All Saints is a time to celebrate the victory over death we share with all the saints and our risen Lord. Still, we must never think that victory is an easy one. Death is an overwhelming power that interrupts our communion with God and with one another. It is the destroyer of all that is true and good. Israel had known that power at work in her own communal disaster, the destruction of Jerusalem. Those kings anointed to be shepherds of Israel fleeced the sheep, and those appointed to care for the welfare of the lowly sought their own glory instead. Those who were supposed to be true to Yahweh played the harlot. The judgment of God was the military destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity.

Still, death held sway, for the Babylonian captors were arrogant and ruthless, becoming …