Today we are celebrating All Saints’ Day. So, let’s talk about saints. What makes a saint? What would we say are the characteristics of a saint?
“For All the Saints” defines saints as: “Christians who in various ways, often against great odds, showed an extraordinary love for Christ. The Holy Spirit acted in their lives so that they chose to bring aid to the needy, justice to the oppressed, hope to the sorrowful, and the divine word of forgiveness to sinners. For the sake of Christ they were servants to the people of their day; and the service they rendered in the past makes them examples to the rest of the people of God throughout history.” (p.328)
What do we think about that definition? Is it achievable for anyone? Can we all be saints? Do we want to be saints?
We know that being Christian is not supposed to be easy, but we can trust that it is worth it. It always helps to centre the words of Jesus. Which is why, on this celebration of All Saints, we have this wonderful Gospel today where Jesus offers blessings for so many diverse people and then reminds us to go the extra mile:
"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you."
There are a lot of good instructions in this one paragraph. Indeed, there is something powerful in going that extra mile – it can reveal our capacity for love, compassion, and trust, qualities that are often associated with saints. Acting in these ways can also lay bare injustice. Think about it, when we show love and compassion towards our enemies, it makes it harder for them to use our behaviour as an excuse for their confrontational behaviour. When greed demands our coats and we give our shirts as well, our half naked bodies proclaim that greed in a profound way. To turn the other cheek in Jesus’ day was to not only change how one was hit, but to change the dynamic and relationship. Suddenly honour and equality enters the equation making the action one of justice.
Everything Jesus suggests isn’t about being a doormat and giving in to power and privilege. Rather, it is about creating a world where we challenge how we see one another and treat one another. It is about creating spaces where we don’t tolerate abuse and manipulation of power. It is the expectation is that we respect the dignity of every human being. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus certainly offers an ideal example of what these practices look like. There are saints who have lived this path as well showing how we all can play a role in creating a world where such grace and goodness exist, where God’s Kin-dom is fully revealed.
We don’t have to be labelled saints to make a difference. We don’t have to be saints to be blessed. God who is our Creator, Redeemer, and Life-Giving Spirit sees us and blesses us continually so that we each have the capacity to do and be what we need to do and be in this world in ways that are saint-like. May we continually seek to do unto others as we would have them do to us challenging the world to perpetually embody the call to respect the dignity of every human being in every encounter. This we pray as we sing: (VT) 387 We Are One in the Spirit