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FESTAL GATHERING OF ANGELS
SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON AUGUST 26, 2007
Hebrews 12:22 "You
have come to Mt. Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering."
Last night I woke up on the middle of the night counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8….who’s missing? Yes, I thought I was still in London leading our parishioners on pilgrimage. I was counting the numbers to make sure we had the required 12 or 11, depending on who was going where. This time last week we were in London, having a great time. I would love to tell you about it in this sermon - but it is not the place, and certainly not enough time. I hope you have gone to the website of our parish and looked at the blog which Fr. Stephen Powers did, with its marvelous pictures.
Today's Epistle (from Hebrews 12) actually conveys some of the feeling of our pilgrimage. When we arrived at Walsingham it was really as if we had come to Mt. Zion and to the heavenly Jerusalem. In Mary's shrine in that little English village in Norfolk it seemed as if we were indeed in Heaven. The link between heaven and earth in that place was real enough for us to feel and almost touch. Whether our pilgrims expected it before they arrived, I do not know. But when you speak to them you will know that they have seen heaven on earth.
We should not be surprised at this, for Walsingham is a place that celebrates the Incarnation - of God becoming man and dwelling amongst us in this world. In a place like that one feels it is real. In that place which proclaims that fact and honors the person through whom it happened, the Blessed Virgin, we should expect to experience the truth and reality of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling amongst us. Today's Epistle from Hebrews 12 gives a clue how this experience can happen. The writer says: "You have come to Mt. Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven."
Here the writer describes heaven in picturesque language:
· Mt. Zion
· City of the living God
· The heavenly Jerusalem
Phrases we are familiar with, describing our heavenly homeland. And yet so often they are illusive in our minds as a description. In this image of heaven in Hebrews we see particularly the communion of saints:
· Innumerable angels in festal gathering
· The assembly of the first born who are enrolled in heaven
And we certainly felt the communion of the saints when we were in Walsingham. We felt we were not only in their presence - but surrounded by their prayers and love. It was a festal gathering indeed!
The worship throughout the whole of our 2 weeks was inspiring and full of joy - ranging from the worship in Westminster Abbey, with all its splendor, to the quietness of a medieval church, and all that lies between those 2 experiences. And the worship and prayer reached its climax at Walsingham - a holy place and yet set in a simple English village.
The festal gathering described in Hebrews was evident in ways other than worship for us. Everything we did and the places we visited seemed touched by the divine. As we met other pilgrims - people just like us - and enjoyed quite a bit of eating and drinking -everything became a festal gathering, not just of angels, but of human beings too. Your Rector cannot easily convey how it was to be there, and this is not a sermon to just recount an exciting trip in the name of All Saints' church. For what we experienced is a pattern for our parish and its life.
As at Walsingham - so our parish is to be a community proclaiming the Incarnation, true to the catholic faith we have received - and proclaiming it joyously and confidently. There are no gimmicks at Walsingham, just a buoyant proclamation that the Word was made flesh and that Mary is Mother of that Word.
As at Walsingham, so here at All Saints' our worship is to be joyful, faithful and vibrant. There is to be joy and laughter as the mark of this parish, as it was of our pilgrimage. At this festal gathering, as it was at Walsingham, every gathering at this altar makes All Saints' a holy place. And here, as there, people will find healing, reconciliation and peace of mind and heart. That is how every Sunday Mass should be all throughout Christendom.
Today's gospel reminds us of another truth: That going on pilgrimage is itself an image and pattern for the church and its life. "Jesus went on his way through towns and villages" (Luke 13:22). The ministry of Jesus was a journey around towns and villages, up to Jerusalem and back again, accompanied by the apostolic band and other disciples. All Saint's pilgrimage was our own journey with Jesus, like those first disciples. And that is also the Church's pattern. We are the pilgrim people of God journeying to the City of the Living God, our heavenly homeland. And for this journey our dear Lord has provided the Eucharist as food for the journey. In Luke 13:30 we have a picture of people coming from everywhere - north, south, east and west - to take their place at the heavenly banquet. This is an image of heaven - and an image of our parish, All Saints', as we gather at this banquet, having a foretaste of what is to come in heaven.
Yes, All Saints' pilgrimage to Walsingham was a lot of fun, exciting, and filled with wonderful and unusual experiences. But it was something more. It was an image of both Hebrews 12 and John 13 - and therefore an image of the Christian life as it should be lived in our community as a parish.
For we are not alone, but all on a journey together towards to God's kingdom, with each other and innumerable saints and angels.