“I sing a song of the saints of God, patient, and brave, and true…” So begins the old hymn. It highlights what usually comes to mind when we think of saints - people who set an example for us by their words and actions; people who demonstrated extraordinary faith and impressive goodness; people who wrote and spoke eloquently and boldly in the face of threats and danger, even some to the point of martyrdom.
These saints who first come to mind might include those whose stories are lifted up in the Bible - like St. John, and St. Paul - or by Christian tradition - like St. Francis and St. Patrick - who have been officially canonized. Other “giants of the faith” may also come to mind - people like the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or Harriet Tubman, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, those whose faith led them to act boldly and courageously on behalf of others. Yes, these are saints - but not only them.
During the prayers of intercession today, we will name those beloved to us who have died in the past year, accompanied by the tolling of a bell. As we name them, we give thanks for each one's life and witness, and remember those who grieve their loss. Yes, these are saints - but not only them.
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| Photo by Viktor Talashuk on Unsplash |
Most broadly, when we speak of All Saints, we really do mean all the saints. The title “saint” is used, as in the letter to the Ephesians we heard in today’s second reading, to describe Christians of all times and places, living and dead. “Saints” are those who have been “marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit” in baptism. Yes, this means that we the baptized are numbered among the saints, even here and now.
In that case, then, saints are not only those who have been “patient, and brave, and true” as the hymn declares, but also those who have been ornery, and curious, and passionate; impatient, and sarcastic, and uncertain; anxious, and gruff, and weird; selfish, and snobby, and hopeful - along with the countless other adjectives we’d need to fully encompass the lives of all the saints.
Not everything about all these saints - all of us - are necessarily things we’d like to emulate. Ah - but there is the joy. Being a saint is less about who we are or what we’ve done as individuals and more about what God has done for us collectively.
When we give thanks for all the saints, we are not primarily giving thanks for their personal characteristics or the things they have done. Instead, when we give thanks for the saints, we give thanks first of all for God’s work, shown forth in and through them.
We give thanks for the gift of baptism, through which we are forgiven, joined to Christ’s death and resurrection, and claimed as God’s own.
We give thanks for God’s faithful presence and unending grace, even and especially when we are not at our best.
And, we give thanks that God has joined us to one another, for it is together that we receive the glorious inheritance God has promised.
In worship almost every week, we recite together the Apostles’ Creed, where we profess our belief in “the communion of saints”. This communion - community - of saints is filled with imperfect people, at the same time saint and sinner, called “holy” not because of any good works or desirable traits we possess individually, but only by God’s forgiveness and grace.
As Luther writes in his explanation of the Creed in the Large Catechism, this “communion” or “community” of saints is a “holy little flock” that is “called together by the Holy Spirit in one faith, mind, and understanding. It possesses a variety of gifts, and yet is united in love without sect or schism. Of this community I also am a part and member, a participant and co-partner in all the blessings it possesses” (151-152).
When we give thanks for the saints, we give thanks for this variety of people and variety of gifts. With all of our differences, we find unity in Christ. As we live together with God and one another, we show gratitude for all that God has done for us by using the unique gifts God has given us. We do this not to show off how good we are, or in an attempt to earn the inheritance God has already promised. Instead, we respond by living in praise of God's glory - using our gifts to serve God and our neighbors.
Today we give thanks for the saints - those beloveds of God who taught us, in their own imperfect way, about the love of God, pointing us to the hope to which God has called us.
Like the author of Ephesians, we do not cease to give thanks for the saints, as we worship, share stories, and remember them in our prayers. We give thanks for their lives and the witness they shared, and for the ways they demonstrated what it looks like to live in God’s forgiveness and grace. We remember them as we recite the Creed, and toll the bell, and as we gather at the table - shoulder to shoulder, sharing together the foretaste of the heavenly feast to come. Whether we are saints who are “patient, and brave, and true” or saints who are impatient, or fearful, or uncertain, we give thanks that we belong to God. Together, we are God’s own people - called, forgiven, and sent out - united by Christ as we share God’s love with the world.
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