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All Saints Sunday • Year A
November 1, 2026
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Historical Collect
Almighty God, you have knit together your people in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son, Christ, our Lord. Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys which you have prepared for those who love you; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, 1549)
Thematic Collect
Beloved God, in Christ you have drawn all your people into one, holy communion. Grant that as we remember the saints who have gone before us, we are strengthened for lives of faithful service to you so that the world will know your blessed presence. Bring us at the last to the feast that has no end where all will be one; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
The Common Thread
Everyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation will be gathered up into that perfectly huge, innumerable multitude (144,000) of saints. All those who have been purified by Christ’s shed blood will be saved. For the rest, those who did not believe, there will be vengeance and punishment when Christ appears. Those who believed will become like him, pure and righteous—because he is pure and righteous. This is the hope of the Church, a hope in Christ alone. They are the blessed ones, who ave admitted their poverty of spirit, and thus, have hungered and thirsted for righteousness. Great is their reward in heaven.
First Reading • Revelation 7:2-8, 9-17
It is only right that the first Reading, the historical reading, for All Saints Day comes from Revelation. John writes of the future as though it were a thing already accomplished. The white-robed throngs of heaven are already there, the Lamb is on his throne, and the story of salvation is complete.
Psalm • Psalm 149:1-9
The weapons of the Church are not worldly. Thus, Jesus told Peter to put away his sword (John 18:10-11). The Christian’s weapon is nevertheless, a sharp, two-edged sword (Heb 4:12) that cuts deeper than any man-made blade. That sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Eph 6:17), is what Christians are to become adept at wielding (2 Tim 2:15). With high praises to the Living God on our tongues, and his sword in our hands, we go forth into the world.
Second Reading • 1 John 3:1-3
Neither history nor deliberation determine sainthood. Saints are the result of the love of God. His love adopts us and calls us his children. Just so, we will forever be in the family of our Lord. We know not what the future looks like, but we do know the future. We do not know what we will look like, but we know that we will be like Jesus. We will be pure, as he is pure. In such hope, we are already purified in Christ.
Gospel • Matthew 5:1-12
Blessed are the inside-out. Those who trust the Lord are content with the reverse of what the world calls good. When bad things happen, Christians find their joy in the Lord. The Beatitudes are not logical but rather, mysterious. Nevertheless, they are spiritually sensible; an intrinsic truth calls out to us in each verse. While they teach of a blessed hope for the future, they also show us the way through the present. The saints of God are learning to be content in Christ, especially when the world turns life inside-out (Phil 4:11-13).
Resources
Links to Worship Resources for this Service
