“Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Colossians 3:14 (NRSV)
Here is the link for Sunday, October 25, 2026 worship service: https://youtu.be/rk_BYi41SRQ
Sunday, November 1 – Worship starts at 10:45 a.m.; Communion Service
Scripture to Ponder & Prayer
Week of All Saints’ Sunday
Texts this week:
Revelation 7:9–17; Psalm 34:1–10, 22 (VU pp. 761–762); 1 John 3:1–3; Matthew 5:1–12
To Ponder: 1 John 3:1–3; Matthew 5:1–12
These two readings invite us to reflect on the mystery of who we are, who we are becoming, and how God’s love continues to shape us.
In 1 John 3:2, we hear a remarkable promise:
“What we will be has not yet been revealed.”
I find these words particularly meaningful as we approach All Saints’ Sunday. They remind us that our lives are never finished stories. We are constantly growing, changing, learning, and becoming. Even when our earthly journey ends, we trust that God’s transforming love remains greater than what we can presently understand.
The writer of 1 John begins with an affirmation of belonging: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.” Our identity is not determined by wealth, achievement, social standing, or even our religious accomplishments. It begins with God’s unconditional love.
Matthew’s Beatitudes deepen this understanding in a rather surprising way. Jesus calls blessed those whom society often overlooks: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the peacemakers, and those who suffer for doing what is right.
These are not necessarily the people the world considers successful. Yet Jesus sees dignity, holiness, and possibility in their lives.
Perhaps this is one of the most challenging aspects of the Beatitudes. Jesus is not glorifying poverty, suffering, or persecution. Rather, he is announcing God’s presence and promise among those who experience them. God’s blessing does not depend on having a trouble-free life.
On All Saints’ Sunday, we remember those who have gone before us—not because they lived perfect lives, but because God’s grace was present in their ordinary humanity. Some demonstrated extraordinary courage; others quietly practised kindness, generosity, forgiveness, and hospitality.
Theologian Dorothee Sölle’s understanding of Christian faith as solidarity with those who suffer helps us recognize that holiness is not simply private spirituality. It becomes visible in the way we respond to the pain and injustices of our world.
The Beatitudes invite us to consider how we might become living expressions of God’s blessing.
As I reflect on these passages, I wonder whether sainthood is less about achieving spiritual perfection and more about allowing God’s love to transform us through our relationships, choices, struggles, and commitments to justice.
We do not yet know fully what we will become. But perhaps every act of compassion, every effort toward reconciliation, every commitment to peace, and every expression of love offers a glimpse of God’s unfolding future.
Questions for reflection: Whose lives have helped shape the person you are today? What qualities of those who have gone before you continue to inspire your journey? And how might your own life become a blessing for someone else?
Let us pray …
God of everlasting love, we thank you for the saints who have walked before us and for the faithful witnesses who continue to inspire us.
Comfort those who mourn, strengthen those who struggle, and awaken in us a deeper hunger for justice, mercy, and peace.
As we remember the past and embrace the future, help us grow into the people you call us to become.
Through Christ, our hope and our companion. Amen.
