All Saints?

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canonization, darkness, God's children, heart of God, holy, John, Matthew, positive, psalm 24, Revelation, sainthood, saints, The Beatitudes, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I knew, of course, that yesterday was Halloween, i.e. “All Hallows’ Eve” but it’s still a bit of a shock this morning to wake up in November! Suddenly the trees are bare and the temperature outside is so low that one can hardly hold on any more to the season of autumn. It’s rather ironic that we celebrate many of our grandest holidays during the darkest time of the year. Perhaps it’s necessary that it be that way to keep us positive through the darkness. We begin today in Christianity with the feast of All Saints.

If we ask what constitutes “sainthood” we can expect many different answers. Dictionary definitions abound, some of which pose further questions like: Are Christians saints after they die or while they are still living? There is an answer to that for Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians whose Churches “require certain procedures before people can be officially named saints; this procedure is called canonization.” But there are two notes on the internet that make me happiest.

1. A statement: Saint is the French word for “holy.”
2. A question: How does the Bible define a saint?

If we look at today’s lectionary texts, each of the readings gives us an image that might move one to deeper pondering on the above question. The vision in the Book of Revelation has shining images of “a great multitude, wearing white robes and carrying palm branches in their hands…those who have survived the time of great distress…” (Ch. 7). Psalm 24 speaks of the people “who long to see God’s face, those whose hands are sinless and whose hearts are clean, who desire not what is vain.” John’s first letter tells us that “we are God’s children now” and that when all is revealed “we shall be like God…” (1 JN 2).

I thought the choice of gospel passage for this holy day was brilliant when I read the chosen text: Matthew 5:1-12, known to us as The Beatitudes. Coming to embody the qualities of those who are blessed listed in this passage must surely qualify us as “sainted” or “holy.” Just to read them quickly won’t get us there. We truly need to allow them to penetrate the deepest cave of our hearts and then to shine out of us in love that is humble, merciful, peacemaking…reflecting the love of God.

So perhaps as we move into this new month we can make a new (or renewed) determination to be those saints that may not yet be formally recognized but who are already held as such in the heart of God.

 

 

 

 

Open the Gates!

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Anna, baptism, completion, Jesus, Joseph, Mary, Messiah, new eras, open everything, open to new ideas, opening the gates, psalm 24, Simeon, surrender to life, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, waiting on God

Today’s gospel tells the story of Simeon and Anna, two very old people who have dedicated their lives to God, living in the temple precincts, waiting and praying for the coming of the promised messiah. When they saw Joseph and Mary bringing the child Jesus to present him to God – somewhat like many of us were brought to the church for baptism – both Simeon and Anna knew completion. As Simeon said, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace…for my own eyes have seen your salvation…the glory of your people…”

I think of all the “Senior Sisters” sitting daily in the chapel at our motherhouse or in their rooms, waiting on God, looking for a sign, listening for God’s call, living in surrender to life. Many of them are older than Anna’s 84 years. they have lived and ministered in religious community for 60, 70 or 80 years (one is 104 years old!) and are an example to those of us who take courage in their perseverance and steadfastness. This past Saturday I met one of them (aged 88) who told me she was “so excited!!” to read the feedback from the latest Congregational process toward our future. She wants to be around for whatever comes – at least for the next 15 years or so…

Psalm 24 speaks today of opening the gates of the city to let God in. One translation was particularly beautiful, I thought, saying: So open wide the gates and doors, O humankind, open everything, and let God’s glory in. Who is this God whose beauty streams to us in majesty so strong? A God who battled chaos and who won! So open, open everything to God. Let no door be shut, let beauty flood and fill the world! Who is this king of majesty, this queen of light? It is the Lord of All, the God of everything that is, your God, the Radiant One, Most Beautiful!

May we all give thanks and bless the ones who teach us to be open to new ideas, new eras dawning on the world and especially those who help us open the gates of our hearts to the One who calls us ever forward in love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saints in the Making

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All Saints Day, beatitudes, children of God, John, John the Evangelist, Matthew, psalm 24, saints, St. Paul, The Sermon on the Mount, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today, after a night of “trick-or-treat” where even animals were dressed in costume as someone other than themselves (See the NBC Evening News, 10/31), we celebrate the saints. St. Paul used to call those he encountered on his travels “saints” to impress on them, perhaps, what John the Evangelist meant when he wrote, “See what love God has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God. Yes, we are God’s children now…What we shall be later has not yet been revealed…when it is revealed we shall be like God…(1 JN 3:1-3). This all presupposes an understanding of the process of becoming mature, fully human persons – not perfect at the outset, but by the time we meet God, ready and able to look into God’s eyes and see ourselves as God sees us because we have done our best to become whole/holy. Psalm 24:6, the refrain for this morning, sings repeatedly, “This is the people that longs to see your face…” It seems to me that this is a good expression of the impetus for living life in the best way we can, which is, I believe, all that God asks.

It is true that history focuses on the “great saints” – many of whom have led lives of luxury or debauchery until some cataclysmic event or deep suffering has caused their conversion. Happily, today we are able to point as well to those whose steadiness and goodness all their lives have given us such example that we – if not in an official way – recognize them as saints. The Sermon on the Mount (MT 5:1-12) gives us this morning a “guidebook” of practices that lead to the fullness of life that we call sainthood. Jesus calls “Blessed” those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek and merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst and/or are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

Perhaps today is a day to reflect on what Jesus set out for us as a starter kit to saintliness, seeking in our lives examples of the “categories” listed above. And remember: God is on our side as we seek; “we are already God’s children!” And then we might look around – with God’s eyes – for other “saints in the making” and spend this day as a feast of gratitude. Happy All Saints Day!