There are some significant days in the church calendar this week. 1 November is All Saints Day - a day for remembering and honouring Christian saints and martyrs who have gone before us - a kind of extension to the list in Hebrews 11 if you will. Interestingly, All Saints Day was known originally as All Hallows Day, making the night before All Hallows' Eve (or Halloween). The whole dressing up and trick-or-treating thing apparently came many years later :)
Then, 2 November is All Souls Day (or the Day of the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed) - a day set aside to remember all those whom we have loved who have died. They continue to inspire us by their example and have joined the crowd of faithful witnesses who cheer us on. We celebrate the gift they have been and continue to be for us.
There was another famous historical moment this week when someone else knocked on a door on Halloween. On 31 October, the German monk Martin Luther protested abuses by the Church, nailing his Ninety-five Theses to the door of a church in Wittenburg. This courageous act sparked a far-reaching movement of renewal - the Protestant Reformation. We remember Luther and are grateful for his courage.
As followers of Jesus, we are likewise called to stand for truth and justice in the face of opposition. In the first of a four week preaching series on Unsung Heroes in the Bible, this Sunday we meet two ordinary women who stood up to the most powerful man in the world. As we remember these courageous figures this week, may they inspire us to do the right thing wherever we may find ourselves this week.
Then, 2 November is All Souls Day (or the Day of the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed) - a day set aside to remember all those whom we have loved who have died. They continue to inspire us by their example and have joined the crowd of faithful witnesses who cheer us on. We celebrate the gift they have been and continue to be for us.
There was another famous historical moment this week when someone else knocked on a door on Halloween. On 31 October, the German monk Martin Luther protested abuses by the Church, nailing his Ninety-five Theses to the door of a church in Wittenburg. This courageous act sparked a far-reaching movement of renewal - the Protestant Reformation. We remember Luther and are grateful for his courage.
As followers of Jesus, we are likewise called to stand for truth and justice in the face of opposition. In the first of a four week preaching series on Unsung Heroes in the Bible, this Sunday we meet two ordinary women who stood up to the most powerful man in the world. As we remember these courageous figures this week, may they inspire us to do the right thing wherever we may find ourselves this week.