Reverend Ref +

ALL SAINTS SUNDAY

There are seven Principal Feasts observed by the Episcopal Church. Can anyone name them?
(This went over better in VC than in Sheridan -- oh well, everything is a teaching moment.)

They are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity and All Saints. Today we celebrate All Saints Day. It's the day when we honor those who have gone before us. It's the one day of the year specifically set aside to pay tribute to those who have died, as well as offer reassurance of our eternal life in Christ.

Who exactly are the saints? Or maybe I should ask, "Who IS a saint?" We have, I think, this ideal of what a saint is. They are patient and kind, honorable, moral, holy, caring, selfless, slow to anger and quick to forgive. They feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, proclaim the gospel and live by faith. And all before lunch. Do you honestly know anyone like that?

How many saints can you name? (Actually, they named quite a few) Here are a few: Augustine, Bartholomew, Celestine, David, Edmund, Felicity, Gertrude, Hippolytus, Ignatius, Joan, Laurence, Luke, Mark, Neot, Oda, Paul, Raymond, Samson, Teresa, Ursula, Valentine, Werburg, Yvo and Zito.

Some of these folks are well known, others less so. For the most part they are people of whom you have never heard. Some died young, some died old. Some died of natural causes, and some were martyred. Alot like today, don't you think?

So, what makes a saint? The qualities I just listed? Holy and pious living? Well, maybe. But more often than not those who have been dubbed saints are similar to everyday people. Take Augustine of Hippo, for instance, one of the most influential people in the history of the western church. He never married, but had a long-time girlfriend with whom he had a child. Eventually his mother convinced him to get rid of both her and the child. He did so, never seeing them again. A prayer attributed to St. Augustine goes something like this: Lord, grant me chastity; but not too soon.

In today's gospel we hear Luke's version of the beatitudes. In a sense, the second part of those read like a litany of sainthood. Love your enemies, do good to those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. Love your enemies, do good and be merciful.

I had a conversation this past week with a guy and we talked about this very issue. To him, the central core of Christianity was to love your enemies and do unto others as you would have done unto you. He said, "We say it all the time, love your enemies. We can intellectualize it and preach it, but rarely do we put it into practice. I'm a conservative and I voted for Bush on Tuesday; but I've gotta say, if Bush really lived out this belief of loving your enemies, we never would have gone to Iraq."

It takes courage to love your enemies. I had a chance to make a profound statement this past week, but I wimped out. St. Paul's is the polling place in VC, and I knew that on Tuesday we would have the entire population show up at the church. On the sign out front, I put "Pray for those who abuse you." Had I been braver, I would have put, "Pray for Osama."

Love and pray for your enemies. Do good. Be merciful. But it's more than that, because even sinners do as much. Ultimately what sets saints apart from the rest of us is their tendency to always put God first. Everything else is framed within the context of our relationship to Jesus. If we can do that, then we too are saints.

You see, saints lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still. The world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus' will. You can meet them in school, or in lanes or at sea. In church, or in trains. Or in shops. Or at tea. For the saints of God are just folk like . . . You.

So during this All Saints Day, let's remember those who have gone before us and deserve that honor. But let's also celebrate and acknowledge those saints who are here in our midst.