What a lovely fall it's been so far - warm weather, colorful leaves, crisp nights.  I hope you've all been feeling well and have not fallen ill to the latest version of the flu.  Many are calling this one the "Lutheran Flu".  Not only are you miserable and achy, you think it's your own fault.  But it hasn't been a perfect fall.  A recent storm came up on Lake Michigan and a ship was sinking fast.  The Captain called out, "Anyone here know how to pray?"  A man stepped forward:  "I do, Captain."  Good, said the Captain.  "You pray and the rest of us will put on life preservers.  We're one short!"

          We need more laughter in our churches, and we need more pastors who know good humor when they see it!  Recent events have somehow led us even farther from humor as a source of renewal and joy.  St. Francis of Assisi, who lived 1500 years ago, once said, "The devil is most happy when he can snatch from the servant of God true joy of the spirit.  He carries dust with him to throw into the smallest chinks of conscience and thus soil one's mental candor and purity of life.  But if joy of the Spirit fills the heart, the serpent shoots his deadly venom in vain."

          When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg on October 31, it was All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints Day, and laughter could be heard in the streets as people in costume went to and fro, frightening the evil spirits away so the spirits of the faithful departed could be ready for All Saints Day.

          In Luther's time All Saints Day was a busy one, a day when people gathered to venerate relics, items which were supposedly touched or owned by saints -- a piece of cloth from St. Paul's robe, strands of hair from Mary's head, or a leg bone of St. Peter.  There were so many bones of the saints that Luther said Peter must have had twenty legs!

          Today, we observe All Saints Sunday here at Epiphany, not with the bones of saints, but with the blessings of God, His rich mercies given us through the examples of the faithful departed 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 person who long ago lived an exemplary Christian life that resulted in great events, amazing knowledge or martyrdom.  Certain saintly names quickly come to our lips:  St. John, St. Thomas, St. Mary or St. James.  As Lutherans, 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 honor and glory from our Lord Jesus.

          But let me expand your understanding of sainthood.  She was born in 1895 and emigrated to America at age seventeen, the second daughter of a German civil servant.  She was enrolled in nurses training and excelled in her studies and dedication to her patients.  She became Director of Nursing and Hospital Administrator for over 20 years in Iowa and did private practice to the elderly parents of celebrities in California.  She practiced nursing and taught students for years, finally retiring from the teaching staff of Deaconess Hospital, St. Louis, at age 74 and after 52 years of nursing.

          She taught thousands of nurses, including some of my cousins and not one of them failed their State Board Exams.  She was a godly example of Christian faith all her life, and after 95 years on earth, the Lord took her to heaven.  Her name is St. Marie.  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. Marie is one of the countless believers who are 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 believe they must have done incredible things during their lives, and that they must 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 Christ.  It's any man, woman or child who has received Jesus as Lord, and strives to live a Christian life.  God makes people saints, not what they do or say.

          St. Paul wrote to the saints in Ephesus, Greeks who barely knew Christ, but still believed in Him.  He did not write to good people who had died, but to living people striving to be good.  He wrote that all who trust in Jesus as Lord are already saints, living saints, forgiven saints, loving saints, who may never do anything more amazing than feed their families, share their faith or bring hope to the hopeless.  Saints are alive, and friends, you're one of them!

          And so we rejoice this morning as we gather with St. Daniel and St. Alice, St. Kenneth and St. Edith.  We rejoice with St. Nadine and St. Charles and St. Bernard.  Whether our oldest or our youngest saints, 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.

          God has called you and me by the Gospel to believe in His Son Jesus Christ.  We 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 Christ.  When we're moved by the Spirit to receive Jesus as Lord, life is changed forever.

          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 give love to others.  They're filled with joy because they believe.

          A few weeks ago we gathered on Dedication Day and repeated together the words of Psalm 126:3, "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"  Let's say that together again - "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"  Saints of God 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 all believers joy in Jesus.

          Jesus was our willing, joyful Savior, and He wants us to be willing, joyful saints.  He wants us to do good, to share our faith, to give to the poor, to love people, and to spread His 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 our 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!"  Hearing that, 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 grumbling woman was a weak saint who needed some encouragement and 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!"

          Today we honor some of God's living saints, women who do His work in the Women's Guild, Altar Guild, teaching, leading or keeping God's house in good order.  The Lutheran Women's Missionary League is filled with saints.  May God give us all joy, and may we pass it around!  Amen!

Copyright © 2001 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.