All Saints Sunday, Year B
November 1, or the first Sunday in November Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, the year of Mark Green
Next read on .
Why this Sunday
All Saints is the day the church remembers everyone who has died in the faith, famous or not. Lutherans use the word saint for every baptized person: God’s people, made holy by God, not by being perfect.
Many churches read aloud the names of members who died this year, often with a bell or a candle for each one.
The Gospel: John 11:32–44
Jesus weeps at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, then calls him out of the grave alive.
John 11:32-44
Most churches stand for the Gospel, and sing or say a short response before and after it.
The passage
32 Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 The Jews therefore said, “See how much affection he had for him!” 37 Some of them said, “Couldn’t this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?” 38 Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?” 41 So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. 42 I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Free him, and let him go.”
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
The other readings
In the order they are read on Sunday, before the Gospel.
Isaiah 25:6-9
The LORD will prepare a feast for all peoples, swallow up death forever, and wipe away the tears from every face.
Read it here
6 In this mountain, the LORD of Armies will make all peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast of choice wines, of choice meat full of marrow, of well refined choice wines. 7 He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord the LORD will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for the LORD has spoken it. 9 It shall be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us! This is the LORD! We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
Psalm 24
The earth is the LORD’s; lift up your heads, O gates, so the King of glory may come in.
Read it here
1 The earth is the LORD’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. 3 Who may ascend to the LORD’s hill? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. 5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face—even Jacob. 7 Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in. 8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, you gates; yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of Armies is the King of glory!
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
Revelation 21:1-6a
John sees a new heaven and a new earth, where God lives with his people and death and mourning are no more.
Read it here
1 I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.” 5 He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.” 6 He said to me, “I have become the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life.
World English Bible, public domain. The whole chapter on Free Scripture → · Read in the NRSVue, the ELCA’s standard translation →
A question to carry into the week
Whose name would you say out loud this All Saints?
For your newsletter or sermon notes
This reading is told as a story on our sister site, Free Scripture, one scene at a time in plain words. The lines below are ready to paste. The next eight Sundays, and every story.
All Saints readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B. Scripture text: World English Bible, public domain.
Revised Common Lectionary copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org Used by permission.