Feast of All Saints

Who comes to your mind when you hear the word, “saint?” So many come to my mind. Three of my favorites are affiliated with – of , of Iona, and Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. One I find myself scratching my head over – St. Jerome. Why is he a saint? I have spoken of Jerome before. He was a 4th–5th century cantankerous priest and theologian, a veritable curmudgeon. He spoke unfavorably of others and even called them names! Much like I am doing to him now! Our Episcopal Calendar of Saints describes his being irascible and given to bitter theological and exegetical controversies, as well as being a militant champion of orthodoxy, a tireless worker, and a stylist of rare gifts. His major achievement was his Latin translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek, the Vulgate. There is a portrait of Jerome in which he holds a rock. It is understood he used the rock to beat against his chest, admitting his sinfulness. Though a difficult man, Jerome was honest about his failings, thus the stone. One bishop is said to have remarked to a portrait of him, “If it were not for that stone, Jerome, you would have never been made a saint!” Based on stories I have heard and read about him, Jerome may have been about to throw that rock at someone! The New Testament defines a “saint” as a baptized follower of Christ. All Christians by virtue of that definition are saints. In time, the word was used almost exclusively for those who gave their lives for the message of Christ (martyrs) or for people whose living of the gospel was heroic, their deeds being recalled by later generations. The desire to remember one’s deceased friends and family members was strong, so All Souls’ Day, or the Feast of The Faithful Departed, became a celebration the day after All Saints’ Day. Next to the altar we have a Table of Remembrance with pictures of our loved ones who have transitioned closer to God. Remembering deceased friends and family members is a way to thank God for them. In the Episcopal Church, our calendar of saints is expressed in the work A Great Cloud of Witnesses. It is a book and e-document of Christians from across the various denominations of our Christian family who inspired other Christians over time. A church’s calendar often lists almost exclusively clergy and members of religious orders. Not so in the Episcopal Church. Our family member calendar lists hymn writers, educators, musicians, medical people, editors, environmentalists, lawyers, writers, journalists, teachers, sociologists, artists, poets, and social reformers. We also have clergy and members of religious orders. Each of these persons was gifted. They used one or more of their gifts in ways that inspired in some aspect of Jesus’ good news. What gift or gifts did Jesus have to inspire others? He was a teacher, a healer, a mystic, a reformer. He was also a son, a brother, and a friend. John’s Gospel would say he is the Word made flesh. He was the human face of God. One of the greatest gifts he gave to those who would listen to him was an awareness of their value to God. God has gifted every human being with life and more. There is a giftedness we have as part of who we are (skills, talents, and abilities) but there is also the giftedness of being human. This giftedness is expressed in the nine beatitudes we heard proclaimed in the Gospel. This giftedness is to be cultivated within everyone. Happy are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for living in right relationship with God and others, and those who live the identity of children of God as modeled by Jesus. Each “happy are” is followed by a promise – the reign of God is theirs, they will be comforted, they will inherit the earth, they will be complete in living in right relationships with God and others, they will see God, they will be called children of God, and their reward will be great. Only a taste of the fullness of these promises is realized now. Many centuries ago, an ancient Middle Eastern people told the story of how a Great Reality gave life to all that there is. Within that “all” is humankind. All is good. The ancients believed initially humankind symbolized by Man and Woman had an integrity, an integration – harmony with God, one another, themselves, and nature. Their story also told how humankind wanted to have more than they were ready for. They seemed to neglect what they had all around them and what they themselves had within them. Trying to be more than they were, they became disoriented. The integrity they had, living authentically, was lost as they blamed others for their failed shot at becoming more than they were. From then on, their lives were an attempt to regain their integrity, to live authentically again, to be healed. Jesus as the Christ becomes the healing agent of a disoriented, confused, and hurting humanity. He brought a message of a God who loves all people; God is our loving parent after all. He challenged people to love God and all others, even those who oppose. His teaching thwarted systems that demean. He gave to those who experienced oppression a message of their value. He brought to all an invitation to be fully human, fully alive without being disoriented, lost, and missing the mark. Jesus brought an opportunity for humankind to live the integrity of their being children of God, to live authentically the giftedness of what gifts each of us has, and to experience healing as we move away from the hurts that wounded us, to grow more and more to reflect the image of God within us, and the likeness of God into which Jesus, the human face of God, invites us to grow. Jesus is the glory of God. As we reflect the qualities of Jesus in our own lives, we grow more fully alive. As second-century Bishop Irenaeus of Lyons proclaimed, “The glory of God is a human person – fully human, fully alive.” We grow into an integrated life. Our integrity deepens. Dear saints of Christ, holy ones of our teacher and healer, let us celebrate today those who have shown the love of God within their lives to their families and communities. Let us celebrate our loved ones who have died and are nearer to God. Let us celebrate ourselves because we too are part of the communion of saints. Let us walk outside today and look at the beauty of God’s creation and consider the beauty of who we are as children of God. We are a part of this grand beauty which is our cosmos. May we grow more to love God, one another – even our enemies (which can be a challenge) – ourselves (even if we are as irascible as St. Jerome), and our cosmos (which should be easy because it is awesome). Amen! I sing a song of the saints of God, They lived not only in ages past; patient and brave and true, there are hundreds of thousands still; who toiled and fought and lived and died the world is bright with the joyous saints for the Lord they loved and knew. who love to do Jesus’ will. And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, and one was a shepherdess on the green: in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea; they were all of them saints of God, and I mean, for the saints of God are just folk like me, God helping, to be one too. and I mean to be one too. [I Sing a Song of the Saints of God; Lesbia Scott (b.1898)] They loved their Lord so dear, so dear, and God’s love made them strong; and they followed the right, for Jesus’ sake, the whole of their good lives long. And one was a soldier, and one was a priest, and one was slain by a fierce wild beast: and there’s not any reason, no, not the least, why I shouldn’t be one too.