For All the Saints

All Saints Day is November 1st.  It is a day to remember those who have departed the world before us and are in Christ's presence forever.  

My favorite departed saint to remember is my maternal grandmother, whose photos you will find scattered throughout.  In Lutheran thinking (following how the Bible uses the term), all Christians are "saints" because Christ has made us holy by saving us. We don't live it out perfectly (sadly, we often don't live it out well at all), but Christ is the Perfect One, the Holy One who makes us that way in God's eyes. 

For all the saints 

Who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith 

Before the world confessed;
Thy name, O Jesus, 

Be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, 

Their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain 

In the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, 

Their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, 

Fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, 

They in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, 

For all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But then there breaks 

A still more glorious day:
The saints triumphant 

Rise in bright array;
The King of Glory 

Passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, 

From ocean's farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl 

Streams in the countless host,
in praise of Father, 

Son, and Holy Ghost.
Alleluia, Alleluia!  --William Walsham How, 1864

W.W. How was born in 1823 in England and died in 1897 in Ireland.  He was an Anglican priest who rose to be a bishop.  

Blessed September

 

   During September in much of Northern Hemisphere, little purple daisy-like flowers ("asters") are in bloom.  Across Europe, especially in England, they are often referred to as "Michaelmas Daisies."  This is due to their on-going blooming over the feast of St. Michael and All Angels on September 29th.

    The Bible does not say as much about angels as some people might assume.  But it does say some important things.  One thing to note: humans do NOT become angels when we die.  Angels were always created to be spirit only and are the servants of God. We were created to be both physical and spiritual. Though the physical must go into the earth for a while at death, due to humanity's fall into sin, the body will be raised at the end of time. We are not only servants of God: we are also His children.  When the angels fell into sin, they became the demons that are cursed forever. There is no salvation plan for them.  On the other hand, God sent His Son (who is also God Himself) to become human and to die for our sins.

     Michael is a powerful angel who shows up in the books of Daniel and Revelation. He is also briefly mentioned in Jude. His name in Hebrew means "who is like God?"  ["Micah" is a related name. It means "who is like Yahweh (the proper name for God)."]  Michael fought in the great war in heaven after Satan rebelled against God, before humans were tempted. 

   Gabriel, whose name means "God is my Strong Man", is the other angel with a name. He appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament. His main appearances were around the time of Jesus' birth, making announcements to Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, and making the announcement of Jesus' coming to His mother, the Virgin Mary.

     Other angels serve in other roles. Some are, indeed, our guardian angels.  Four remain around the throne of God.  None is described in the Bible as the cutesy little Valentine cherubs. 

Here is some Biblical poetry for you to enjoy over this happy festival:

For He [God] shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands shall they bear you up

Lest you dash your foot on a stone.  (Psalm 91:11-12, original translation)

Waterfall

      These photos are from a hike into Zapata Falls in south central Colorado last year.  The waterfalls are in the Sangre de Cristo ("Blood of Christ") Range within the Rocky Mountains.  (For more on our trip there, see the post from October, 2020.)

      Some fresh translations from Psalm 42 add to the reflections.

7) Deep calls unto deep

At the noise of Your waterfalls; 

And all your waves and billows

Over me have passed.

8) In the daytime will Yahweh command His lovingkindness,

And in the night will his song be with me--

   a prayer to the God of my life...

11) Why, O my soul, are you cast down,

And why are you disquieted within me? 

Have hope in God,

For yet shall I praise Him,

The salvation of my expression [literally 'face']

And my God.    --Sons of Korah  

Notice how the falls spill from rocks high above.  Hikers are not allowed in that area.

    For fans of the Chronicles of Narnia, which are Christian allegories, waterfalls are in many stories.  C.S. Lewis' upbringing in parts of Ireland contributed to his depictions of Narnia.  I like occasionally mentioning Narnia in this blog because Lewis does such an amazing job describing the landscape.  It is part of the great joy of going to Narnia. The Hollywood productions (as Hollywood will do) focus so much on the great breathtaking near escapes that the amount of time just absorbing natural wonders is lost.

     Lewis does mentions a number of waterfalls throughout The Chronicles of Narnia. The most well-known is in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, where the Beavers take the Pevensie children along the ravine below a waterfall in order to avoid being caught by the White Witch.  She traveled by sled and couldn't follow them down the narrow space. 

    The Great Waterfall is at the furthest western limit of Narnia.  Falling over spectacular cliffs into Cauldron Pool, it becomes the source of the Great River. 

    In the last book. The Last Battle, the trickster ape, Shift, lives near these falls.  He finds a lion skin in Cauldron Pool and tricks his foolish donkey friend, Puzzle, into wearing it and pretending to be Aslan, the Great Lion (the metaphor for Jesus).  This great hoax brings down Narnia.  

    At the end of Narnia, as the move into ever greater, more beautiful eternal Narnias, Aslan's dearest go UP the great waterfall, in a way they never could have done in their previous lives.  (Imagine climbing those!)  I could not find any artist renditions of the beloved going up the Narnian falls, so I will leave you with these final Zapata Falls photos.  My husband took these.  If you look close, you can see me in blue shirt with the giant straw hat, which I refer to as my "ugly potato farmer's hat."  (This is not to imply that potato farmers are ugly, only that my hat is.)  It has warded off skin cancer, though!  And then he took one of me closer up, getting the photos you saw above.  What a day it would have been if we COULD have ascended the falls!

Trees in Autumn

 As mentioned in other postings from this date, we recently took a trip to the White Mountains, in the far eastern part of Arizona, near New Mexico.  A different look for AZ, for those of you not familiar with the state, right?  Here is some fall foliage on the trees, some with evergreen mixed in. The colorful trees are quaking aspens, so named because their leaves shimmer at the slightest gust of breeze. They are a poplar, related to cottonwoods and Eurasian poplars.  Regarding evergreens, the elevation was high enough in spots to see Douglas-fir and true fir trees. I think there was some spruce around, but we didn't get photographs.

One of the travel loops took us to through National Forest and on to Big Lake, near Greer.  (see the other postings of this date) 

There is related Biblical poetry woven throughout.  Enjoy your fall, assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere.  If not, enjoy your spring!  😉

In a high meadow, near some mountain tops in the White Mountains.  If you look closely, you see fire damage, which allowed aspens to grow.  Fire, though destructive and scary, is also "purifying."  It clears out the brush, which allows aspens to grow.  Aspens will not grow in the shade and requires these periodic clear-outs.  Then the aspens' root system anchors things so that erosion in minimized and other plant life can return.  

 

How long, O Yahweh? 

Will You hide Yourself forever?

How long will Your wrath burn like fire?  Psalm 89:46

 

[After the Flood, Yahweh said to Noah]:

"Through all the days of the earth,

Seedtime and Harvest,

Cold and Heat,

Summer and Winter,

Day and night

Will not 'take a sabbatical.' "  Genesis 8:22

Notice the rare red foliage on these aspens, near Big Lake, as above, on the way into the lake.  Typically, the foliage only turns a bright, golden yellow.  Some soils in isolated micro-environments allow the leaves to turn somewhat reddish.

[Yahweh says]:

"[The unfaithful] do not say in their heart:

'Let  us fear Yahweh our God,

Who gives rain in its season,

Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,

Who keeps for us 

The weeks appointed for harvest.' "  Jeremiah 5:24

 

  Be patient, then, brothers [and sisters], until the Lord's coming.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early [spring] and the late [autumnal] rains.  James 5:7 

 

He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He  has also put eternity into [humanity's] heart, yet so that [a person] cannot figure out what God has done from the beginning to the end.  Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

The Long View

 

"If I knew tomorrow were the end of the world,

I'd plant an apple tree today." 

(attributed to Martin Luther; 16th century German)  

O God, Our Help in Ages Past*

 

1. O God, our help in ages past,
   Our hope for years to come,
   Our shelter from the stormy blast,
   And our eternal home.
2. Under the shadow of Thy throne
   Thy saints have dwelt secure;
   Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
   And our defense is sure.
3. Before the hills in order stood,
   Or earth received her frame,
   From everlasting Thou art God,
   To endless years the same.

   

   Colorado Rocky Mountains

4. Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
   “Return, ye sons of men”:
   All nations rose from earth at first,
   And turn to earth again.
5. A thousand ages in Thy sight
   Are like an evening gone;
   Short as the watch that ends the night
   Before the rising sun.  

   

   Sierra Prieta Mountains, Arizona

6. The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
   With all their lives and cares,
   Are carried downwards by the flood,
   And lost in foll’wing years.
7. Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
   Bears all its sons away;
   They fly, forgotten, as a dream
   Dies at the op’ning day.
8. Like flow’ry fields the nations stand
   Pleased with the morning light;
   The flow’rs beneath the mower’s hand
   Lie with’ring ere ’tis night.
9. O God, our help in ages past,
   Our hope for years to come,
   Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
   And our eternal home.  --Isaac Watts, 1708 (pub. 1719)

*A hymnodic version of Psalm 90.  (This Psalm and hymn are often used in liturgical churches on New Year's Eve, due to the discussion of "time.")

Clouds & Scripture

"See, [Jesus] comes with the clouds,
And every eye shall see Him,
even as many as pierced Him;
And all the tribes of the earth shall mourn." (Revelation 1:7)

"See, He will advance like the clouds,
And His chariots like a whirlwind,
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!" (Jeremiah 4:13)
"You have clothed Yourself with a cloud
So that prayer cannot get through." (Lamentations 3:44)
"'I [God] have swept away as a cumulus cloud your offenses
And as a cloud your sins.
Return to Me,
For I have redeemed you.'" (Isaiah 44:22)
---original translations