Sunday Reflection: All my tears be washed away

Today's reflection is brought to you by 

Isaiah 25: 6-8.

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples 

    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines, 

    of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. 

And God will destroy on this mountain 

    the shroud that is cast over all peoples, 

    the sheet that is spread over all nations; 

God will swallow up death for ever. 

Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces...

This morning we celebrated All Souls' Day at Sanctuary of Peace. It was a very meaningful service in more ways than one. Pastor Quinn gave a beautiful reflection on the reading from Isaiah, and offered everyone present an opportunity to come forward and light a candle in memory of loved ones who have gone "home." Our community of low-income and homeless folks know so many on the other side of the veil... one of whom just passed beyond the veil this morning due to a fentanyl overdose. The drugs out there right now are at a level of lethal that ends lives and breaks hearts far too often.

As part of the service, Pastor Quinn asked for a special song, All My Tears, written by Julie Miller. Julie's version, which you can hear by clicking this link, has an aching rawness (perhaps because she can sing an interesting dissonance) that really appeals to Quinn, who met her in his past. Julie and Buddy, her partner, do things with this song that Evan and I can't carry off, and not just because we don't have drums and electric guitar at our disposal. Emmylou Harris's version is even more haunting in my books. There's just something about her voice...

It was tricky to learn this song in the short time we had, but Evan and I managed to sing something a bit closer to the video below, put together by Wild Blue Yonder, an excellent Appalachian bluegrass band. Of course, they can apply a few more gorgeous harmonies than us two Sanctuary musicians, along with wonderful fiddle, banjo, mandolin, etc...

On this All Souls' Day, I hope that you can imagine your loved ones who have gone ahead singing these words to you, and find comfort in the God who intends that we'll all be home and we'll all be free, with all our tears washed away.