Today we remember those who have gone before us in this life in the season of All Souls and All Saints. Some might say we are remembering the past … but that is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that the Souls of the Saints are alive with God.
It’s not easy to challenge the arrow of TIME is it! It is the 2nd law of thermodynamics .. which tells us that in the physical world we experience events in a particular sequence which runs from order to disorder .. this means as we age disorder and chaos increase with the arrow of time .. until we die.
But what if how we physically experience the arrow of TIME is able to be challenged? What if there is a kingdom in which the last comes first and the first comes last? What if there is a spiritual world which was born out of chaos and given ever increasing order? Where the laws of decay and death give way to laws of increasing peace and love?
I think the Christian faith is all about challenging the second law of thermodynamics! Putting our faith not in things that will rust and perish .. but which wouldn’t rust or perish!
I believe at the heart of the bible is a message that challenges the physical laws of this world. That the spiritual significance of the events of history are not ruled by the laws of increasing disorder, demise and decay. Rather they are governed by the eternal qualities of faith, hope and love.
You see these spiritual qualities can make the arrow of TIME stand still .. and in some cases can cause a reversal in the direction of situations and relationships that have seemed beyond repair.
One of the things that is happening when we take the bread and wine is that we are together defying the second law of thermodynamics! I believe each time we celebrate the Eucharist we are remembering God’s vision of the future that awaits us beyond TIME. A future of increasing faith, hope and love until all things are made good. A future of restoration and not destruction. A future where the souls of the saints are already praising God for his Love.
The communion table enfolds this struggle in its remembrance of the great mystery to our faith .. Christ has died, Christ has Risen, Christ will come again. This prayer reminds us both of the chaos and death Jesus experienced in his earthly life .. but also His overcoming of this chaos through love.
The Christ will come again part of this declaration is at the heart of our defiance of the second law of thermodynamics. When we share the bread and wine we are stepping outside of TIME and of the laws of decay and disorder it imposes on us. And we are joining with the souls of the saints celebrating through faith a future in which peace and harmony will prevail because of the eternal nature of the laws of faith , hope and love.
The Benefice of Chebsey and Norton Bridge, Ellenhall, Ranton and Seighford with Creswell 