All Saints Day
Rev. Amy Welin: I had the best time with the trick-or-treaters last night! Behind the masks and the gory makeup, I met about 300 nice young people and some parents, who were delighted to take some candy. They were nearly all very polite and most said thank you. Even when you are dressed like a werewolf, it is difficult to not be who you really are!
Today is the Feast of All Saints, the wonderful celebration of the communion of all the faithful, who are part of the Reign of God. In Europe and Asia, this date of this holy day wasn’t decided for a couple of centuries. The Irish and the Greeks celebrated it in April, and the French and Germans in the fall. In the eighth century, it settled in at the beginning of November. But it was always proclaimed as a special holy day, which replaced a local festival that commemorated the dead. Christians have a different understanding of death. We believe that the dead are not erased, but that they become part of the Communion of Saints in heaven. We believe that ordinary people can be saints.
What does a saint look like?
Most of us want to turn and look at the church windows. We see the people in stained glass windows as images of angels and saints. The windows were designed that way, as teaching tools in the years before most could read the Bible.
We perceive the saints as pristine and holy images – icons of purity and freedom from sin – their human hope full of immortality. The problem is: we never get to see them as real people, as real role models. Many come to the Feast of All Saints with memories of saints, both famous and of a more personal nature, and an acute sense of not being saintly ourselves.
You know how that goes in our heads: “St Mary/St James/St John/ my grandmother/ mother/
Uncle Edward was a saint. And I am not.” And then we list our imperfections that are the impediment to sainthood. (And some of us may say that with a sense of shame – or a sort of pride – from which we need to recover). And then we quit.
Those stories we make up in our heads are not helpful in our spiritual lives. The saints really were very human, full of human frailties and quirks. We do not see that in stained glass. My friends, do not waste your time or energy by focusing on the impossibility of perfection. God does not ask us to be perfect. (I say this in profound disagreement with the Gospel of Matthew). God asks us to seek holiness.
I say that again: We are not called to perfection. We are called to pursue holiness.
Do you honestly think that any of our imperfections are a surprise to God?
To follow Jesus, to be a Christian, to be a saint is not about being perfect and therefore worthy of immortality in a stained glass window when we are dead.
To be a saint is about living a life with God, walking the path of ordinary holiness. It is about living into the fullness of our identity given to us as a child of God.
Pursuing holiness means to know that we are called to seek God with our hearts, souls, and minds.
We are called to be merciful, and to demonstrate the loving mercy of God.
We are called to raise our children to know that God is the source and the center of our lives.
If for some reason we have drifted away from that, and we all do from time to time, then today is an invitation to repent – to turn around and get back on track.
By your baptism, you were transformed into a saint. In your innermost core, all the way down on the level of your soul, you have been configured to Christ. The mark of baptism is indelible and permanent, a beautiful and holy tattoo on your soul. You are part of God’s holy people.
That is a truth. Baptism is too important and life changing to be performed as a casual drive-by sacrament. After baptism, the ancient excuse about not being religious enough to be saintly does not hold water. You are always a saint, because you are always a part of God’s family.
Give to St. John’s ParishFar more than God wants us to be “religious” (which in popular understanding usually implies a willingness to follow the rules or the rituals), God seeks an ongoing relationship with each of us. That is what matters. And that is what the saints have that many of us lack. Sainthood is all about the relationship.
Remember that the Great God of heaven and earth is deeply in love with you – and you – and you. And while God could go it alone, love motivates God to include the Beloved: Christ – and us.
God has decided to throw the largest party in the history of the world, and has invited us to its eternal celebration!
God has decided to repair our very messed up world, and has asked us to be partners in that endeavor.
It is not about the stained glass windows. It is about living life with God. It’s about saying yes. It’s about saying thank you.
What does a saint look like? Take a glimpse in the mirror on your way to Holy Communion. See what God sees when the Almighty looks at you. The saint who is most important for you to know – is you.