The Ultimate Parade

To adapt the words of Robert Frost, "something there is that loves a [parade]". Just to imagine listening to a marching band in the distance and seeing the first baton-swirling marcher quickens my heart, and it is to the image of a parade that I turn this All Saints Day.

Today, we remember and give thanks for those who have died. Yes, there are the big saints to remember, like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, along with Francis, Benedict, and many others. But today is also for remembering the other saints who do not loom as large on history’s horizon, but whose lives enriched ours. Whether big or small, today we celebrate those created in God’s image, who in one way or another reflected or pointed to the one bigger than us all.

This morning, as I sat in a chapel service at my daughter's school, I noticed a stained glass window high in the tower showing the “great cloud of witnesses,” (otherwise known as saints) as if they were walking in a parade. Side by side they were making their way into heaven. It was easy for me to see faces particular to my journey, people who have pointed the way for me. I know you have faces of your own. Today we stand and celebrate the parade.

But in a recent book by Bob Goff, I read about an unusual parade. Bob and his family organized a neighborhood parade that has become an annual event. People dress in costumes, play instruments of any kind, and gather at the end for a picnic. The catch is, no one is allowed to watch. Ever single person must march in the parade. In other words, there are no spectators, only participants. 

In many ways, I think that’s the kind of parade we celebrate today. We are not called to stand on the curb and cheer. Rather, we are to “join in their number,” as the song goes, as we head to the picnic big enough for us all.

Thanks be to God.