What first comes to mind when you think of saints? Perhaps, on this festival of All Saints, it’s primarily those who have died - the saints in light. Maybe it’s those, living or dead, who seem exceptionally holy or good. Perhaps it’s the people who have lived lives so noteworthy and special that they have churches named after them.
Yes, I imagine we most often think of saints as those people who have earned that title because of their actions - holy, devoted to God, caring for others, working miracles. But when Lutherans talk about saints, we talk about them a bit differently. When Lutherans talk about saints, we flip the order of action and naming. It is not good and holy actions which bring about the title of “saint”. Instead, we are first called “saint” in the waters of baptism - washed, forgiven, made holy, and set apart by God. Then, having been named “saint” and receiving the gift of God’s abundant love and grace, we are called to act in ways that show love. Love for God, and love for our neighbors.
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| Photo by Cathal Mac an Bheatha on Unsplash |
In today’s text from the Gospel of Mark, Jesus interacts with a scribe, a religious leader, who is genuinely curious to hear Jesus’s interpretation of this question: “Which commandment is the first of all?” Which one, of all the hundreds of laws we have in Scripture, is the most important? He had witnessed an earlier exchange between Jesus and the other religious leaders, one where the questions were intended to trap, and divide. This question, though, was genuine. What would Jesus say? Would he stick with tradition, or come up with something new and different?
Jesus responds to the scribe’s question with a dual answer. He recites from the Scriptures that commandment which is at the heart of Judaism, heard in our first reading from Deuteronomy. The first, most important commandment is to love God with your whole self - heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love God with a love that is all-encompassing - not just an attitude we bring out in worship, but a commitment that informs our thoughts, words, and actions at all times.
The second important commandment, Jesus tells the scribe, is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. This love is not dependent on reciprocity or good feelings, but is a commitment to be guided by love as we think, speak, and act. This love is shown to others whether they deserve it or not - we don't have to like our neighbors in order to love them.
Love, as you know, is a risky, messy thing. It leads us into both joy and heartbreak. It requires vulnerability, and connection; trust, and letting go of control. Love is not selfish, but thinks of the other, calls us to compassion and empathy, asks us to come close to the suffering of others.
Love for God and love for neighbor are intimately connected. We love God by honoring God’s power, trusting God’s presence, and setting aside time for sabbath rest and connection. We love God by loving what God loves - our neighbors, who each were made in God's image; creation, which God made and placed into human care; mercy, justice, and peace, all hallmarks of God's kingdom.
It is in loving God and loving our neighbors that we live into the name “saint”. In our words and actions that are guided by love, we live in a way that makes God known, and points others to the powerful love of God - a love that is self-giving, unending, and stronger than division, heartbreak, and even death.
The saints we remember most on this day probably aren’t people who always got it right, who cloistered themselves away so that they might better be devoted to God and offer prayer and worship. Instead, they’re people who showed us love, people who embodied God’s welcome, abundance, and comfort. People like parents and grandparents, Sunday School teachers, neighbors, and friends. These people are remembered as saints because they are beloved, and because of how they saw us as beloved.
As we celebrate the festival of All Saints today, we give thanks for the gift of those people - living and dead, near and far, familiar and unknown - who are joined to us in the waters of baptism and in the foretaste of the great heavenly feast we share when we gather for communion. We give thanks for saints who have lived out the commandments highlighted in today’s Gospel reading, teaching us about the love of God and encouraging us to love and serve our neighbors.
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