Pastor’s Pen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Rev. Erik P. Kindem

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb….and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them.  They will hunger no more and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat, for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”  – Revelation 7:13-17

Dearly Beloved,

A year ago, my wife Chris and I had the privilege of attending a nephew’s wedding in the coastal town of Sayulita, Mexico.  When we arrived, the celebration of DIA DE LOS MUERTOS—the DAY OF THE DEAD—had just ended, but evidence of the festival was everywhere.  Built on the scaffolding of ancient Aztec rituals and the Christian traditions of All Saints and All Souls, DIA DE LOS MUERTOS draws people back to their places of origin, where nightly parades weave their way through decorated streets and families gather at the town graveyard to share food and drink and stories with their BELOVEDS, who have left this life for the life beyond, but are not forgotten.  It’s a tradition deeply embedded in the Mexican soul.  (If you’ve seen the animated film, COCO, you know what I’m talking about.)

We arrived in Sayulita at dinnertime and, following the recommendation of our host, made our way to a restaurant on the central plaza where we had a clear view of the huge 40 foot female skeleton dressed to the nines for the festival. Everywhere we went in town—in shop windows and along cobbled streets—colorful flags and artfully rendered skulls served as constant reminders of DIA DE LOS MUERTOS.  But the purpose of the skulls and skeletons was not to incite fear or foreboding, but to celebrate that—for these few days—the VEIL separating life and death was lifted and communion with those who had crossed over was possible for a time.  Throughout Sayulita, the heartfelt nature of this sacred festival rang out loud and clear.

This year, All Saints Day/Dia de Los Muertos is taking on even deeper and more personal meaning for our family as we grieve the sudden passage of Chris’s mom Nancy from our lives, while simultaneously reaching for the promise that God has another chapter in store for her—and indeed for all who put their trust in God’s promises that took on flesh in Jesus.  

The gospel lections during the weeks following All Saints focus on endings—a natural progression as autumn leans toward winter and tree branches grow increasingly bare.  Not all those endings are positive ones: the bridesmaids who run out of oil and are shut out of the celebration; the slave who betrays his master’s investment.  And as we await the outcome of next week’s midterms we may wonder whether HOPE or DESPAIR will be the big winner on Election Day.  But for those of us who claim the title “follower of Jesus,” despair is not an option!  That possibility was forever foreclosed on Easter!  Not that we don’t long for the return of those precious ones whose lives were intertwined with our own in ways that lifted and shaped us; or for those times we remember when public civility was the rule rather than the exception.  But we do not get sucked into the pit of despair because all our stories are caught up in the GRAND STORY of healing, redemption, and renewal which is God’s purpose for all of us and all creation.   That’s what I will lay hold of this month.  Will you join me?

With you on the Way,

Pastor Erik