So, my friends, as I said, I initially forgot about All Saints’ Day, and prepared for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. And when I discovered this, I made an “executive” decision to combine the thoughts of both, because when it comes down to it, in a very general way, the message is the same; we are called to be our best always and a day when we remember those that did their best, and who were officially recognized by the hierarchy of our Church for doing so, calls us too, in their memory, to strive to model their examples.
Personally, I find that of the two definitions of “saint” in the dictionary, I prefer the second one, that of a “very good person” to be my working definition, because it is more attainable for most of us. The 1st definition is that of someone who has attained “an exceptional degree of holiness, or likeness to God.” We think of folks like Clare and Francis of Assisi, Therese of Lisieux, known to many as the Little Flower, Mother Teresa, Oscar Romero, John XXIII, and more. So, while we can look up to these folks and try to emulate them, trying to be basically, “a very good person,” is, as I said, “more attainable.”
And, in the memory of such a “very good person,” Sister Gina Redig, SSND, a distant relative in the Redig family, who always encouraged me to “get to the Scripture readings first in your homily, Kathy,” I will mention a bit from each of them to guide our thought, and “heart” processes for this day.
From the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Malachi, in the 1st reading today, speaking for our God, instructs us to, “lay all things on our hearts.” In other words, when we hear the “Word,” let it not just pass through our minds, but our hearts too! If we do so, I can guarantee that we would grow more into that “very good person” that we are called to be throughout our lives.
Malachi also reminds the Israelite people and by extension, us too, that we all “have one God” – “that God created us all” – and so, “why do we break faith with each other?” This reminds me of so-called, “religious wars,” such as between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
This past week, a rerun episode of Finding Your Roots, hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., had Gloria Steinem as one of his guests. Gloria, as you probably know, who did more to uplift the rights of women, then many in our world, died just this past year. As her family roots were being discussed, it came to light that several people had served in the military, and fought in our country’s wars. The comment was made that the generation who fought in World War II was considered, The Greatest Generation, to which Gloria stated, “I think the greatest generation will be when we no longer send people to fight wars!”
Paul’s reading to the Thessalonians for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time gives us the very tender image of a mother nursing her young, and compares that to how he and his companions ministered to the people of Thessalonica. Jesus’ words from Matthew for the 31st Sunday in OT, speak of the words of the Pharisees and scribes as, “Being bold, but their deeds are few.” A good reminder to me and all ministers who attempt to preach the Word – “show them what you mean by your own actions.” In modern parlance – “you have to walk the talk.”
Another perhaps hard saying in this same gospel from Matthew has Jesus saying that “we should call no one mother or father as we have only one parent and that one is in heaven.” Again, Jesus’ intention is not that we would take this literally, but to simply understand that we must keep a balance, knowing our place, because only One is at the heart of everything.
People over time, since I was ordained, have asked me, how they should address me, and my answer has always been the same – I don’t need a title, but if you want one for me, then, “pastor” is what I would choose, because I see myself as “pastoring” you. Otherwise, “Kathy” is fine, because I see myself as one among you who just happens to be privileged to be your “pastor” too! And this seems to fit in with Jesus’ concluding words in this gospel, that, “the greatest among you will be the one who serves the rest.” Unfortunately, in our Church and state, we see too many who “serve” themselves and forget the rest.
This reminds me of a young seminarian (age-wise, he could have been my son), on the road to priestly ordination, who I struggled through a unit of clinical pastoral education (CPE) with, to become a chaplain 30 years ago (lay people needed 4 units of CPE, seminarians only one). CPE calls one to look critically at their life and how they relate with others, and sharing that with colleagues and supervisors as part of the process,
which puts you and your colleagues on a different level, seemingly closer for what was shared, than simply passing acquaintances. Even so, after this young man was ordained, he demanded, he told me, that his parishioners, including me, call him, “Father.” Previously, we had been on a first name basis. And our brother Jesus says quite definitively today, “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled…”
So, my friends, as we think, and feel – mind and heart — about being our best selves, Paul’s words are reflective, “when you hear the Word of God, it should change your lives.” I am presently reading an older book by Julien Green about Francis of Assisi, entitled, God’s Fool. Green has researched this book well, and received high praise for it because he attempted what so many others failed to do – make Francis real. Suffice it to say, God had to work on Francis several years before he had the strength/grace to turn his life around and become the “Francis” that so many later would follow, giving their lives over to modeling his ways as Francis ultimately modeled his life on Jesus. Francis was known to have said, shortly before dying, “don’t hurry to make me a saint,” which is indicative of a holy man who truly knew himself.
So, my friends, again on this feast of All Saints, both the “exceptional” and the simply, “very good,” it is important that we each keep trying to be our best, when easy and when not so easy – perhaps looking to those good people all around us for inspiration. We all know people who lived exceptional lives who were never canonized.
In today’s readings for All Saints, John, the apostle, in the book of Revelation, states that he saw heaven in a vision, and that (the crowd) “was immense, from every nation, people and language.” To me this says, we should not worry about, “what comes next” after this life, but simply live now – our very best, and let God handle the rest. Also, from the 1st letter of John for All Saints’ Day, we hear that, “we are all God’s children” and will meet one day in heaven, something that should give us great hope.
Finally, Jesus, in Matthew’s gospel, gives us our plan to follow, The Beatitudes – and these commands, as you know, are all about justice, showing mercy, being compassionate and truthful, working for peace, even when persecuted. Jesus says that this is being, “poor in spirit.” Today, we might say, knowing our place and sharing that space with others – so that we one day, can share all that comes next in God’s kin-dom.
Amen? Amen!
