There is an old story about a little boy who visited a large city for the first time with his grandmother. She took him to see monuments, museums, and galleries. They went to theaters and amusement parks and cathedrals. Every intriguing site the grandmother could think of, they saw.
Finally, when their adventure in the city concluded, the grandmother asked the little boy what his favorite experience in the city had been. Without hesitation he told her that the very best part of the trip had been seeing the saints.
Surprised, the grandmother asked him to explain. The boy described how amazed he had been to enter a dimly lit cathedral, and suddenly, as his eyes lifted to the stained glass windows, to see depicted so many colorful people.
Well yes, the grandmother agreed, the vivid stained glass windows told interesting stories about the saints. But it was more than that, the boy told his grandmother. In a dark place, he said, the saints are where the light shines through.
We think that’s a pretty good definition for a saint. A saint really is someone who lets the light shine through.
While the precise origin of the church’s celebration of its saints is uncertain, it does appear that in the time of Pope Gregory III (731-741), the practice of honoring all the bright heroes of the faith on November 1st was established.
In keeping with that ancient tradition, this Sunday churches across the globe will acknowledge and celebrate the saints through a wide variety of local customs and observances.
In Portugal, Spain, and Mexico worshippers will give special offerings in honor of the saints. In France flowers will be brought to gravesites. In Poland and Germany lighted candles will be brought to decorate the graves of the deceased.
In our Protestant tradition, we find meaning in remembering that the New Testament usage of the word “saint” refers to all believers. And so our celebration of All Saints’ Day will especially recall that we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” to faith – some now dead, but some very much alive.
This Sunday we plan to reflect with gratitude on all the saints. Yes, we’ll remember the well-known and beloved saints whose resumes for greatness are pretty astounding. But we’ll be thinking as well of all the virtually unknown saints we have had the privilege to know.
Many lived simple, quiet lives that made a faithful difference to their families, their communities, or among their small circles of friends. Perhaps God alone knows the true impact of these lesser-known saints, but we can testify to the bright light we’ve seen shine through some of these wonderful souls.
They were the means by which God’s light entered the world where darkness might otherwise have engulfed everything and everyone in its path.
We hope that on All Saints’ Day you, too, will gratefully remember all the saints, living and dead. And we hope you’ll do one thing more. We hope you’ll consider your own potential for sainthood.
Just think, you could be the means by which a little light and hope penetrated the darkness of ignorance, poverty, desperation, discouragement, or sorrow for someone near you.
Yes, you could be a saint. Focus the faith within you and let it shine through!