All Saints

For our first episode (and in commemoration of All Saints' Day) we consider the concept of Christian sainthood in general, and the role of the saints in traditional Christian faith and devotion. We reflect on the account of the "Great Multitude in White Robes" in the Revelation of John (Revelation 7:9-17),  and the commemorative hymns and prayers for All Saints Day in the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. We read excerpts from a post by Father Myles Hixson on the Anglican Compass website, an All Saints' Day homily by Pope Francis, and a homily by the 14th century Orthodox theologian, St Gregory Palamas.

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Transcript

God is glorious in his saints!
 
 Welcome to the first episode of the Christian saints podcast. My name is Darren Ong, and I am a mathematician from Malaysia. In this podcast, we will explore the lives of the Christian saints, from the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. For this first episode (in commemoration of all saint’s day), let’s talk about the concept of sainthood in general. Who are the saints? And why are they important?
 
 I used to see religion only in terms of ideas, doctrines, beliefs. I am a mathematician, so abstract thinking comes most naturally to me. But when you learn Christianity, it becomes evident early on that this is a God who LOVES people. This is a God with a deep interest, care and compassion for humans, he created us, he delights in us, he came down to earth to become one of us. God also works with us. He could have ruled creation himself, but instead told Adam and Eve to rule with him - tohave dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. He could have rescued the Israelites from Egypt himself, but instead chose to work through Moses. He could have written the Bible himself, but instead spoke through the writings of prophets, poets, and apostles. And he could redeem the whole world by himself, but instead chose to work through what Paul calls the body of Christ, the people in his church.
 
 So I felt that to really know this God, I wanted to learn about- not just the theology of Christ, but the people of Christ- his community, his church, the men and women we come to know as saints.
 
 When the word “saint” appears in the Bible, it refers to every Christian, anybody who is baptised and decides to follow Christ is a saint. But occasionally, the church decides to recognize certain Christians as saints. (The Roman catholics call this process “canonization”, and the Eastern Orthodox call it “glorification”)
 
 For an Anglican perspective, I will quote from Father Myles Hixson, of Holy Cross Anglican church in Knoxville, in the USA (and co-host of the Sacramentalist podcast). They released an hour-long episode about saints recently, on Sep 14, I encourage you to check it out! This is part of a reflection he wrote on the “Anglican Compass” website on All Saints Day
 
 “The saints (“Holy Ones”) are those “knit together” in Christ’s “mystical Body,” the Church. This is a gift given to us from our gracious God. We become a saint when we are baptized into Christ. His holiness sets us apart and makes us holy as well.

His holiness is not static, though. It is alive and active. It is the Holy Spirit, whose job it is to transforms us and conform us to the image of Christ. A saint, then, is someone on the journey of becoming by grace what God is by nature: holy and perfect.

I think Evangelicals would agree with this: every Christian is a saint and will become like Christ when he returns. 

Anglicanism pushes even further. While agreeing that everyone who is baptized and believes is a saint, we also recognize that there are those in whom the image and holiness of Christ is abundantly manifested. These we boldly label as “St. so-and-so.”

I say “boldly,” because calling someone a saint in this regard is more than an honorary title—it is a powerful proclamation about God’s ability to take someone “dead in their sins” (Eph. 2:1) and make them alive in Christ.

In other words, to venerate a saint and observe his or her feast day is nothing more than to venerate the all-surpassing power of Christ himself.

This is why we observe the feast days of saints and a day like All Saints. It reminds us of our own “sainthood” given to us in baptism. It calls to mind Christ’s work among our brothers and sisters departed this life in holiness. And it even serves as an invitation to us to “go and do likewise.”

As the collect for All Saints’ Day puts it, we remember the saints and pray that God will grant us “grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living.” By grace alone the saints have embodied divine love, so much so that we can hold them up as role models for discipleship. Their life and witness calls us to continue progressing along the path of perfection in Christ.

If we do this, we too might be remembered as “St. so-and-so.”

So again, this came from a reflection on an Anglican prayer, the collect for all saint’s day. Let’s read it!
 Anglican collect:

Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
 
Roman catholic collect:
 
Almighty ever-living God, by whose gift we venerate in one celebration the merits of all the Saints, bestow on us, we pray, through the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with you for which we earnestly long. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
 
Orthodox troparion:
 
As with fine porphyry and royal purple, / Your church has been adorned with Your martyrs’ blood shed throughout all the world. / She cries to You, O Christ God: / Send down Your bounties on Your people, / grant peace to Your habitation, and great mercy to our souls!
 
Gregory Palamas, All Saint’s day
 
Let us call to mind the martyrs’ superhuman struggles, how in the weakness of their flesh they put to shame the evil one’s strength, disregarding pain and wounds…, and keeping the confession of faith in Christ in its integrity – complete, unharmed and unshaken.

As a result there were bestowed on them the incontrovertible wisdom of the Spirit and the power to work miracles.

Let us consider the patience of holy men and women, how they willingly endured long periods of fasting, vigil and various other physical hardships as though they were not in the body, battling to the end against evil passions and all sorts of sin, in the invincible inner warfare against principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness (Eph. 6:12).

They wore away their outer selves and made them useless, but their inner man was renewed and deified by Him from whom they also received gifts of healing and mighty works.

When we think on these matters and understand that they surpass human nature, we are filled with wonder and glorify God who gave them such grace and power. For even if their intentions were good and noble, without God’s strength they could not have gone beyond the bounds of their nature and driven away the bodiless enemy while clothed in their bodies.

That is why, when the psalmist and prophet declared “God is glorious in his saints”, he went on to say, “he giveth strength and power unto his people” (Ps. 68:35 LXX). Carefully consider the force of these prophetic words. Whereas God, according to the psalmist, gives all his people strength and power – for He shows no partiality (cf. Acts 10:34) – He is glorified only in His saints.

The sun pours down its rays abundantly upon all alike, but they are visible only to those with open eyes. Those with clear-sighted, pure eyes benefit from the pure light of the sun, not those whose vision is dimmed because illness, mist or something similar has afflicted their eyes. In the same way, God richly bestows His help on all, for He is the ever-flowing, enlightening and saving fount of mercy and goodness.

But not everyone takes advantage of His grace and power to practise and perfect virtue or show forth miracles – only those with a good intent, who demonstrate their love and faith towards God by good works (cf. Jas. 2:20-26), who turn away completely from everything base, hold fast to God’s commandments and lift up the eyes of their understanding to Christ the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2).

Almighty ever-living God, by whose gift we venerate in one celebration the merits of all the Saints, bestow on us, we pray, through the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with you for which we earnestly long. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
 
 The purpose of this podcast is largely devotional. I am doing it to learn more about the Saints, and I hope to learn to live in a more Christlike way. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 St Paul says in Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.Hebrews 13:7 says “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith” . 

We live in an age with so much cynicism, so much hopelessness, enveloped by bad news. I love learning about the saints, because their stories are so uplifting, and they serve as a great reminder how even as bad as things are in this world, it is possible to live lives filled to the fullness with hope, joy, and love, if we choose to follow the way of Christ.
 
 Dear brothers and sisters, this is the way of holiness, and it is the very way of happiness. It is the way that Jesus travelled. Indeed, He himself is the Way: those who walk with Him and proceed through Him enter into life, into eternal life. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to be simple and humble people, the grace to be able to weep, the grace to be meek, the grace to work for justice and peace, and above all the grace to let ourselves be forgiven by God so as to become instruments of his mercy.

This is what the Saints did, those who have preceded us to our heavenly home. They accompany us on our earthly pilgrimage, they encourage us to go forward. May their intercession help us to walk on Jesus’ path, and to obtain eternal happiness for our deceased brothers and sisters, for whom we offer this Mass.

 
 I will end with a reading from the book of the Revelation of John 7:9-17 :

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”

All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:

“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”

Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
    will shelter them with his presence.
‘Never again will they hunger;
    never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
    nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne
    will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
    ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”