Today is the day after Hallowed Eve. It is All Saints’ Day, sometimes called All Hallows’ Day or Hallowmas. It celebrates the spiritual connection between the hallowed folks who have gone before and those of us still living:
Hebrews 12:1 (NLT)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Honor those dear saints with your hallowed steps.
Perhaps they all are looking on,
and they all know my name,
or maybe now they are all gone;
I’ll fight on just the same.
I no longer need an audience
to prove to me my worth;
in this place of violence,
I’m alone astride the Earth.
Here in hell’s own coliseum,
to crowds I pay no heed,
I’m in my own Elysium,
and I have all I need.
In the gladiator’s mission
I am my fiercest competition.
You are your fiercest competition, Andrew, and–perhaps–they are your fiercest cheerleaders (along with a host of witnesses here and now in the internet cloud, cheering you on),
I hope!