Being a Saint

This morning we are celebrating All Saints day which happened on Wednesday 1st. It is a day that always makes me rather happy. I love the fact that we celebrate the saints who have gone before us and the difference that God made in their lives and the difference that they made in other peoples lives as they pointed them towards God. 

Saints are pretty incredible. I used to think that when we celebrate all the saints that means that we celebrate the ones who don’t have a special day. This is true but it is also a celebration of all of us and those who havegone before us in the faith. Today is a day to celebrate and also a day to remember. We can celebrate all that has been, all those who have gone before us and the ways that God works in peoples lives and we also remember those who did some amazing things for God, even if at times they were seen as very strange. 

When I was a child we used to have All Saints parties in Church. These parties were like normal children parties except we had to dress up as a saint. From children dressed as angels, to children wearing choir robes and serving robes to fairies (I assume they were meant to be angels) there was a lot of white and strangely not much chocolate cake!

Saints were always people I thought of as especially holy and good. They were often the kind of people who were very different to us ordinary people. Can you imagine my surprise when I first heard that I was a saint as well ?  There is indeed a St.Helen and to be honest I have rather enjoyed myself with this bit of information. When we were in Barry I was talking to a little boy who had gone to St.Helen’s Catholic Church before coming to our Church which was called All Saints. I commented to him that wasn’t it good that after having gone to St.Helen’s Church he came to All Saints where he met me, the real St.Helen. The problem was he seemed to have believed me and so I told his parents what had happened just in case. 

Not only did I feel bad about teasing this little boy but the idea that I was the actual St.Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine who lived in the 300s, who was a very inspirational and holy lady seemed like a big burden to carry !

Being a Saint is not really an easy task. Yes, saints get lots of people looking up to them and worshipping them but they often end up goingthrough very difficult times. Many become saints as a result of being martyred for their faith. Yes, it’s not easy being a Saint. 

However, in case you are feeling pleased not to be a saint, the fact is that we are actually all saints. Today is about us, as well as those who have gone before us, Today we give thanks that we are followers of God and this is how we are saints. 

The word saint comes from the New Testament Greek  hagios which means holy ones.  Now to know that we are all saints and therefore we are all to be holy is a huge responsibility.   However, the responsibility is nothing to do with us in some ways.

We only become holy by the presence of God with us, it is God with us, working through us that changes the world.  It is God working through us who brings light and hope to a dark world.  

In our readings today I think that there are three things that tell us what being a Saint involves. 

The first is from the reading we heard taken from the book of Revelation(7:9-17). In this reading we heard of a great multitude of people praising God in heaven. This vision of heaven is really beautiful, there are people of different nations and languages all joined together in worship of God. This is incredible.. Heaven is full of saints worshipping God. It is wonderful to think that as we are worshipping God here, He is being worshipped in heaven.

We are part of the ongoing worship of God. We are joining with the multitude of saints. I once worked in a University Chaplaincy department. When one of my colleagues held a service, if asked how many people were there he would answer, ‘thousands – there were three actual people and then all the hosts of heaven.’ I don’t know how he wrote that in his service registers but it is true, as we worship we join with others worshipping.

We are part of a communion of saints. This means that there are saints in heaven – people who have allowed God to use them, who are worshipping God in heaven, as we worship here. This means that every time we pray and worship God, we can remember that we are part of that great community of Christians throughout the ages who worship God.

I remember as a child that for me, I understood this as meaning that every time someone decided to follow Jesus there was a huge party in heaven.  I like that idea, it reminds me that God is being worshipped continually and He has a concern for us all, and wants us all to be a part of an eternal party!

 Being a Saint is about worship.

The second point about being a saint is that it is about following God and trying to be more like Him. 

In our gospel reading (Matthew 5:1-12) we were reminded that things are different in God’s kingdom and rule. The poor are rich, the weak are strong. For every situation that seems bad in our terms there is something more and it is better. God turns things upside down to how we would expect and when He does that He makes bad situations even better than we could imagine.

Being a Saint is about following the one who turned things upside down and He brought us not only a better way to live but salvation. 

Finally, being a Saint is also about knowing that we are loved. In our reading from 1 John (3:1-3) we heard of the love that God has for us, love that is so great that God sees us as His children.

Being a Saint is about knowing we are loved and also loving others. 

We are all saints, today is our day as we give thanks for those who have gone before us, for their example and all that they have taught us about God and it also the day when we remember our call to be saints for God. All the saints, those who let the light of Christ shine through them into a dark world. May we be ready to be saints, who are alive, that is people who want to bring the love, joy and light of Christ into the world around us as we point people to Him. AMEN