ALL Saints

¹⁶ ‘Never again will they hunger;
   never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
   nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne
   will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’-Revelation 7:16-17


A pastor that I've heard preach on several occasions likes to open his sermons with this greeting:


"Good morning saints!" (Everyone responds:  Good morning!)
"Good morning sinners!" (Everyone again responds:  Good morning!)


It is one of the paradoxes of our faith.  We are both saint and sinner at the same time.  A saint is someone who has direct access to God, and because of the work Jesus did on the cross, we all have direct access to God.  Therefore, we are all saints.  But we are not consistently able to act on that access... to reflect God's nature and do his will... therefore, we are all sinners.  St. Paul says it best when he confesses: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15)


We often reflect on our status as sinners.  We have our weekly confession at church.  Hopefully, we have our own more personal confession times with God in our daily prayers.  Some of our small groups periodically go through an Examination of Conscience.  During Lent, we are continually reminded of our status as sinners.


But today is All Saints Day!  So let us reflect upon our status as saints.  We tend to remember our loved ones who have joined the Church Triumphant on this day.  And that is good.  I love that part of All Saint's Sunday when we pray through the list of loved ones we want remembered.  I can just picture them all with their crowns of glory!... no more pain... no more tears.


But All Saints is also about you and me.  We are a part of that Kingdom to come.  We are still at work on the growing, shaping, learning part... but we are a part of it nonetheless.  We do not look FORWARD to eternal life... eternal is ETERNAL (no beginning, no end)... so we are already living our eternal life.


You are a saint.  Celebrate All Saints Day today by living like a saint.  Celebrate your direct access to God.


Lord God,
Thank you for all the saints in our lives, both here on earth and those who are now by your side.  Help us to act more like the saints we are.  Amen.


Joys:  the saints in my life that have gone on... especially my mother Joyce, my father Keith, my brother Jim; the many saints in my life that are still here with me working for God's kingdom; a little time to spend with Cecelia yesterday