This year’s stewardship theme is “For all the Saints.” Since pledge ingathering Sunday is All Saints Sunday this year, we could not resist! Our theme reminds us that what we pledge, what we give, what we do is for all of the saints. It is a powerful message when we unpack it a little.
Who are the saints? This will freak some of you out, because you have told me, “I don’t feel that way!” You are a saint. I am a saint. All of the baptized people of God are saints. This is not liberal inclusion, nor is it therapeutic theology. It is sound Biblical Christianity. All of the baptized people of God are saints.
Yes, we recognize some of the baptized people as Saints, with a capital “S” and call them St. Peter, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Nicholas, etc. Their lives are powerful witnesses who speak to us and inspire us to this day so we remember them.
What about you and me, though? Yes, we are saints, too. In the New Testament, the apostle Paul often begins his letters “to the saints in . . .” or “called to be saints.” One of the few times he did not do this was in his letter the Galatians because he was mad at them! Early Christians were often called “saints” in various writings. Why?
Any time the word saint was used (sometimes translated as holy ones), it meant a person or a thing set apart (blessed) for a dedicated purpose. In other words, to bless something, or sanctify something, or treat something as holy is to recognize it as “set apart” for God’s purpose. This is exactly what happens to us in baptism. We are dedicated, set apart, and anointed with the sign of the cross for God’s service. Our mission is described in our baptismal vows, to worship God and to serve God’s people as visible witnesses of God’s redeeming love.
So, yes, we are all saints of God! Many of us will be remembered as such by family and friends and our local communities. Some of us may be remembered beyond our family and community groups. All of us are saints, equally beloved of God. Remember, it is this world that works on merit. God works on grace. There is no hierarchy in heaven among the people of God. Any whom we honor are the first to receive the same reward that awaits all of the baptized.
So, our giving of our time, our talent, and our treasure is to make saints. I like to use “form” instead of “make” or “teach” because “forming” is more artistic. It is also on-going, never really finished. I think of a potter, or sculptor who sees an image in the clay or stone and chips away everything that is hiding it. That is God working our lives. Our stewardship creates the kind of community where, though worship, service, teaching moments, and care and support of one another all come together to be formed to be the saints God has already created us to be.
This stewardship season our witnesses will talk about the saints in their lives, many of whom are saints at St. Peter’s. Our first witness this Sunday is saint Roberta Schanck who will tell us how a powerful saint of St. Peter’s and the Freehold many not may not remember or know about got her into St. Peter’s.
Between now and November 6, give thanks that God has made us to be saints and that our life of faith shapes us to be what God has created us to be, then pray over how God is calling you to give to that mission for the coming year. Our world needs saints. It needs people who value love, healing, forgiveness, and growth. The more we live out our sainthood, the better our world becomes.
Blessings always,
Dirk+
Saints at St. Peter's? Yes, Really!