Readings
Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44
On this All Saints Sunday I want to ask you a question.
“What is a saint?”
It may seem like an obvious question with an obvious answer, but I would invite you into the dilemma that such a question raises. It is a question that I have been wrestling with all this week as I toiled at preparing this sermon.
To start with, the word “saint” comes from the Latin word “sanctus” which means “holy.” So, I think we can safely say that a saint is a holy person. But what does that mean? What does it mean to be holy? Is holiness something that is intrinsic to our being? Or is it something based on how we behave? Or is about what we believe? Or is saintliness something we can only recognize when we see it?
We have examples of saints throughout the ages. In fact, there are so many people labeled a saint that there are just too many to count at this point. Some of them were great thinkers, some were powerful evangelists, some were martyrs, some were agents of healing and care, and others were agents of social justice. Each of them, in other words, were for one reason or another labeled as a holy person. There is, in fact, such a variety of these good people that it once again begs the question, “what is a saint?”
Well perhaps we can gain an insight into this question by turning to our Gospel reading today. In it we hear the familiar story of the raising of Lazarus. Jesus, arriving too late to see Lazarus alive, is met by his sisters. They complain, and the crowds complain, that had he come sooner Lazarus would not have died. Jesus responds by going to the tomb and, after offering prayer to God the Father, he calls Lazarus out from the tomb. Lazarus is once again alive and Jesus orders him to be set free from his burial dressings.
Now this is traditionally a funeral reading. At that service it’s offered as a pastoral reminder of the hope of the resurrection. While Lazarus was merely resuscitated, we can see in Jesus’ action a foreshadowing of one of his central messages. Namely that death no longer has dominion over us. His own willingness to ultimately suffer his own death and then be resurrected reminds us that life is not ended but transformed. It is a call to recognize that in the face of the world’s constant reminders of death and destruction we have a choice to either live in fear or live in faith – faith in the life that Jesus promises.
This is, at the very least, what is at the heart of being a saint. Regardless of the specifics, what all saints have in common is an abiding hope in the life that Jesus offers. What all saints have in common is a willingness to confront destruction and death whenever and wherever it is encountered. That may take the form of teaching, or proclaiming the Good News, or providing care and support to those who are suffering, or confronting the injustices of the world that cause the destruction of people’s lives and livelihoods, or in the most extreme cases willingly facing the threat of their own death or destruction.
Now that’s not all that makes a saint. To be clear it is helpful for us to remember that what is at the heart of being a Christian is captured in Jesus’ summary of the law. We all are called to love God as God loves us, with all our heart and soul and strength and mind. We all are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. So saints are persons who fully embody the summary of the law. Their lives are clearly marked, in some way, by that love.
But to fully love God and our neighbor and to do it consistently requires us to not be timid in our love, but to fully express it even when we risk the world rejecting it, even when our family or friends or neighbors think us crazy, even when loving our neighbor may put us in harm’s way. Yes, to fully love God with heart, soul, strength and mind requires us to put our faith in the life Jesus promises. It requires us to do so over our fears of death or destruction.
This brings us back to the idea of a saint. In each case a saint is a person who chooses faith over fear. It is a person who embraces the truth that, in Christ, life is not ended but transformed. This is significant if we stop to think about it. It means that saints are not necessarily perfect people. They are not necessarily people without doubt or fear. Rather it means that even in the face of doubt and fear they choose again and again to embrace the life that Jesus offers. It means that even in the face of death or destruction they embrace the hope of the resurrection and by doing so are free to love God and love everyone else.
Whether we look to someone like Martin Luther King, Jr., who in the face of hostile racism, prejudice, and bigotry continued to preach a message of the fundamental goodness of all people, regardless of the color of their skin or their culture; or we look at Mother Teresa who risked everything to minister to the poor and ostracized people of India, even though it meant living in an infested and crime ridden community; or perhaps the Martyrs of Memphis who, during the yellow fever epidemic of 1878, stayed behind when most of the community fled and cared for the sick even though they too ultimately caught the disease and died; each of them embraced the love of God and one’s neighbor in fearless ways that were deeply bound in the hope of Christ’s resurrection.
So, what does that mean for us? Well, the truth is that most of the world only loves a sentimental or thoroughly domesticated form of Christianity. The real work of the church in loving God by how we love everyone is both challenging and sometimes infuriating to those who are either marginally Christian or completely secular. Such levels of sacrificial love, while inspiring, are often received poorly because they challenge peoples’ assumptions and the status quo. Remember that even Jesus faced execution because of the radical nature of the love he proclaimed. This is why it is scary to share our faith. We don’t know how others will react. We can’t anticipate the risks we will face if we become agents of justice and peace.
The world needs saints as much today as ever. In this time of conflict, misinformation, and distrust we need people who are willing to be the full embodiment of the love of Christ. We need people who are willing to place faith over fear. We need prophetic voices and caring hands that will inspire our hearts, fan our faith, and bind our wounds. We really do need saints.
But, even if we cannot rise to the level of sainthood, we can achieve saintliness from time to time, if we are but willing to put our faith over our fear. We too can count ourselves among the faithful whom we celebrate today. All it really takes is a willingness to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and to do so by loving our neighbor as ourselves. As we celebrate the saints through the ages, and remember the faithful departed, may we all find the strength and the grace to be saints in our own age.