“We are all called to be God's holy people." ~ 1
Corinthians 1:2
Nathan, a recently widowed Dad, often
found peacefulness in the old stone church; a cool open place to sit and
contemplate. And so, it was on this day
that his young son Brandon sat quietly next to him during the All Saints worship
service.
The Pastor preached a sermon about the saints - people like
Peter, James, and Mary who knew Jesus personally. He spoke about the early church leaders - saints
like Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Augustine who helped lay the church’s foundation.
He talked about people who lived much later - like John Wesley,
Martin Luther, and John Calvin who challenged us to find a deeper relationship
with God. And he mentioned modern day
saints such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King who struggled for
the rights of all people.
While his father listened closely to the sermon, Brandon
appeared captivated by the sanctuary’s stained-glass windows. Brilliant ribbons of color animated by
changing cloud patterns wandered across the floor, creating a mystical atmosphere
and inviting his thoughts to wander.
It was as if a rainbow had shattered, covering the
congregation with radiant shapes of reds, greens, golds, blues, and violets. Images and scenes leaded together into windows
illuminated the building and its people . . . literally and spiritually.
“I liked it,” Brandon said.
“Did you understand the Pastor’s sermon?” Nathan inquired.
“A little,” the boy admitted. Brandon confirmed that the sermon had
something to do with people called ‘saints.’
Testing how attentive his son was, Nathan then asked, “And
who are the saints?”
Brandon replied, “They’re the people who the light shines
through.”
Outta the mouth of babes!
God sent us here to make a difference, to make our world
that much better, to be a saint. That
doesn’t mean that you have to be canonized or immortalized in a statue to be a
saint. Sainthood is more ordinary and
dirty than that.
It’s more profane than it is sacred. It’s going into this dark world and making it
just a little bit brighter. This can be
accomplished by word, by deed, by simply following God’s call and letting the
radical, liberating message of Christ’s Gospel guide you and flow through you.
Embrace the task, my friends! Go into the world and let God’s light shine
through you - and may it rain the Gospel’s beautiful rainbow of truth across
every road you take and upon everyone you encounter on this sacred journey. As a popular songwriter once said, “Each small
candle lights a corner of the dark.” Be
that candle, my friends, so that others may see. Amen.
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where
there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is
doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy.” ~ St. Francis
