All Saints Day

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18, Luke 6:20-31

          Today is a special day in the church. Today we celebrate all of the saints that have come before us. Today is our church and school’s patronal feast, which is a formal and fancy way of saying that it’s the day to celebrate who we are named for.

          So, what is a saint?  Is it a person’s words that makes him or her a saint? Or is it their actions in the world? Or maybe is it the way they lived their lives?  Are saints only those who have lived and died or do they walk among us?

          There aren’t exact answers to each these questions. Some religions have official ways that someone becomes a saint and others believe that saints are people who we should try to be like. Around here, we hear about specific saints often in our midweek services of Eucharist and evening prayer. Some of the people we celebrate as saints became saints because they taught others about their faith, some because they took care of others, and still others because they died for their faith.

          In the Episcopal Church we celebrate a specific saint almost everyday, but today we celebrate all saints, those known by name or deed and those unknown, those who have come before us, or who live among us. Yes you heard me right, saints are not just great figures that lived long ago, there are saints that have been and continue to be a part of our community here at All Saints.

          When we think of saints more often than not we are thinking of the fabled saints of our nearly two thousand year history.  Like, St. Stephen who is traditionally considered as the first martyr; or St. Francis who we celebrate with the blessing of our animal friends and companions; or even St. Thérèse of Lisieux who found God in the small everyday things.  But have you ever looked at the person sitting next to you and think of them as a saint?  Perhaps we don’t because we don’t know them as well as we think do.  Perhaps we don’t know all the good things that each and every one of you do in your daily lives that goes unnoticed.  The word is filled with saintly people.  This community is filled with saints.  It has been and continues to this day.  The saints of this community who came before us gave us the gift of this parish, not only the building and all that is in it, but also the sense of community and fellowship, the desire for education and mission.  The parishioners of All Saints’ were faithful stewards of this place, faithful stewards of their resources, so that we can continue to benefit from their hard work.  

          What do you love about All Saints’? What are you passionate about?  What event, or program, or group gets you so fired up that when you are done for the day you feel energized, fulfilled, and excited? I know that I ask rhetorical questions often in my sermons, but today I would like us to actually share our answers with one another. 

So let’s pause for a moment so that we can each think of something that we love about All Saints’...

Now turn to someone sitting next to you, it doesn’t matter if you know each other or not, and tell that person what it is that you love about All Saints’...

Make sure that you both get to share...

Is there anyone that would like to share what they love about All Saints’ with all of us here?

--Call on a few people to share with everyone-- (What I love, in case I need to start off the sharing... I love working and serving here at All Saints’. I could not have wished for a better place for my first call as a priest. When I began to feel a call to the priesthood, I thought my calling was just to work with children. And while that is still a major part of my ministry, I am so thankful to this community for providing me with opportunities to work in different areas of ministry and to stretch me as a priest.)

          All of the things that we love about All Saints’ are only possible because of the people who have been or are saints in this community. We love our church the way it is, but that does not mean that we just sit here content with the way things are, no we are called to leave this place better than we found it, to continue in the long line of faithful stewardship that has made All Saints what it is today.

          There are many ways in which we as the current worshipping community can live out our calling as stewards of the gifts of God.  One way that we can be stewards of God’s gifts is to do our best to take care of the environment. Yes I mean recycling and other things at home, but also making conscious effort to take care of our environment here at All Saints’ by picking up trash or helping to put away prayer books after the service. Another way is by using the talents that God has given you and that you have worked hard to refine for the benefit of church. This might be in the form of volunteering to help in the office, or joining the choir, or participating in one of the many other ministries of the church. Still another way we can be good stewards of God’s gifts is by pledging to financially to support the church. Each one of us has different capacities to give financially but each of our gifts matter.

          There are so many ways that you can be involved in the life and work of this parish.  Frankly, if we hope to continue to further the word and ministry of Christ in the world today then we need everyone in the community participating.  Others cannot, and should not, determine where and how involved you are in this community, it is all up to you.   It is no mystery that our church needs money.  Every organization needs money, that is the harsh reality of the world.  But it is through our financial pledging and giving that we are able to support all of the programs that makes All Saints...well, All Saints.  Our time and our talents are also essential to the carrying out of our collective mission.  A life of faithful stewardship, like the saints that this hallowed place has borne witness to, permeates all aspects of our lives, not just the life we live here but how we live outside these walls.