• "The Focus of the Feast of All Saints... Ordinary Christians"
• Sermon in the Octave of All Saints
• November 7, 2004
• The Reverend Stephen C. Scarlett

All Saints Day commemorates the unknown saints. We know about St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Matthew. We have heard about St. Augustine, St. Benedict and St. Francis. But what about the scores of ordinary Christians who lived holy lives but were not apostles and didn't write famous books or found religious orders? These are the focus of the Feast of All Saints.

All Saints is a reminder that every Christian has a vocation to be holy. The church is not divided into two groups: saints and ordinary, lesser Christians. In the Bible the word "saint" is used to describe each and every member of the body of Christ. In the Apostles' Creed we say that we believe in "The Communion of Saints." That does not refer to a sort of spiritual Hall of Fame. Each and every one of us is a part of that communion.

Now there are certain people within the Communion of Saints who provide singular examples of holiness. When we want to improve at some skill, we find those who are more proficient than we are and try to learn to do it as they do it. The saints show us what a holy life looks like so that we can follow their pattern. This is true not only of the departed saints; it is also true of the holy people we know who are still alive. We can take note of Christians who exhibit a particular virtue or provide a model for perseverance or longsuffering and imitate them.

The word "saint" and the word "holy" come from the same Greek word. A saint is literally "a holy one." The word "holy" means to be set apart. God called Abraham to leave his home and family and go to the Land of Promise. As he followed the divine command, Abraham became holy, set apart from the nations around him. God gave Moses the Torah to show how Israel was to be holy, to be set apart from the nations around her.

When Jesus calls us to follow him, he calls us to be set apart from the world. Sometimes people criticize aspects of Christian faith and practice as being out of step with the times. Often the proper response is, "Yes, it is out of step with the times; it is set apart from the world- and that is the proof that it is authentically Christian."

The saints, or "holy ones," show us a way of life that is different from the characteristic way of the world. The world teaches us haste. The saints teach us patience. The world offers short cuts. The saints teach us to persevere in obedience and wait for the promise of God. The world tells us to follow where our desires lead. The saints teach us to purify our desires and redirect them towards God. The world teaches us to aim at money and power. The saints teach us to aim at obedience and service. The world tries to mold us into its image. The saints show us how to be set apart.

One thing all saints have in common is that they are all committed to the life of prayer. Holiness is the fruit of prayer. The saints live in prayerful communion with the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. The holiness we see is the result of that communion. There is an important distinction between, on the one hand, a merely human effort to obey the commandments of God and, on the other hand, the labor of prayer through which God enables us to do what we cannot do by unaided effort. The vocation to holiness begins with prayer. It is not a self-help project.

In our natural state, under the influence of our fallen nature, with the lure of the world and the presence of demonic enemies, we follow the natural impulse, we seek the ends that the world offers, we listen to the demonic voice.

Through prayer and meditation on the Word of God the contrary path of holiness is opened to us. Through prayer, we begin to see different horizons of possibility. We begin to see holiness as a real and desirable option. Through prayer we receive grace, which enables us to rise above the limitations of our fallen nature and live new and holy lives. Through prayer we experience the peace of God and joy in the Holy Spirit-things the world cannot give us. Through prayer we commune with God, who is holy, and his holiness infects us and makes us holy.

What the church and the world need more than anything else are Christians who will commit themselves to prayer and the vocation of sainthood. People often ask what they can do to help the church. What they usually have in mind is some singular, heroic act. But the primary thing each member can contribute to the body of Christ is to be faithful in the ordinary things of the Christian life.

Persevere in your spiritual disciplines. Live the life of prayer. Worship God with devotion and sincerity. Examine your motives. Make good and honest confessions. Accept the promise of forgiveness. Live new lives. Pray for those in need. Use your gifts to help the people God puts into your life. Be a faithful steward of all that God has given you. Make a sincere effort to practice love-to seek the good of the other-in your families and at your work. And try especially to love those whom you do not like very much.

The world also needs saints. The world needs to see Christians who take the faith seriously, whose lives are changed by the call to discipleship, who actually try to do the things that Jesus says to do. The world needs to see-not perfect people living perfect lives-but ordinary people whose lives are different, set apart, because they know Jesus Christ. A holy life is the most compelling invitation to follow Jesus.

On the Feast of All Saints, we remember-not the saints who are listed on the calendar-but the countless numbers of people who lived holy lives in ordinary circumstances and who remind us that it is our vocation to do the same. As Hebrews says, "Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (12:14).