All Saints

The Reverend Martha Frances

Year B, All Saints' Day

1 November 2009

Text:  John 11: 32-44

Other Readings:  Wisdom of Solomon 3: 1-9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21: 1-6a 

      We have the privilege this year of celebrating All Saints' on the actual feast day, the 1^st of Nov., in addition to the joy of baptizing several young ones, publicly welcoming them into the household of faith with the same initiation rite Jesus underwent as he began his ministry.  One of his final instructions to his disciples was for them to go out into the world & baptize in his name.  On All Saints' Day, new saints are initiated into the Church universal by baptism.  Did you know that a saint's day is determined by their death day, if we know it, for at their death they are baptized into the nearer presence of God? 

      All Saints' Day is not the time we remember those saints who don't get a day of their own in the church calendar but rather a recognition that many faithful people have gone before us, both famous ones & also those who are known only to those around them—families & friends—but whose faith was a witness to others in their lives.  Asked to name the biggest spiritual influence in their lives, it is remarkable how many people mention a grandparent who began his or her day in a rocking chair, Bible in hand, giving both day & concerns over to God's care.  Who might that person have been in your life?  Perhaps you are that person for someone close to you.  Saints aren't only those well-known folks who show up in stained glass windows but are also those otherwise anonymous persons through whose life others can glimpse God's work.

      Our children will lead us to the baptismal font today representing one of those more famous saints, some of whom are mentioned in the hymn we'll sing, "I sing a song of the saints of God."  Saintly characteristics the song mentions are patience, bravery, truth, & a love of God whose love for them gave them the strength to toil & fight & live & die in Jesus' name.  They did not rely on their own abilities but upon God's guidance & fortitude to live lives worthy of sainthood.  The third verse is quaint but essential, for it reminds us that saints are not just folks who lived in the past but are still among us, that we can meet them just about anywhere, & that we, too, can aspire to be saints.  I pray this song always reminds us that we Christians are in the process of putting on sainthood as we live lives of integrity &, thank God, joy!

      God is the primary actor in the drama which we enact at the font today.  We are "God with skin on" as we baptize & name & anoint each of these children, marking them as Christ's own for ever, as the baptismal rite says.  Parents & godparents & other family members promise to be the primary teachers in rearing their children as God-lovers, but we in the larger community vow to be the second line of support, forming a fellowship in which it is safe for them to try out who it is Christ is calling them to be, practicing their Christian vocation to which we're all called.  Notice that we're all called to renew the Baptismal Covenant, the sacred promises to continue to grow in belief & to pass those beliefs on to others, especially the youth in our community.

      The covenant begins with our joint recognition of the Apostles' Creed which includes our belief in the holy catholic or universal Church & in the communion of saints.  Then we make five promises with the phrase "I will, with God's help."  We agree to continue to worship & fellowship & study & pray with one another, & that vow is a description of how the early church grew.  We recognize that all of us sin & fall short of the glory of God, & even our most revered saints were rascals who did vile things at times, so we promise that when we fall into sin, we will repent & return to God.  Sometimes we need each other even to recognize the sin, much less to have the courage to admit it, ask for forgiveness, & continue in the process toward sainthood.  In fact, our third vow is to show by the way we live our lives as well as by what we say the Good News Christ brought us.  One of our best- known & loved saints, St. Francis, instructed us to "Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words." 

      The last two promises are those which perhaps separate the saints from the riff-raff, so to speak, for we promise to actually seek out those we can serve, recognizing that Christ is in them as well as in ourselves.  They are our neighbors, & whether we like them or not, we are to love them, to treat them as if we were welcoming Christ into our midst.  Another early saint, St. Augustine of Hippo, tells us that each of us has a God-shaped space in our hearts & that our souls are restless until we find God.  When such love seems impossible, we can recall that we have responded to these vows with, "I will, with God's help."  I have to tell you that sometimes I just have to get the me out of the way & let God love that annoying other person.  Perhaps I am the annoying person to someone else.

      Finally, we are called to pray & work for justice & peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.  Now I know that some people don't behave in a dignified way, & sometimes it's difficult to respect them when they don't appear to respect themselves.  However, this is Christ's call to us, & once again, we don't get to pick & choose which of these vows are comfortable or convenient.  We must, with God's help.  This vow is often lived out in the public arena: caring for others by contributing to causes we believe in, volunteering with organizations we support, making meaningful financial commitments to our faith community & fulfilling them,  voting for those candidates who will hold the public good as more important than their own partisan well-being, & holding elected & appointed officials accountable for the decisions they make for the whole constituency.  If you have not already voted, you are vowing in a few minutes to do so thoughtfully, prayerfully, & knowledgeably. 

      Our Baptismal Covenant is the bedrock of how we live & grow lifelong as Christians but also how we bring up our young ones in the Christian faith.  These children are our children, & we celebrate the privilege of forming their primary faith community.  Alleluia!