We’re Not Angels . . . But We’re Saints!
Greetings, fellow saints! Happy All Saints Sunday to one and all, and wishing you many more to come! For the introduction to a devotional meditation, this sounds on the inappropriate side. All Saints Sunday is an occasion of mixed emotions, as we celebrate and are grateful for the many everyday saints who have supported and encouraged us on our faith journeys, but we also miss their presence in our lives.
The service begins with “For All the Saints,” a strong and expressive hymn filled with celebration and Alleluias, and during this hymn, we light candles in commemoration of loved ones who have gone before. All around us we hear a triumphant, joyful song while we experience a reflective, even sad, moment.
But that’s how living our lives as God’s saints often is – a mixture of joy and sorrow, of conflict and peace, of loss and victory. After all, Martin Luther held that we are saints and sinners simultaneously, because we do not earn or work our way to sainthood. It’s God working through the Holy Spirit, pushing, prodding, guiding and encouraging us, that makes it possible for ordinary people to do the extraordinary work of sharing God’s Word with all the world. 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.” (Accidental Saints)
Reading that statement, it seems so obvious, so simple and straightforward, I think to myself, “Well, yes, of course – that’s it in a nutshell.” But some nuts are pretty tough to crack, and some hearts are hardened against the Good News that we are privileged to share with all people.
We are well aware that we aren’t angels, those special messengers of God, but be assured that we are saints who make mistakes, deal with conflicts, and keep on keeping on, because we know that God is able to use us for his purposes. If God has grace enough to give us faith as a free gift, surely he has grace and power in abundance to strengthen us for the tasks to which we are called.
This year of remembrance of Martin Luther’s first bold step that led to the Protestant Reformation has refreshed our understanding of many of his teachings. The Large Catechism is a collection of his works, including this statement that God’s Word is the foundation of all belief. He wrote: “God’s Word is the treasure that makes everything holy . . . 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.”
So we thank God for all those unpretentious, honest people – the friends, guides, mentors, teachers, and good examples – who were the saints in our lives and who quietly made a difference.
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers