ALL SAINTS’ SUNDAY
PENTECOST XXIII
November 5, 2023
“Celebrating the Saints”
Are you in a celebratory mood for the big holiday being observed this Sunday? Perhaps you’ve planned a festive dinner, invited guests to join you, and will enjoy some special activities on this important occasion. If this sounds as though we’re heading toward holiday overdose or just being sarcastic, that’s not intended. I doubt anyone feels an overwhelming need to add some holiday activity between Halloween and Thanksgiving, since the commercial/secular world has that pretty well covered already.
But what if we did observe All Saints’ Day as a special day of celebration? Consider how unique and interesting it could be. We’d go to church, light candles in loving remembrance of those dear to us, and sing “For All the Saints” in triumph and gratitude. Then we’d gather with friends and family, share a meal and memories of the saints in our lives, reflecting on how much they mean to us and how they shaped our lives and our faith.
I’m thinking of doing something along these lines, on a small, simple personal scale. I can reminisce and share memories of my parents and grandparents, look through photo albums with their pictures, and then remember my confirmation pastor, my Sunday School teachers, my beloved godparents who did so much for me, and on to friends and fellow members here in our congregation. What blessed influences they’ve been in my life over the years, and what a difference they’ve made, often when I needed them the most. I have no doubt you can come up with a loving list quite easily, and just recalling the names of these people honors them and creates an opportunity to reflect on their examples and teachings.
One of the joys of making All Saints a time of celebration is acknowledging all the everyday saints who have been and continue to be present in our lives. I have a strong feeling that if you were to tell these people what saints they are, they’d laugh a little self-consciously, and minimize what sounds like extravagant praise. And that’s how they are, you know, just doing what they’ve always done, being who they are, and they are saints!
As Martin Luther held, we are saints and sinners simultaneously, because we do not earn or work our way into saintly status. The Holy Spirit pushes, prods, guides and inspires us, making it possible for ordinary people to do the extraordinary work of sharing God’s Word with all the world. In his Large Catechism, Luther says: “At whatever time God’s Word is taught, preached, heard, read, or pondered, there the person, the day, and the work is hallowed, not on account of the external work but on account of the Word that makes us all saints.”
In her book, Accidental Saints, Lutheran Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber writes, “What makes us the saints of God is not our ability to be saintly but rather God’s ability to work through sinners. As St. Paul puts it: For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
And so we thank and praise God for all the saints, from the heroes in the faith across history and around the world, to those we hold in our hearts, personally and gratefully.
Remembering with love,
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers