ALL SAINTS/ALL SOULS SERMON
Opening Illustration : The Three Kings Parade
I remember
the first time I went to see the
Three Kings Parade, here in Palma. The streets were absolutely
packed. Children were clutching their bags, ready to catch sweets, and parents
were calling out for them not to get lost in the crowd. The music, the lights,
the camels, the colours; it was magical. But as I looked around, I noticed that many of the children couldn’t actually see what was happening.
All they could see were the backs of other people’s coats! So one by one,
fathers began lifting their children up onto their shoulders. Suddenly, their faces lit up. From up there, they could see
everything, the Kings, the dancers, the gifts. The world looked bigger
and brighter. That boy reminds me of Zacchaeus, the man in today’s
Gospel. Small in stature, unable to see over the crowd, yet so eager to see
Jesus that he climbs a tree. And from there, everything changes, not just his
view, but his life.
Exegesis: “Zacchaeus, Come Down!”
Let’s look briefly at what’s happening in Luke 19:1–10.
• Zacchaeus
is a chief tax collector, wealthy, powerful, but socially rejected.
• He
runs and climbs, undignified for a man of status, but it shows his spiritual
hunger.
• Jesus sees
him and says, “Zacchaeus, come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
• The
crowd grumbles, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner!”
• But
Zacchaeus responds with repentance and generosity: “I will give half my
possessions to the poor, and repay fourfold anyone I have cheated.”
•
Jesus declares: Today salvation has come to this
house…
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save
the lost.”
In this encounter, Jesus reveals the heart of God, He sees
the one on the margins,
calls him by name, and invites himself into his
home.
Zacchaeus’ transformation is the fruit of being seen and loved
by Christ.
All Saints and All Souls: Remembering the Great Crowd
All Saints’ Day (November 1st) and All Souls’ Day
(November 2nd) are two sides of the same coin.
• All Saints’
celebrates the great cloud of
witnesses, those known and unknown who have lived in the light of
Christ.
•
All Souls’ remembers
all the departed
Historically,
the Church in the early centuries celebrated the martyrs, those who gave their
lives for the faith. Over time, this grew into remembering all who live and die
in Christ’s love.
Here in Spain, these feasts are woven deeply into the culture. Cemeteries fill with flowers, families gather to pray, and the boundary between heaven and earth feels thin. It’s a time when we remember: we belong to a great family, those who have gone before us and those still walking beside you. But there’s more: these feasts are not only about the past, they are about vision. They invite us to look beyond the crowd of everyday life and see what God sees, a kingdom where all belong, where mercy triumphs over judgment, and where love is stronger than death.
What It Means for
Us Today
Like Zacchaeus, we live in a world full of crowds; noise, busyness, competition, and fear. Sometimes, like him, we are pushed to the margins by guilt, by disappointment, or by the weight of what others think of us.
But
Jesus still walks through our streets. He still looks up and says,
“Come down. I
want to stay at your house today.” He invites us not to climb
higher to reach
Him, but to come
down; to humility, hospitality, and openness.
All Saints
and All Souls
remind us that the Church
is not a club of the perfect; it is a home for saints and sinners alike, the living
and the dead,
all bound together in Christ’s love.
Preparing for Vision Day “Seeing What Jesus Sees¨
Next
week, as we gather for our Vision
Day, we will be asking:
“What kind of church does
Jesus want us to be in this place and in this time?”
This story gives us a clue.
• Like Zacchaeus, we need spiritual curiosity, to climb above our comfort zones to see Jesus more clearly.
• Like Jesus,
we need a compassionate vision,
to see the people others
overlook.
• Like the saints, we need courage,
to live out holiness in everyday life.
• Like
the faithful departed, we need hope, trusting that what we build now will echo
in eternity.
Our Vision Day isn’t just about plans and strategies.
It’s about being the kind of community where Jesus feels at home, where
His presence transforms hearts, where the lost are welcomed, and where
salvation comes to our house again and again.
Conclusion
As we stand between All Saints and All Souls, let us remember:
• We are
surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on.
•
We are called
by name, just like Zacchaeus.
• And
Jesus still says to us, as a church and as individuals:
•
“Come down, I must stay
at your house
today.”
May our hearts
and our church
be open to welcome
Him.
And may our vision be lifted, like Zacchaeus’, to see
the
face of Christ among us. Amen.
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