When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg on Oct. 31, it was All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints Day.  In Luther's time All Saints Day was a busy one, when people gathered to venerate relics, that is, items which were supposedly touched by the saints -- a piece of cloth from St. Paul's robe, strands of hair from Mary's head, or perhaps a bone from the leg of St. Peter.  There were so many bones of the saints that Luther said Peter must have had twenty legs!

          Today, we will observe All Saints Day here at Epiphany, not with the bones of saints, but with the blessings of God, God's rich mercies given us through the examples of the faithful departed believers now with the Lord.  Luther once wrote, "We rightly honor the saints when we recognize that they are held up before us as a mirror of the grace and mercy of God." (Luther's Works, Vol. 40)

          When we hear the word "saint," we usually picture in mind a deceased man or woman who long ago lived an exemplary Christian life that resulted in great events, amazing knowledge or even martyrdom.  Certain saintly names quickly come to our lips:  St. John, St. Thomas, St. Mary or St. James.  As Lutheran Christians, we honor a limited number of saints during the church year, but don't make a production of it.  We do not want to detract any honor and glory from our Lord Jesus.

          But let me expand your understanding of sainthood.  She was born in 1900 and emigrated to America at age twelve, third daughter of a German civil servant.  She met her future husband while cooking a meal for harvesters, and after eight years of courtship they married.  She gave birth to five children and later was blessed with twenty grandchildren and thirty-five great-grandchildren.  She helped convert her husband to the Christian faith and was a patient example of God's love with all she met.

          She attended countless meetings of the Ladies Aid, taught Sunday School twenty-five years, made countless casseroles for funerals, served dozens of weddings and visited the sick and shut-ins.  After ninety-four years on earth and sixty-four years of marriage, the Lord took her to heaven.  Her name was St. Martha.  You won't find her name on any list of saints except in my family.  She was not made a saint after her death, because God had already made her a saint during her life.  St. Martha, my mother, is one of the countless believers, "Called to Be Saints" by the mercy and grace of God.  What saint can you now name from your family or friends?

          In general, the Church has the wrong idea about saints.  We think they have to have done something incredibly wonderful during their life, and that they have to be dead so we can "canonize" them.  But the Bible does not define sainthood that way.  The Bible says a saint is anyone who has been made holy by faith in Jesus Christ.  A saint is any man, woman or child who has received Jesus as Lord, and strives to live the Christian life as God wants from us.  God makes people saints.  It's not what we do.

          St. Paul wrote his entire book of Romans "To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints..."  He did not write to good people who had died, but to living people striving to be good.  Paul wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit that all who trust in Jesus as Lord are already saints.  They are living saints, forgiven saints, loving saints, who may never do anything more amazing than feed the hungry, share their faith or bring hope to the hopeless.  Saints are alive, and you're one of them!

          So let's make All Saints Sunday what it should be - not a festival remembering the good dead, but a celebration of the faithful living, all God's believers who are called to be saints by the will and mercy of God.  And so we rejoice this morning as we gather with St. Daniel and St. Dorothy, St. Karen and St. Margaret.  We rejoice with St. Carol and St. Danielle and St. Valerie and St. Charles and our newest one, little St. Alexander.  Believers in Christ are all saints of God, called by our Lord to trust in what He has done for us on Calvary's cross.

          What does St. Paul mean, "Called to Be Saints?"  Simply, it means that God has called you and me by the Gospel to believe in His Son Jesus Christ.  We people are sinful and cannot please God by ourselves.  Left alone, we are all lost.  Knowing we cannot satisfy His requirement of perfection, God sent His only Son Jesus to live the perfect life on our behalf.  He did it for us.

          Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, born of St. Mary and raised by St. Joseph, did all that we could not.  And now when we trust in Him, God credits what He did to our heavenly account.  God forgives our sins and makes us His children.  We call this "Justification."  It means God in His mercy declares us just and righteous because of what Jesus did for us.

          It is the work of the Holy Spirit to help us believe all this.  God wants us to trust completely that Jesus is our Lord.  Jesus died to be savior of the whole world.  What He did on Good Friday and Easter is enough - we can't add one thing to it.  But God does expect a response.

          You and I have a choice.  We can receive God's gift with thanks or we can reject it.  And so the Holy Spirit prods us, often gently, sometimes harshly, to accept what God has done for us in Jesus.  When we are moved by the Spirit to receive Jesus as Lord, our life is changed forever.  It's all part of that amazing word called Justification.

          But God doesn't stop with Justification.  He goes a step further.  The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts we can use to serve others, and spiritual attitudes others may see, such as "...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22)   These gifts and attitudes are blessings we enjoy here on earth.  They move us to live the way God wants us to live.

          This is called "Sanctification," holy living, showing our faith by living God's way.  Justification is what God does for us.  Sanctification is what saints do for God with the Spirit's help.  We strive to please God, not to earn heaven, but to give God thanks FOR heaven.  Believers want to love others.  They're filled with joy because they believe.

          In Psalm 126:3, St. David wrote, "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"  What a wonderful thought!  Let's say that together - "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"  Saints are filled with joy because they believe!  In Acts 16:31, the jailer at Philippi "... was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God--he and his whole family."  Faith gives us joy in Jesus.

          Hebrews 12:2 tells us, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross..."  Jesus was our willing, joyful Savior.  He wants us to be willing, joyful saints.  He wants us to do good, to share our faith, to give of our possessions, to love people, and to spread joy around.  "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"

          A mother took her children to a restaurant.  Her six-year-old son asked if he could say grace so they bowed their heads and he said, "God is great, God is good, and I'll thank you for the food even more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert -- with Liberty and justice for all, amen!"

          Along with a little laughter from nearby customers, a woman grumbled aloud, "That's what's wrong with this country.  Kids today don't even know how to pray.  Asking God for ice-cream -- Why, I never!"  Of course, the little boy burst into tears.  As his mother was comforting him, an elderly man approached the table, winked at the boy and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."  "Really?" the boy said.  "Cross my heart," he said.  Then in a theatrical whisper for all to hear he added, "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream.  A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

          Naturally, the mother bought her children ice cream at the end of the meal.  The little boy stared at his for a moment and then did something memorable.  He picked up his ice cream and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman.  With a big smile he said, "Here, this is for you.  Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes," he said, "and my soul is good already."

          That little fellow had been met by a saint, and he in turn did the work of a saint.  It's even possible that woman was a weak saint who needed joy.  God calls us to be saints in Jesus.  Now we can live a joyful life, because, "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"  May God give His saints joy today.  Amen!

Copyright © 1999 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.