All the Saints

What makes a saint? Is it being deeply religious, spiritual, devout or perfect? Is it having to give up the fun stuff of life? Is it being martyred for our faith? That’s the impression I grew up with about being a saint, and I wanted nothing to do with it. In fact, whenever the idea crossed my mind about ministry, like marrying a minister (because girls were not allowed to be ordained ministers in my youth), I thought, "Nah – I don’t want to be that good!"  

Life has taught me otherwise.  Here’s what I’ve come to know: a saint is an ordinary person who believes in Jesus Christ as the source of life and love and forgiveness, and in response to the mercy and grace receive, shares their blessings as Jesus did, with self-giving love. We can’t force or buy sainthood, and we can’t avoid it if we believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus makes us saints by our faith in him. 

Jesus makes us saints by our faith in him. In the Sermon on the Mount, also known as The Beatitudes, Jesus spells out what it means to be a saint: being vulnerable and openhearted, humble, and compassionate; it means seeking reconciliation over domination, and the well-being of others especially justice for those that are marginalized or bullied. It means standing up to evil and claiming the greater power of God’s love. This is what we are equipped to do through our baptism, and our commitment to this holy gift is voiced as we reaffirm our Baptismal Covenant.  

Today we celebrate all the saints, past, present, and future, who have and will always change the world for the better because of their faith in action. This is us!

We don’t have to get it right all the time. We just need to be ordinary humans with the extraordinary power of God’s love lifting and inspiring and driving us to bring God’s love, hope and joy into the world. And then we, too, are blessed. 

Amen.