Our humanity at its best
Wisdom 5 :1-5, 14-16; Revelation 21 :1-4, 22—22 :5
The Bishop praying with the choir before Evensong
Hello, saints! Hello, sinners! Which one do you like best? How would you like me to greet you? Have you ever heard someone saying “perfection and holiness are not possible in this world”? We often say this when we have failed or made a mistake and want to justify something not right. For this, as smart Christians, we even allow ourselves to use some selected passages from the Bible. For instance this one: “No one is good—except God alone” (Luke 18:19). But at the same time, we deliberately omit to quote this other passage, which states: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), or this one: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2).
So, people of God, brothers and sisters, do not be afraid, you are saints. You are called to be saints. What does that mean?
As we know, November is a remembrance month and every year on November 1st we celebrate the All Saints’ Day. It is the day we celebrate the life and witness of the baptized, that is, the children of God, known and unknown, who already have gone ahead of us to eternal life and in Heavenly Father’s glory. There is therefore a connection to be made between our Christian practice of All Saints’ memory and the Remembrance celebrations in November.
In fact, throughout history, the Church had chosen to grant the title of Saint to specific people who have distinguished themselves by their life in conformity with the Gospel and who, for this reason, could serve as models to follow. These Saints have their names inscribed in the liturgical calendar and a special day is dedicated to their memory. But today, All Saints’ Day celebrates the memory of all the children of God who have already died and their eternal connection to one another in the communion of Saints. This tribute is paid to them because they knew, during their lifetime, how to live and bear witness to God’s love. The Book of Revelation tells us of “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb” (Rev 7: 9). We could rightly say that All Saints’ Day is the feast of holiness democratization.
Today’s Bible readings therefore show us the path to this holiness.
The end of the passage from Luke’s Gospel that we read at our Eucharistic celebration this morning sums up the discipleship or the ethics of following Jesus — ethics that challenge our understanding of common sense. : “ Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.” Jesus concludes with what is commonly known as the Golden Rule: “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” (Luke 6:27-31). That’s more difficult for us who think that, even having been baptized, we still are going on to perfection.
By following this proposed path, we open the way to happiness or even better, we become blessed as Luke previously stated through what are known as the Beatitudes. The only one objective of those beatitudes is to love God and our brothers and sisters through the little things of everyday life.
In this perspective, Holiness is far from being heroism but rather a humble and loving response to the calls of our brothers and sisters. It is tempting for many of us to put Saints, literally, on a pedestal. For us, they are in stained glass, in wood, in marble. They are plaster figures we put on a shelf and decorate with flowers. We collect them in postal cards and venerate them in icons. Understanding the Saints that way reduces them to something merely decorative. The great truth about the Saints, something we so easily forget, is that they were like us. Made of flesh and blood, strengths and weaknesses. They were people of appetites and longings, of ambitions and disappointments, of vanities and eccentricities. They were simple sinners, just like us.
So, beside the Saints whose spiritual greatness is recognized by the Church through a very ordinary life, there are also people who were close to us, members of this community or our families among whom our parents, grandparents, friends, who have passed away. Although sinners, if we live ordinarily while doing our best in providing everything to our family without necessarily being rich; bearing family concerns and sharing the joys of ordinary happiness; taking the time to comfort the sick, to surround the children with tenderness, to listen to them; always being available to help neighbors, welcoming strangers and showing solidarity; and living in total trust in our Heavenly Father, the Kingdom of God will be seen through us, the saints.
This Kingdom of God is well described in the book of Revelation through a final vision of a “new heaven and a new earth,” where God will dwell among humanity in the New Jerusalem. The passage in Revelation 21:1–4, 22–22:5 portrays the culmination of this new creation, where humanity is reunited with God in a restored paradise, filled with eternal life, healing, and light. This is what God can accomplish through our contribution as saints.
John’s vision foreshadows the end of the old order and the advent of the new order or the new creation. Our testimony as saints could make John’s vision a reality. We just need to put justice into practice and strive for peace. Associated with the Hebrew word ‘‘shalom’’ (peace), the name Jerusalem means “City of Peace” or “Foundation of Peace”.
So, people of All Saints By the Lake, it’s up to you to experience already today the foretaste of this vision. What is asked of you is to believe in your own holiness. Not the one we imagine as a title reserved for exceptional people, but the one God expects from you: conformity to his love given and received; that which is spread little by little in our daily faithfulness; the one that grows through trials purifying our desires, the one that makes us similar to the One in whom we believe. Thus, there is no possible excuse for not feeling concerned about this feast which calls us all to holiness. Yes, holiness is our Christian ideal, our humanity at its best.
Please stand up. I would like you to say after me, more loudly : ‘‘We are the saints …’’
May we make this holiness shine for the glory of our Lord and the salvation of the world. Amen.
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