To All the Saints

To All the Saints Ephesians 1:1-2; 4:1-6 So, a show of hands, who among you would say that you are a saint? Not many – not anyone. Why is that? Well, it’s because we have the notion that being a saint is being perfect, having no sin, being holy and good. Somehow, by our actions and demeanor, our conduct and qualities of character, we have earned the title, the acclamation, the entitlement of sainthood. Well that’s bogus, that’s even sacrilege. That notion and thinking is disrespectful of God. Got a question: Mary, mother of Jesus. Was Jesus tarnished because Mary was human, or of a sinful nature and race? Or was Mary sanctified, blessed, made holy because Jesus was perfect, sinless and divine Himself? Did Mary bring Jesus down to our human level, or did Jesus raise Mary to His stature? The answer is, Jesus raises us up; we don’t bring Him down. Likewise, we are saints, blessed, made holy, sanctified, made right with God because of Jesus. If the Bible says we are holy; if Jesus, because of what He has done, what He has accomplished, what He has defeated, even sin and death itself, says we are holy, we are His, that He has given us and breathed in us, inspired us with His Holy Spirit, well then, we are what He says we are; namely, His saints. So what do we do now? Simple. Live lives that are worthy of the call to which we have been called. We are not to live up to being holy and attain it somehow by some human effort or criteria; we are to live in it, live and move and have our being as His saints because we are holy, sanctified, made right with God, by God. We are to live our calling, our attribution, our naming as baptized children of God. Paul says to the Ephesians and to all the churches he wrote to and visited, “To the saints, the faithful, the believers…” Now you would probably identify with two out of the three of those salutations: the faithful and believers. But you heard the third, saints. We may just not want to own it and be defined by that name, but that is what we are. Paul goes on to say, though, in chapter 4, “live a life worthy of the calling to which you have received,” not earned, but received. The Book of Ephesians is broken into two sections: the first three chapters are about the life of a believer, the last three chapters talk about the living. The life and the living of a Christian, that’s what’s it’s all about. 2 This life as a saint has been going on for thousands of years and untold numbers of people. In at least 94 verses from 23 books in the Bible, the life and living of the saints has told the story of God in the lives of believers. From Deuteronomy to Revelation, we hear about saints marching on, and not just a special person here and there, but tens of thousands of them doing God’s bidding. Deuteronomy 33:2 reads, “And he (Moses, just before his death) said, “The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned over them; He shone forth and He came with tens of thousands (actually myriads – so many that they can’t be counted) of holy ones (saints), and said, ‘Surely it is you, O Lord, who loves the people, all the holy ones are in Your hand.’” Now were those who came out of Egypt and who were led to the Promised Land perfect? Far from it, but nonetheless they were God’s holy ones, and so are we. Psalm 85:8 says, “I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people, and to His saints: but let them not turn again to folly.” Paul continues his greeting to the Ephesians with “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Grace and peace are gifts, but not only gifts, they are the tools, the means God gives us to live the life as His holy ones, that we might not turn again to folly. Ninety-four times in 23 books of the Bible throughout the Old and New Testaments, we are thought of, named and recognized by God, as no less, than His saints, His holy ones, His children, brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called saints that we might live into being saints by the grace and peace of God. The Catholics have this one wrong, believing that the church can name someone a saint by reason of a good life and a couple of miracles. There is only one Person, and it’s not the Pope, and one miracle, the resurrection, that has the authority to call us all His own, His set-aside ones, His holy ones, His saints, and that is Jesus Christ the Lord. We come today to remember our loved ones, His loved ones; and though none were perfect, they are His, we are His. May we live lives worthy of the calling we have received.