Dear Saints in Santa Fe, and other far-off places:
Greetings in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ!
What if we took All Saints Day seriously?
Oh, I know we do already. It is one of my favorite services as we celebrate those who have died in the past year and lift up their names in the midst of singing. How meaningful and important this is. We will do so tomorrow in our one worship service at 10 am.
No, what I mean is, what if we took seriously the meaning behind All Saints Day and acted upon it?
It is too easy to think of saints as people from a bygone era who did something amazing, and they get recognized by the Church as special with their own feast day on the calendar. The practice goes back to the 4th Century and has been celebrated all across the world since the year 835.
Presbyterians and the Reformed tradition got involved soon after the Reformation but with a twist: Instead of remembering notable figures of the faith, every ordinary run of the mill, garden variety Christian, no matter if they have done great things for the faith and for the world or not, are called Saints. That means you and me. That means all of us.
Saint means holy. We are to look at each other as holy. By the latest figures I can find, there are 2.4 billion Christians in the world, the largest of any faith. We can start there. Imagine if we treated all of them, and us, as holy? Wars? Can’t do that. Violence? Can’t do that either. Treat people badly? Nope. We want the best for one another at all times.
Now, hang in there with me, because my mind just wandered. Why stop with Christians? I’m not sure God has a three-ring binder that says, “Holy People” and only Christians are listed. What about the rest of the world?
What if we looked at every person as holy? Celtic Christianity, part of our Presbyterian heritage, does. Everyone and everything is considered holy and sacred.
Imagine in this week’s election, we penciled in the little circle by the names of only those people who thought that way? Could we find many?
Imagine if every decision we make has holy and sacred guiding us?
Imagine if we thought this way in every part of our lives and for every part of the world?
Imagine if we indeed took All Saints Day seriously?
Of all our holidays and holy days All Saints Day may be best equipped to heal the world. One person, one saint, one country, one religion at a time.
Grace and peace,
Harry