Homily for Sunday 31 May 2015--All Saints Sunday

A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  We Are All Called to be Saints

Homily for All Saints (First Sunday after Pentecost) (31 May 2015, 3 June 2012)

Hebrews 11:33-12:2…………….Matthew 10:32-38, 19:27-30

 

Today, on the first Sunday after Pentecost, the Church commemorates All Saints.  Every day of the year, we remember and honor certain saints by name—some famous, some not.  We also remember and honor certain saints by name in the prayers and services of the Church—the Theotokos, St John the Baptist, St John Chrysostom, St Basil the Great, and others.  We all have our personal devotions to certain saints—maybe the one we were named for, maybe one belonging to our family or village by tradition, maybe one who is meaningful to us through personal experience or inspiration.

But today the Church reminds us that all Christians—all of us, and all of those who have gone before us, and all of those who will come after us—are called to be saints:  the “Holy Ones” of God.

St Paul reminds us of this when he calls the saints a “great cloud of witnesses.”  He also reminds us of what we have to do in order to join that great cloud of witnesses.  And in today’s Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus Christ gives us some very clear—and also pretty difficult—advice on how to live holy lives.

When St Paul calls the saints a “great cloud of witnesses,” he’s telling us two very important things:

First—like a cloud, the saints are sort of above us and around us.  Sometimes they seem closer and heavier, sometimes more distant and sort of fluffy.  Sometimes they storm; sometimes they provide shade.  Like the droplets of moisture that form a cloud, the individual saints form this great cloud of witnesses.

Second—they are a cloud of witnesses:  they have a function, to be examples to the world and to us, examples of Christian faith and life.  Like the people of the Old Testament whom St Paul describes, different saints have different talents, different experiences, different ways of witnessing.  But all their words and actions and trials and sufferings and deaths are meaningless unless they are connected to faith.

This is true for us, too.  Jesus says, “Whoever acknowledges me before other people I will acknowledge before my heavenly father,” but “whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

We can’t call ourselves Christians unless we live as Christians.  We have to live in a way that joins us to that “great cloud of witnesses”—God’s Holy Ones.  This takes determination and work.  It’s not going to happen unless we make efforts all the time.  No one ever became a saint just by sitting around and wishing they were holy.

First, St Paul says, we must “rid ourselves of every burden and sin” that holds onto us and holds us back from living holy lives.  This means that we have to look honestly at ourselves, to discover and admit our shortcomings and failures, and to repent—turn ourselves around in the right direction.

Second, that right direction is following the lead of Jesus Christ.  We have to “persevere in running the race, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.”  He has done it; He is showing us how; He wants us to succeed.

Third, we have to follow Jesus in an open way, not secretly.  We should never be afraid to thank and praise Him for creating us, for loving us, for guiding us, for saving us.

Fourth, we have to put Jesus first in our lives.  It’s kind of hard to hear Jesus say, “Whoever loves father or mother, or son or daughter, more than me is not worthy of me.”  But our families are not God; we must not make them into idols and worship them.  They are gifts from God, so we must treasure them.  The best way to do this is by living holy lives and setting a good example.  Parents have to be witnesses to their children, showing them how to put Christ first, ahead of selfish desires.  Parents, let your children see you pray, teach them to enjoy coming to church, share with them the goodness of helping other people.

Finally, we can’t expect rewards in this life.  Being Christian is not easy or comfortable or profitable in worldly terms.  The only reward that counts is the joy of eternal life in God’s love.  That is the reward that awaits us when, by God’s grace, we will join all the saints in that “great cloud of witnesses,” giving thanks and praise and glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.