All Saints Day--Remembering Time

photo by dvdbramhall / flickr

I remember reading the story of the great New York preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick. A troubled woman came to see him one day. And when she left she turned to the secretary and said, "He put the stars back in my sky."

That remark sums up how I feel about All Saints Day in the church. Somebody out there put stars in your sky or you wouldn't be around. At the church where I attend on this special day last year there is a time in the service when people could come forward and call out the name of someone who had been a saint to them. And a long line stood by the microphone and mentioned some name. They covered the waterfront. Name after name. There were mothers and fathers. There were teachers and husbands and wives. There were friends that had stuck by them through it all. I remembered an old gracious lady who made my days bearable during some hard days in the church. Again and again she made me laugh.

If we are wise this day can make us all remember. And remembering might just be a healing and perspective thing for us all. There is so much that weighs us down. In this chaotic time in which we live it is hard to keep the car on the road. Bitterness, anger, rage, depression and hate are everywhere you turn. The old Psalmist raised this query one day during a terrible time. "How long, O Lord--how long?" We've all asked that question from time to time. 

And so we come to church on this day and sing, "For all the saints who from their labor's rest..." I can't sing it without a lump in my throat. Because there have been so very many along the way who helped put the stars back in my sky. Still do. 

Tim Madigan wrote this wonderful little book about his friendship with Mr. Rogers of TV fame. He called his book, I'm Proud of You. I recommend it. Mr. Rogers changed Tim's life. And the book tells that story. Tim tells that when his brother was in his final days dying with cancer, Tim and his four brothers sat up all night with the dying Steve. After that night vigil Steve stirred and Tim told him how much he loved Steve and said, "I have loved you longer than anybody else." Steve replied, "I love you, too. But you look worried. Are you worried about me?" Tim nodded that he was. And Steve said, "Don't worry about me, I have a great supportive cast."

We all have a great supportive cast if we are honest. And this All Saints Day gives us the opportunity to think once more of all those along the way that put stars back in our skies. Maybe turning away from this day we might just help put the stars back in somebody else's sky. Everybody needs a supportive cast. Everybody.

(You might want to  read the book about Mr. Rogers that I mentioned, I'm Proud of You, by Tim Madigan [New York: Gotham Books, 2006] It's great.)

--Roger Lovette / rogerlovette.blogspot.com