Readings:
Daniel 7:1-3,15-18
Psalm 149
Ephesians 1:11-end
Luke 6: 20-31

Collect:
God of holiness,
your glory is proclaimed in every age:
as we rejoice in the faith of your saints,
inspire us to follow their example with boldness and joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Reflection

This weekend the church celebrates the feast of All Saints. I wonder who you think of when you think about saints? Perhaps somebody particularly good or holy… but actually many saints were deeply flawed people, who did their best to follow God, however imperfectly, and often at considerable cost to themselves. 

There are plenty of books, podcasts and films about the lives of well-known (or less well-known) saints. But there are also saints living in our midst – people who faithfully follow Jesus in their ordinary lives. Perhaps you can think of somebody whose faith has been a particular example or inspiration to you? And who knows – perhaps you might be somebody else’s example or inspiration in the faith too! 

The feast of All Saints reminds us that all who follow Jesus are deeply connected. Saints are not heroic individuals, but members together of the communion of saints, and of the body of Christ. We are all deeply connected with one another because of our unity in Christ. 

At one of our recent confirmation class sessions, the young people were very taken with the idea of the ‘church universal’, which is another way of thinking about the communion of saints - that idea that we are all part of the one church, in every time and place. They kept thinking of more and more examples: “so if someone was a Christian in France 800 years ago, they’re still part of the same church as us?” “or in Brazil 300 years ago?” “or in Australia?” “or in the future?” “what about 500 years in the future?” It is a bit of a mind-blowing idea when you think about it, isn’t it: that interconnectedness of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church! 

In our liturgies we often remember that “the faith is passed on to us by those in every generation who chose to follow Jesus”. It’s a reminder which should ground us in the knowledge that we stand in a long line of saints which will continue long after we are gone. And it should also inspire us to be those who pass on the faith: those who in the way we speak and the way we live find all sorts of ways to express the Good News of Jesus to the people around us.  

The stories of the saints help us to learn more about what it means to live a life centred on God, a Christ-like life, a life infused with the Holy Spirit. Saints are like signposts pointing towards Jesus. I wonder what stories we tell, and what stories we live, which point others towards Jesus? 

Ruth Harley