All Saints Day

This Saturday is All Saints Day in our liturgical calendar.  On Sunday, we will celebrate this day and name those who have gone to be with the Lord this year.  All Saints Day,  as celebrated in the Anglican Tradition, has particular theological nuances that distinguish it from other denominations and traditions.  The whole idea of celebrating saints can perhaps even be very foreign to those coming from an evangelical background. It’s worth looking into some of these nuances so we are encouraged and not confused on this important Sunday.  Here are some important points as we look toward All Saints Day: 

We find encouragement and strength in the Saints – The reason for focusing on the Saints at all is because as Paul said about himself, “I have fought the good fight and finished the race” and we can learn from them:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Those who have gone before us and loved his appearing stand as an example and a reminder of endurance. As is common in the Anglican Tradition, we will be saying the names of those who have gone to be with God this year in our parish or their loved ones.  In doing this, we are reminded they have become part of the “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews 12:1-2, and gives us inspiration to keep “running the race”. 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

We pray to God, not Saints – In the Anglican tradition, we aren’t praying to the saints, instead we remember them and often pray for them.  Every week, as we will this week, we say in the prayers for the whole state of Christ’s church.  This includes those who have gone before us.  We pray:

And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to grant them continual growth in thy love and service, and to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom. Grant this, O Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

Although we don’t know much about the specific nature and activities of heaven from scripture, we do know that we will be in God’s presence and our eyes will be opened to many mysteries not known here on earth. I Corinthians 13:12 says:

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 

I have found great comfort in this verse over the years.  Those things that are confusing will be made clear, those things that seem contradictory will make sense.  The love of God will shine through all the difficulties when we see Him face to face.  This is the joy the saints who have gone before us are experiencing now.

We are all saints – In biblical and Anglican tradition, although we certainly hold some Saints up as examples because of martyrdom, a venerated life, or impact on the church, we also consider everyone who knows Jesus qualified to be called a saint.  This is true because of what Christ has done, not because of our accomplishments.  Paul often speaks of the church as “saints”.  When talking to the church in Ephesus, Paul says:

that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ (Eph. 3: 17-18)

This general title of ‘saint’ to those who follow Christ can be seen elsewhere:

I Cor 1:2 – To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of the Lord.

Phil 4:21 – Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.  The brothers who are with me greet you.

Eph 4:11 – to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up the body of Christ.

So this All Saints Day, let’s rejoice because God has embraced those who have gone before us as Saints.  Let us be humbled that we are also called ‘saints’, not because of our venerated life of good works, but because of the righteousness of Christ.  He has qualified each of us and waits for us to be called home. 

Blessings and peace,

Rev. Todd