Called to be Saints

The Feast of All Saints

‘I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation,
tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.’ Revelation 7:9

Brothers and sisters, adoption is the loving choice to take a child and give them a home. I imagine that adoption is difficult, especially for the child. If you’re not adopted, try to imagine meeting your new family for the first time, of being given a new name. Imagine the oddity of—when being asked by a stranger ‘Who is your dad?’—pointing to someone whom you’ve only known for a few months. How strange must it be to be adopted. I hope and trust though that in time, the child comes to accept their new family, comes to feel part of that family, and goes on even to start acting like a member of that family, of enjoying the things they do, and more and more acting like they are indeed rightfully home, of feeling loved, of knowing you are loved because you were chosen. Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints. When people think of the Saints they think of the great heroes of our Faith. Most often, though the work of the saints will go unnoticed and unseen. Saints are not celebrities, and those saints who capture the attention of the world, often view that fame as the imposition of a burden. Most Saints will disappear into the mission of the Church. Most of the saints move about and work among us, and do so for the most part unnoticed and unseen, for—in the Scriptures at least—‘saint’ is not the title of a particular holy person, but is the name given to every Christian. That is the the name given to every person adopted by God, made part of His family.

The second reading for today is an excerpt from the New Testament Book of Revelation (Revelation 7:2-12). The Book of Revelation is one of the most mysterious, complex, and misunderstood books of the Bible. It is a theological commentary on events from the past, present and future, and it communicates important spiritual insights through fantastic images and symbols. The common impression is that the Book of Revelation is about the end of the world, and as such people are often terrified by its content. However, properly understood, the Book of Revelation is not simply frightening, but is in fact reassuring. Why? For it foresees the victory of God in Christ over all the dark powers, worldly and otherworldly that oppose him. These enemies are sin, death, and the devil. The conflict between the dark powers of sin, death and the devil has consequences for the Church as it engages her mission in the world. The Church is opposed, as Christ was opposed. The Church suffers as Christ suffered. In all this, the saints—that is Christians—are on the front lines of the battle. The Book of Revelation displays all that I just described in symbolic or metaphorical terms. What occurs in that reading is a vast assembly of people from all over the world, clothed in white, who proclaim the coming victory of God in Christ. Who are these people? The Bible tells us: they are Christians whose belief was revealed in their willingness to be killed rather than renounce their Christian faith. Thus, our second scripture for today is about a particular kind of saint: the martyr. We live, right now, in an age of martyrs. Multitudes of Christians in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are persecuted and killed because they are disciples of the Lord Jesus. We might think that the greatest challenge to the Church today is whether or not we should conform to secular values, but far more important than this is the brutal fact that for millions of Christians, professing and practicing the Christian faith can cost you not just your livelihood, but also your very life. In this country we are not compelled by circumstances to die for our faith in Christ! The questions is: are we willing to live for it? If our sacrifice is not to be that of a martyr, what is the sacrifice we will offer?

Christians are the children of God. This means that God has chosen us in Christ to be His beloved children. Being a child of God means aspiring to be like the One who is revealed to be God’s only beloved Son: Jesus Christ. Being a child of God is not just some privileged title, but a responsibility, an identity, and a mission, that a Christian accepts. Saints, then, are not just nice, friendly people who do good things for society. Rather, they are Christians who aspire to serve Christ as disciples, and are given the gift of becoming ever more and more like him. When a Christian is baptised, what is happening to that person is not just inclusion into a community. No! What happens when a Christian is baptised is that person is chosen by Christ to be like him. Is chosen by Christ, to be adopted into His family. That person is chosen by Christ to be a saint. The fulfilment of your life as a Christian is not simply that you become a member of a faith-based club or matriculate through faith-based institutions, but that you become a saint. That’s what Baptism is all about, what the Sacraments are about, indeed what the whole life of the Church is about. Being a Christian is about being chosen by Christ to be a Saint, and we will never begin to understand what the Christian life is all about until we understand the universal summons to holiness. This summons to be a Christian—to be like Christ—is what God choosing you to be a saint, is all about. Just as for the adopted child it is difficult at first—sometimes very difficult—to accept that this is your family, that you’re home, that you’re loved; just as for the adopted child, it is difficult at first—sometimes very difficult—to start acting like you’re a member of the family; so it can be difficult accepting that Jesus is your older brother, and that God is your heavenly Father. However, by baptism, we are adopted into God’s family. By faith we are Jesus’ sibling, and it was His choice to make us so. The truth is, that being a Christian is about being chosen by Christ to be a saint and this is a tough and challenging call, for it is a call to be holy, like Jesus was holy, to act as Jesus would have acted. living like a member of the family once you’ve been adopted, putting behind you your old ways of living, is not for the faint-hearted, but then if the call to each of us to be a saint, is a difficult one it was not easier for Jesus.

Let us then pray and ask for God’s help. Ask Him to make us into the saints we are called to be. Ask Him to help us to love and serve the least. Ask Him to help us to spread the Good News, by word and deed, and then, let us arise and strengthened by God, go out and put those things into practice. Amen. (from Fr Mike).