Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34
November 1st was All Saints’ Day, a major celebration in the Church. An occasion for us to look back and celebrate the great figures of the history of the Church. People who dared to speak out, to name injustices. People who proclaimed by their words and actions God’s love for all of God’s creation—especially those who were forgotten and ignored. All Saints’ Day. A time for us look around us. To recognize the people who seem larger than life. People who advocate for positive change in society. People whose strong faith and willingness to reach out to others provide an example for us.
What does it mean to be a saint? A saint is someone with broad vision, someone who firmly believes that God is at the center of life. That God is in us, around us. God is everywhere, in all of life. In our own lives, we are called to stretch our vision beyond our own lives and embrace God’s vision for the world. We call that vision the Kingdom of God. We are called to move beyond our own self-interest and follow Jesus’ commandment to love one another.
Saints are not just the great figures of the past, or people of the present that we think of as bigger than life. Saints are ordinary people, like you and me. People who are faithful. As people who are trying to be faithful, we can claim ourselves to be “saints-in-progress.” That is part of what we celebrate on All Saints’ Day: ourselves as potential saints.
Peace,
Deacon Sue
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