The earliest days of the Church were days of persecution by the Roman government. As a result, martyrs were especially honored. The local churches celebrated the martyr on the anniversary date of their death. They were examples of holiness. By the 4th century the list of martyrs grew quite large and the Church was caught between its desire to remember and celebrate the martyr’s witness and death, an ever expanding geography, and the practical matter of finding days to set aside to celebrate. As the persecutions abated, there were also more than just the martyrs – the remembrances soon included men and women who lived holy lives, whose piety and love of God and neighbor were examples to their communities. There is more history to tell, but in the end the Church established the Solemnity of All Saints, the day we celebrate, remember, and honor all the saints, known and unknown, the holy ones of God now in the heavenly courts. The women and men who figured out how to follow the two great commandments we discussed last Sunday: love of God and love of neighbor.
In my homily last Sunday I talked about our encounters with people in our lives. I offered four groups to consider: the ones we know and like to be around and look forward to seeing; the ones that are part of our life in some way and they’re OK; the ones whose company, shall we say, we do not prefer; and the great number of people we don’t really know: cashiers, wait staff, the person three pews behind you – and a whole lot of other folks. They cover the spectrum from those we like to those we’d rather avoid. But “like” has nothing to do with it. We are called to love; called to figure out a way in the encounter to recognize the dignity God gave them. We are called to allow them to interrupt our life and, even for just a moment, to serve them. That’s love – whether you like them or not. The Saints in heaven figured it out.
What about us? We who are works in progress. Are we “saints?” We Catholics have a formal system for sainthood (with a capital “S”) – but our reformed brothers and sisters in the Protestant and Reformed denominations, rightly point out that we are called, in this life, to be hagios, the holy ones, saints. St. Paul addressed his letters to “all the saints” in Rome, Ephesus, and Philippi. He is saying we are saints not because of our heroic deeds, virtuous character, or performance of miracles, but because God calls us to himself. Think of it this way. We are saints by our baptismal calling. We have been consecrated to God and called to be holy as He is holy, merciful as He is merciful, and and in those waters of redemption incorporated into the family of God. Consider our second reading in which St. John tells us: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” You’re already saints! … and you’re thinking, “I don’t know about that…I mean, that person next to me in the pew…I love them like the baby Jesus, but are they a saint? Yeah, I don’t know about that.”
Ok, so you walk into an artist’s studio and there on the easel is a portrait of the person next to you in the pew. Even though it is not finished, you recognize the person. Parts, like the eyes, are nicely captured while other parts are only outlined. You can see places where the artist painted over something; others where adjustments were made to the coloration. You wouldn’t say, “I don’t know about that.. that’s not a portrait” It is a portrait, just one that isn’t finished. And therein lies a way to think about life as a Christian.
God has already begun his work in us. There are parts of our lives where Christ is clearly visible even as other parts are very much unfinished. The Divine Artists has begun but “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” We are His children now, not someday, not when we become sufficiently holy. Now. It is a portrait that captures the dignity of our life and baptism and the unfinished character of our life.
“sainthood” (small “s” variety) is not the final result of a successful Christian life. It is a mark of people who intentionally and mindfully struggle with their weaknesses, temptations, and more. People who are working out what it means to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. People who need to be reminded that we need to begin with what God has done and not what we have accomplished: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.” (1 Jn 3:1) Yet so we are!
The Solemnity of All Saints is a celebration of the finished portraits of the holy ones who have lived this life and gone before us, now residing in the heavenly kingdom as part of the communion of Saints who pray for us. We celebrate what God’s grace accomplished in them as they lived out the deeper meaning of love. But let us also celebrate what God has begun in us and be mindful: “Beloved, we are God’s children now.” So that we accept the grace from prayer, from the Sacraments, and from the intercession of the Saints to become the holy people God has called us to be: for “what we shall be has not yet been revealed.”
Amen
Image credit: The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs | Fra Angelico | ca. 1423 | The National Gallery, London | PD-US
During the first 300 year of the Christian church, the people of God endured periods of peace, but also extended periods of persecution. Especially in the local churches, each generation remembered the martyrs and the leaders who exemplified the faith. By the fourth century these women and men were honored in liturgies that commemorated their passing into God’s bright glory. In time, churches were named to honor their memory, sometimes even built on their tombs. And in time relics were collected and honored. 
