All Saints... Not the New Orleans Kind

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 (NRSV)

In the 1984 film, Places in the Heart, Sally Fields plays the recently widowed Edna Spalding, trying to hold her family together on their farm during the Depression. Her husband Royce, the sheriff, had been killed in an accident. A young African-American man, Wylie, is lynched because of the accident. Along the way through her struggles she’s helped by her two young children and Moze, a wandering African-American man, and Mr. Will, a blind boarder. This unlikely rag tag “family” works and scrapes and manages to make the loan payment on the farm. It is a touching story. And the ending is phenomenal.

The final scene takes place in church. The choir is singing In the Garden, “he walks with me and talks with me…” as the congregation passes the communion elements down the pews. The camera pans past several worshippers who figure prominently in the story, then on to Edna, Moze, Mr. Will, her children, and then, as if they were still alive and sitting in the service, her husband, Royce sitting next to Wylie. The last words spoken in the film are spoken by Wylie. As he receives communion, which was passed to him by Royce, he turns and says to him, “Peace of God.”

It’s an amazing vision of perseverance and faith, of forgiveness and community. On "All Saints Day," which is today, we need to be reminded that we are not on the journey alone. We are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” who are cheering us on: on through life’s joys and struggles as we keep the faith and serve the Kingdom.