Obtaining the Better Resurrection – The Sunday of All Saints

This past Sunday, we celebrated Holy Pentecost – the descent of the All-Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit remains with Christ’s holy Church and empowers members of the Church towards their salvation.
Thus on this Sunday immediately following Pentecost, we celebrate all those men and women who empowered by the Spirit who “came and dwelt” in them achieved their salvation and became enlighteners for our own path to salvation.
The collection of the saints is like an amazing garden filled with every kind of flowers. All of these flowers are very different; all of them though very beautiful. Realizing how different the saints were and how different from one another should excite us and give us a glimpse of hope. There is no one who could not become a saint! And we can “specialize” in any of hundreds of virtues. Besides keeping all the commandments of Christ, each one of us can work on a beloved virtue and become a specialist in that virtue and hopefully please God.
The King and Prophet David was meek and pleased God. Elijah was zealous and pleased God. Job was patient and He also pleased God. Keep all the commandments and venture out into a virtue that the Holy Spirit has made close to your heart.
The Apostle reading for the Sunday of All Saints is from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews 11:33-40 and 12:1-2. In it, St. Paul tells of all the acts of faith of the Old Testament and tells the Hebrews that all the saints:
1. Worked righteousness
2. obtained promises
3. stopped the mouths of lions
and more, but
they did not accept deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.
Isn’t that still our choice??? It is very very easy to accept deliverance. To agree with the powerful of the world and even to work for them! The cost however of this temporary deliverance is losing the “better resurrection!