Across the Pastor's Desk - November 3, 2006

For All The Saints

On November 1 many within the Christian Church celebrated All Saints Day. This day was originally established to remember those martyrs who had died for the faith whose dates of death were unknown. Such a day may have been celebrated in the Church for nearly as long as the celebration of Christmas, which began in the 4^th century. Eventually the date included the remembrance of non-martyrs as well.

On the one hand the purpose of this date is to look back into the life of the faithful and celebrate the witness of those who have gone before. It is an opportunity to see clear examples of faithful witness and service, for some even to the point of death, in the lives of others and to celebrate those lives and the impact that they have had on generations that have followed.

On the other hand it is a time to find strength and encouragement in the faithful live of others so that contemporary believers will be as faithful and committed in their witness and service today. To celebrate the saints is as much about the present and the future as it is about the past. In the broadest sense all believers are at the same time saints and sinners. By the power of God’s Spirit at work in them, people are called to faith and witness as God’s children. No one sets his or her heart on being a saint. It is the Spirit of God that leads and guides and directs and as a result a person is able to live out the life to which he or she has been called. To be a "saint", a believer, is not a matter of pride and an attitude of being holier somehow than anyone else. To be a saint is to live faithfully each day secure in the promise of God’s love and grace. So secure in fact that a believer is willing to give himself or herself completely for the sake of the gospel in acts of witness and service to those who are most in need in the world.

It is good for the Church to remember those who have gone before in faith and witness. It is helpful to see their lives as the models and examples that they are. It is equally important for believers today to pray that God’s Spirit will be at work in them that they may be the "saints" who will be remembered in the generations yet to come.