinas, and Christ is Love Lutheran Church in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Raimundo Brito, pastor of Corpus Christi, led the service of the Word. I led the service of the Lord’s Supper and the rite of public confession and first communion for Anyi. Eliezer Mendoza, pastor of Christ is Love, preached on John 8:31-36. Starting in the Garden of Eden, Pastor Eliezer said, Satan has twisted God’s Word into a lie to keep us enslaved to sin. But the pure Word brings forgiveness and freedom from the power of the devil. Thos who continue in the pure Word and receive the sacraments as He commanded remain His true disciples.

But what of those who have crossed the Jordan River ahead of us to enter into the Lord’s promised kingdom? “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1) For this reason, Lutherans honor them on All Saints Day. As early as fourth century A.D., long before the medieval cult of the saints, the ancient church set aside a day to honor those who died for the faith under 300 years of Roman persecution. Later, all who had died in the faith were remembered.

Trick or treat?

For western European Christendom, November 1 has been the official date of All Saints Day since 835 A.D, with the observance starting the night before, as with Christmas. Because of the emphasis on remembrance of the departed, many different customs and beliefs associated with death and the hereafter have become associated with All Saints Day. Because of Spanish cultural influence, the first two days of November are when Venezuelans lay flowers on the graves of loved ones. Given the prevalence of witchcraft and all types of occultism in Venezuela, it is a little surprising that’s all there is. No altars and offerings to the dead as in Mexico’s Day of the Dead. On the other hand, Venezuelans who have been delivered from genuine experiences of the demonic are repelled by the foreign holiday of Halloween and regard it as purely satanic.

Halloween as we know it is, as a matter of fact, largely a concoction of North Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries. People of a more secularized and rationalistic age began playing with the superstitions and folklore that immigrants brought from their homelands, and some made-in-America legends as well. However, it is not a good idea to play at being a witch in a time and place where witchcraft is serious business. I like to say that what concerns me about Halloween is not where it came from, but what it has become. The original Christian significance has been almost entirely forgotten, and there is an unhealthy focus on death and the demonic. I do not condemn the harmless carving of pumpkins (or the resultng pumpkin pie), but I do think it is better to remember the Reformation on All Hallows Eve and honor the blessed dead on the following day.

Prayers for Chile and Ecuador

We continue to pray for natives and Venezuelan expatriates in Chile and Ecuador. The eruption of street violence in Santiago, Chile, was unexpected because of Chile’s reputation as one of the more prosperous nations in South America. The Confessional Lutheran Church of Chile, including former members of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela who have moved to Chile, have been instrumental in sending needed medical supplies to Venezuela. James Tino, director of Global Lutheran Outreach and former missionary to Venezuela, now serves as a missionary pastor in Chile. So does Adrian Ventura, former pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Maturin, Venezuela, and the first national pastor that I ever met.

For all the saints...

But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;
 The saints triumphant rise in bright array.
The King of Glory passes on His way.
Alleluia! Alleluia! The Lutheran Hymnal No. 463

We celebrated Reformation Day on Sunday, October 25. This is the recommended rubric:

If the Feast of the Reformation is observed on Sunday, it should be the Sunday before October 31 in order to be allow for a similar celebration of All Saints Day the Sunday on or after 1 November. (Fred H. Lindemann (The Sermons and The Propers IV: Trinity Season - Second Half. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1958. p. 134-135)

In addition, we expected good attendance on October 25, better than we might have had on Saturday, October 31. We did indeed have good attendance on the 25th. Since the celebration of the Reformation is not something that should be overlooked, we decided to observe it on the day when the larger number of people would be present.

To talk about these dates on our church calendar, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, is a little tricky because of strong "anti-Halloween" sentiment in certain quarters of Venezuela. There is much of the same "Halloween is a pagan holiday" propaganda here that you might encounter in the United States. It is spread by the same kind of "evangelical" sects who are either unaware of the Christian origin of All Saints Eve and All Saints Day, or see it as something Roman Catholic. Because Venezuela is not the country of the "middle way"; People here are either traditionalist Catholics, with their veneration of the saints, or sectarions who want to throw out all of the traditions of the ancient church altogether.

Not only that, but in Venezuela there is an element of anti-United States feeling in the anti-Halloween movement. Halloween, as we North Americans know it, is a foreign holiday here (and, in fact, many of the customs that we associate with Halloween (or All Hallows Eve), such as jack o'lanterns or trick or treating, really got started in the United States, although with roots in the cultural heritage of immigrants.

This giant squash is of a different species than
the North American pumpkin, but is similar.

I like to tell Luz Maria about how much fun I had carving faces in pumpkins while growing up in a thoroughly Lutheran community. Nobody thought that carving jack o'lanterns had anything to do with witchcraft back then. First I would carve an opening on top and remove the stuff inside the pumpkin. That was not the most pleasant part, but later my mother would make a pumpkin pie out of the material.

In fact, pumpkins are native to North America and American Indians were baking pumpkin pies before any European settlers showed up. After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, the Irish adapted an old custom of carving out turnips to place a lighted candle inside to serve as a lantern. Irish immigrants brought the custom of carving pumpkins to the United States, and in the early 1800s, making jack o'lanterns for Halloween "went viral" as we would say now.

But there is a problem with Halloween, although it is not the supposed pagan origin of jack o'lanterns and the like. Like Christmas, Halloween has become big business and the Christian significance of it has largely been forgotten.  Halloween as it has been exported to Venezuela is scary, with all the emphasis on vampires, zombies, etc. And witchcraft is not make-believe in Venezuela. Christians in Venezuela must struggle to free themselves from occult practices that are commonplace.

However, as Lutherans we have an advantage in that Martin Luther chose October 31 to post the 95 Theses on the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This was not by accident. In the 95 Theses Luther dealt with the destiny of human souls, which would have been on everyone's minds during the festival of All Saints.

Thou was their Rock, their Fortress and their Might,
Thou, Lord, their Captain, in the well-fought fight.
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia! Alleluia! TLH No. 463

All Saints Day was first observed in the fourth century A.D., in the part of the world we know today as Turkey and Syria. There had been so many martyrs to the faith in the first 300 years of the Christian era that there were not enough dates on the calendar to devote a day to remembering each one on a separate day. So one day was chosen to honor all the martyrs, later all those who had died in the faith (the saints in heaven). It seems that All Saints Day at first was celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost, and this still is the date on which it is observed in most Greek Orthodox churches. 

However, around 610 A.D, Pope Boniface IV changed the date to November 1 for the church of western Europe (the Orthodox churches of eastern Europe and Asia officially rejected the primace of the Pope in 1054 A.D.). Pope Boniface IV wanted the dedication of a church in Rome to be a special occasion. The celebration of All Saints eventually would include the evening of October 31 and the day of Nov. 2.

We Lutherans also reject the primacy of the Pope, yet we continue the custom of observing All Saints Day on Nov. 1 because of the importance of Luther's posting the 95 Theses on the eve of All Saints. For us, All Saints simply continues the theme of Reformation Day.

In his 95 Theses, Luther challenged Roman doctrine on penance and purgatory. Eventually he would reject Rome's definition of sainthood. The saints are not those who by their own merits have left purgatory and entered into the presence of GodThe Bible teaches us that all who believe in Jesus Christ are saints. What do we confess in the Apostles' Creed? We believe in the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints. The holy Christian church is the same as the communion of saints. The church is all who have been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and in sincere faith receive the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper. They are the saints of God.. 

Among us Lutherans we speak of the heroes of faith as saints, for example, St. Matthew, St. Paul, St. Luke or St. John. They are holy. We recognize them as models for us. We also speak of those who died in the faith as saints and honor them on this day. As our text for today says, the saints in heaven are they which came out ofthe great tribulation. What is the great tribulation? Life in this world, because in this life are sufferings, trials and difficulties. The saints in heaven have passed beyond all these things. As John says, now they do not hunger or thirst, or feel heat or pain. They live forever with Christ as the reward for their faith. They are at rest and peace with Christ. Therefore, we honor, but not pray to or worship them. We have one Mediator between God and us in Christ and do not need another. Amen

Click here for my complete All Saints Day sermon and here for my Reformation Sunday sermon.

Related articles

• The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation Is Near!
• For All The Saints - Sunday Songs
• Nov 1 - All Saints