All Saints Sunday Homily - Nov. 3, 2019 - You Can Be A Saint, Too!

All Saints Icon

I.

A blessed Feast of All Saints to you, friends!

Now, what is a saint, anyway?
 What do you think of when you think of a saint?

Do you picture iconography, with women and men depicted
 with a golden halo and their hands extended in prayer?

Do think of someone who never left church
 and sequestered themselves into pews
  in eternal and uninterrupted prayer and contemplation
   of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Do you think that those images and those expectations of saints
 are so intense and unattainable
  that we begin to wonder why anyone would want to be a saint?

So what is a saint, anyway?

Well, there is great news, friends:
 saints are great!
  But, just as many many saints of ages past would tell you,
   being a saint has absolutely nothing to do
    with how righteous they were,
     with how many good things they did,
      or with a lack of flaws in their character.

Saints believe one simple simple thing:
 "Jesus loves me, this I know
  for the Bible tells me so."

Saints are people like you and me
 who Jesus changed forever with the love that he showed us first.
  And Jesus was who the saints loved so much
   that that love in Christ and in them
    literally changed the world.

And the saints of ages past are also people
 that knew intimately that they could never be good enough on their own
  to attain perfection without God's help.

Perfection for the saints had NOTHING to do with this imaginary world
 where they were flawless and never sinned in their lives.
  Saints are people that had an unshakable faith and love for Jesus
   that even when they fell into sin,
    they could come before God as a child who knows they did wrong
     and ask with tears in their eyes for forgiveness.

And God always responds to those people,
 "I forgive you, hun.
   Because my love always forgives and heals."

Saints come from all walks of life,
 and not just the "super holy" ones, either.

The Apostle Paul made tents to make a living in his missionary journeys! [Acts 18:1-4]

There was an abbot of a monastery, St. Arnold of Soissons, who brewed beer at the monastery
 to offer to the people of the region
 because the water quality in his region was actually dangerous to drink.
  I mean, come on y'all, God is awesome for giving us St. Arnold!
  [Millar, Rupert. "Beer Saint's Day: Arnold of Soissons" The Drinks Business", August 14, 2015]

Joseph, Guardian of Jesus Christ and husband of Blessed Mary,
 was a day laborer,
  often understood as a carpenter,
   and was faithful to God's own self when the most incredible thing happened:
    "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" in Jesus Christ our Lord.
     [John 1:14-17]

St. Isidore of Spain was a farmer all his life,
 rising up early in the morning to come and say his prayers and to talk with God,
  and then worked behind a plow for the rest of the day, communing with God
   in the kindness he showed to his work animals
    and in the providing of food to the poor of his community.
    [https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-isidore-the-farmer/]

St. Columbanus, one of our Irish saints,
 who was known for his wandering around the isles and teaching the love of God.
  And he was so known for his wandering that in the 20th century,
   he was adopted as the patron saint for motorcyclists!

Saints are people who loved God so much
 that through them God changed the world.

And for the saints of God
 they didn't become saints overnight.
  They had years of training to live into their Baptism into Jesus Christ.

II.

Baptism is that great Sacrament where God reaches down into the world
 and adopts us as daughters and sons
  by the washing with water
   and by the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

In this very water,
 we welcome into the Body of Christ
  two new members this morning,
   Asher and May Lee.

But also in this very water,
 we who are baptized into Christ's Body
  are reconnected with those very waters
   in which we were plunged into the Love of God
    and in following Jesus Christ as our Savior.

And also when May Lee and Asher are anointed with the Chrism,
 we also remember that we who have been baptized
  have been anointed with the Holy Spirit
   and marked as Christ's own forever.

Baptism is where sainthood always begins,
 and it is where we affirm the very basic tenet
  of all of our saints in ages past:
   "Jesus loves us, this we know.
    For the Bible tells us so."

And in our Baptism we are also commissioned
 to spread the love of Jesus Christ into the world
  wherever we may be.

Whether you be a farmer in the field,
 or are a local craft beer brewer,
  or ride your Harley-Davidson on the open roads,
   or are a woodcraftsman or metalsmith,
    or anything else,
     you have a unique opportunity to share the love of Jesus shown in Baptism
      with those around you where you work.

Go in the mission given to you in your Baptism this week,
 to love everyone God puts into your life
  and to love God for the infinite goodness already shown to you.

And pray to God that you may become a saint, too!
 Love God with all of your being,
  love you neighbor as yourself,
   and always remember:
    "Jesus loves you, this you can know:
     for the Bible tells you so."

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.