An article from the Cathedral Times
by the Very
Reverend Samuel G. Candler,
Dean of the Cathedral of St.
Philip
The cords of death entangled me;
The grip of the grave
took hold of
me;
I came
to grief and sorrow.
Then I called upon the Name of
the Lord;
"O
Lord, I pray you, save my life."
Gracious is the
Lord and
righteous;
Our God is full of compassion,
The Lord watches over
the
innocent;
I
was brought very low, and he helped me.
Turn again to
your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has treated you well.
For you have
rescued my life from
death,
My
eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
...
Precious in the sight of the
Lord,
Is the
death of his servants." "”Psalm 116:2-7,
13.
This first week of November is a holy week in the
Church, and at the Cathedral of St. Philip, for we remember the
deceased among us. I am struck by the sweet words of Psalm 116, which
struggle with the possibility of death; finally, at verse 13, the
psalmist concludes: "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of
his servants." (Other versions read "death of his
saints.")
It is because we believe that every soul is
precious to our God, that we host the annual Requiem Eucharist for the
Homeless of Atlanta each year. This is our way of honoring the names of
God's people whose names might not be remembered anywhere else on this
sacred day. For the past 23 years, these nights have become occasions
where we have glimpsed a vision of the kingdom of heaven: all God's
people"”the living and the dead, poor and rich, white and black"”sharing
fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the
prayers.
Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are
weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." The
Church seeks to be a part of that refreshment of Jesus especially when
we encounter death; and we always pray for God's kingdom on earth, as it
is in heaven.
This Sunday, All Saints Sunday, we
will remember more of the deceased, especially those who have been on
our parish prayer list at some time during the past year. The 4:00
afternoon service will be given over to a choral Eucharist for that very
purpose, including reading the names of each precious soul who has been
on that prayer list"”and others, as we have been
asked.
Join us. Join us throughout this week, All
Saints Week, and help us to remember the servants of God whose deaths
have been precious. As we speak their names, as we remember their lives,
God blesses them and us. And, together, we are
blessed.
The Very Reverend Sam Candler