I've Got a Saint for Ya

November 6, 2022 – All Saints Sunday
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Luke 6:20-31[1]

What is a saint? In the New Revised Standard Version Bible, the one we use in this church for worship and study, the word “saint,” or the plural “saints,” appears only once in the Old Testament, in Psalm 31, verse 23: “Love the Lord, all you, his saints. The Lord preserves the faithful, but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.”[2] The word seems to refer to anyone who is faithful, who fears the Lord. As an aside, the “fear of the Lord” is often misunderstood as the fear of getting in trouble, but it is better understood to mean the fear of offending someone you love, or of disappointing someone who trusts in you.

There are 63 references for the word “saints” in the New Testament, almost all of them in Paul’s letters, and similarly, they seem to refer to anyone who is a faithful believer, who has been baptized and lives as a Christian.

The term “saint”[3] has taken on special meaning as a person who has been recognized for having an exceptional degree of holiness, sanctity, and virtue. In Orthodox and Catholic teachings, all Christians in heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered to be worthy of higher honor, emulation, or veneration, with official church recognition given to some saints through canonization.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the title of “Saint” refers to a person who has been formally canonized (officially recognized) by the Catholic Church, and is therefore believed to be in Heaven. In Church tradition, a person who is seen as exceptionally holy can be declared a saint by a formal process, called canonization. Formal canonization is a lengthy process often taking many years, even centuries.

The process involves a detailed investigation of the candidate’s life, undertaken by experts, bishops, and a special group called the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. Titles are given along the way, such as “Venerable” and “Blessed.” A minimum of two important miracles are required to be formally declared a saint. These miracles must be posthumous, or attributed to the person after their death. Finally, when all of this is done the Pope canonizes the saint.

Some people pray to certain saints who they believe will intercede with God on their behalf. In other words, they pray to a saint who they ask to pray to God for them. Someone going on a journey might pray for protection to Bona of Pisa, the patron saint of travelers. Many Protestants consider prayers to the saints to be unnecessary at best, and idolatry at worst, and believe that prayers should be made to God alone.

In many Protestant churches, such as ours, the word “saint” is used more generally to refer to anyone who is a Christian. This is similar to the way Paul used the word in his letters. In this sense, anyone who is within the Body of Christ (i.e., a practicing Christian) is a “saint” because of their relationship with Jesus Christ.

In his book, Making Saints, author Kenneth Woodward notes the following:

A saint is always someone through whom we catch a glimpse of what God is like—and of what we are called to be. Only God “makes” saints, of course. The church merely identifies from time to time a few of these for emulation. The church then tells the story. But the author is the Source of the grace by which saints live. And there we have it: A saint is someone whose story God tells.[4]

However a saint is defined, the person in question is usually someone who is recognized by others as having lived a particularly faithful life in service to others. They have a story worth telling, a life worthy of imitation, and they hold a special place in our collective memory.

I want you to think about some of the saints in your lives, and perhaps share a story during fellowship time. I’ve got a saint for ya. At the risk of being a hard act to follow, I want to tell you about my grandfather, Robert Inglis.

When World War II broke out, my grandfather was pastor of the Plymouth Congregational Church in Oakland, California. A student named Masayoshi Wakai, who was born in Hiroshima, Japan, was working at the church as he was finishing his 3^rd and final year at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which declared that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire Pacific coast, including all of California and much of Oregon, Washington and Arizona, except for those in internment camps. About 110,000 people were moved with their families, sometimes at gunpoint, into “assembly centers,” and later to more permanent (and remote) “relocation centers” for the duration of World War II.

Mas Wakai, along with thousands of other Japanese people, many of whom were U.S. Citizens, was taken to Tanforan Assembly Center, a former racetrack. It was there that Mr. Wakai received his seminary diploma. Rev. Inglis asked Mr. Wakai and a classmate, George Aki, about having an ordination service in camp. They wrote their ordination papers in the horse stables far into the night while disturbing their neighbors in the adjoining stalls. In the summer of 1942, all of the Bay-Area Congregational churches sent their delegates to the camp, and Masayoshi Wakai and George Aki were duly ordained into the Christian ministry.

When the Japanese people were evacuated from the west coast, many of them lost their homes, their businesses, and their possessions. My father told me that Plymouth church, and my grandparents, safely stored the personal and household possessions of many people who were detained during the war. Perhaps this wasn’t a miracle in the traditional sense, but I’m sure it felt like one to the people who retained at least some of what they would otherwise have lost.

So, there’s my saint. Who is someone who has lived an exemplary life that has touched you deeply? Whose life has had a profound impact on yours? Is there a saint that led you closer to God?

In thanks for all the saints who have gone before us, I pray that God will guide us to be saints to others, to make a positive impact in the lives of our neighbors, and live on in the memories of those whose lives we have touched.

May God bless all the saints in this place.  Amen.

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[1] The scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[2] Psalm 31:23.

[3] Adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint.

[4] Kenneth L. Woodward, Making Saints: How the Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes a Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996), p. 13.

Spirit of the Saints

November 3, 2019
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois

Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

All Saints Sunday is a time to connect with our past, with our ancestors and elders, those who have come before us. We read the names of some of the saints of this church who have departed from us in the last year. And as we do so we may think of others who have passed away, grandmothers and grandfathers, parents, old friends, former ministers, and teachers who touched our lives and brought meaning to our existence. And our list of saints, if we were to make a comprehensive attempt, would be longer than most; not because we are somehow holier or better than any other group of people, but because of how we define a saint.

In the New Testament, in the letters written by Paul and others, all Christians are called “saints.” Saints are both young and old, both living and departed; they are all those who set their hope on Christ, and who have responded affirmatively to God’s call. And so, even as we look to the past and the dearly departed, we must not forget to look around us and recognize those saints sitting here with us who are doing their best to answer the call of God.

Doing our best is all we can do, of course, because when we talk about God calling us, it is never to attempt easy or trivial tasks. When we talk about the call of God, it is not a call to be wealthy, full-stomached, contented, or well-spoken-of. In our scripture from Luke today, Jesus matches “blessed are you” with “woe to you,” and if we are honest with ourselves, we squirm a little. Echoing Isaiah, Jesus says “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18a). Throughout Luke’s gospel, Jesus talks with, heals, and helps people who are poor, oppressed, and marginalized, and challenges those who feel certain they are righteous.

As Jesus travels, he blesses those whose suffering he sees up close. Then he curses those whose wealth, comfort, and prestige are built upon this same suffering. And it is no easy thing to avoid that curse in our infinitely interconnected world today. Are you sure that chocolate you’re planning to eat tonight was not made from cocoa harvested by child slaves in West Africa? That coffee I drank this morning, was it fairly-traded? What happened to the chemicals used to make those bottles of water we take from the fridge – are they polluting someone’s water supply?

Jesus does not offer an easy way to the disciples, nor to us. But there is the hard way. It is the way of loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, doing unto others as we would have done unto us. There is the way of holy living that is connected to the real suffering and struggle of real people, and the challenge to change societies and patterns and relationships that depend on the suffering of many to support the few. This is the difficult way, and it takes tremendous courage and strength to live like this. So, we do our best, and that is all we can do.

We don’t have to do it alone, however. This is where the saints come in. Those who have come before us have made many sacrifices to bring us where we are today. The early Christian martyrs kept the Way of Jesus alive in the face of vicious persecutions. The reformers challenged the corruption of the church. Pilgrims forged a new nation with religious freedom as the standard. Abolitionists ended the abomination of slavery. Suffragettes secured the right of women to vote. People in this very congregation have struggled for equality for all races, creeds, nationalities, genders, sexualities, and abilities. We stand on the shoulders of giants, and together we form the body of Christ who fills all in all.

As individuals and as a church we are part of something greater than ourselves, something which transcends time and space. We belong to something much bigger, built on the foundation of the prophets, apostles, and saints who have come before. We set our hope on Christ and on the immeasurable greatness of God’s power that we know in Christ who was raised from the dead. As Christians we are shaped by our hope and the future into which we are living.

We are those who can make a difference. We have the power to influence the practices of producers around the world. We can change our purchasing patterns to be more selective – only buying slave-free, fair-trade, green-cycle products. We can put pressure on those who make decisions in the companies we work for to consider the life cycle of products we make, buy, or sell. We can investigate before we invest. We can petition our representatives in government to pay more attention to the needs of the poor, the hungry, the distressed, and the oppressed. And we can vote.

The world is ruled by powers that are hostile to the way of justice, love and forgiveness, and thus hostile to Christ and to Christ’s community of saints, the church. We may feel that we are not up to the task, that we lack the courage and the strength necessary to live in the way that is difficult. It helps to remember that, as Paul reminded the Ephesians, we have been destined according to the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things. Our call to live as saints comes with a spirit of wisdom and revelation, the power of the God of glory, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our hope will be sustained and our future shaped within this community, in the company of saints both living and departed. We will live for the praise of God’s glory, sung by the saints of every age. Having heard the gospel of our salvation, and marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, we will live as God’s own people, to the praise of God’s glory. Amen.