All Saints Sunday, November 7, 2010
What is a "saint"? I want to speak of three categories of saints. There are 1) the famous saints of old, 2) all those saints who have died in the Lord, and 3) all the living saints who are following in their footsteps of faith and witness.
1. The first category of saints is those saints who have the title of Saint before their name. This is like St. Paul, St. Peter, St. Francis and the others. These are the great men and women of the church, the heroes of our faith. These are the people we look to for guidance and for an example of how we should live our lives as Christians. Some of these saints were teachers, some were active in charity, and others were martyrs who died for the faith. Today we remember them, honor them, and try to live the Gospel as they did.
2. The second category of saints is all those people who have died in the faith. Most are not famous. They are ordinary people who believed in Jesus as their Savior and who have been called by the Lord to eternal life in heaven. They can be our grandparents, family members, and other Christian friends or acquaintances. Today we remember them, honor them, and try to remember the good that was in their hearts so that we can be like them. If we knew them personally we also know their sins and their faults. We do not want to copy the bad parts; rather we forgive them, just as Christ has forgiven them.
3. And the third category of saints is all the people in the world alive today who believe in Jesus as their Savior. Their sins are forgiven through the blood of the Lamb. They have been made holy through the death and resurrection of Christ. That makes them saints. This is the category that we today are in. This day on the church calendar is not for giving honor to those alive. However, in remembering the saints of old, we are blessed and our faith is made stronger. That is why this day is important to us. We are given hope. We hope to join the saints in eternal life. We look forward to the day when we can see our loved ones again. And so today is not a sad memorial day, it is not like a funeral. It is a day of rejoicing.
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church