Yesterday in worship we observed All Saints Day.
When I was growing up the word, “saint,” meant something
very different for me than it does today.
Back then, I thought saints were people like Peter, Matthew, Mary,
Martha, John, or Paul. I thought they
were people that God had used in a special way because they were holier or
somehow better than we are today. Little
did I know how wrong I was!
The word, saint, just means, “holy one.” So
those people that I named before certainly qualify as saints, but not because
of what they did. They qualify because
they believed in Jesus and they received forgiveness and holiness through His
death and resurrection. In the same way,
that word, saint, applies to my grandparents because they died believing
in Jesus as their savior; they were baptized, communed, and were reconciled
with God through Jesus’ gift of forgiveness.
And we can properly say that you and I are saints, too.
Does that feel like too much of a stretch for you? Does it make you uncomfortable to call
yourself a saint?
Too often when we wonder, “Am I a forgiven child of God?” we
start evaluating based on the things that we do. Now, evaluating the things that we do and
confessing our sins are good things, but we cannot base our standing before God
on the things that we do. Before Him we
have nothing to boast in except the Cross of Christ! The Cross is enough! Jesus reconciled us to God through the
Cross. When this question comes to mind,
or any time we wonder about our standing before God, we do well to remember, “I
am baptized. I am washed. I have received Jesus’ body and blood for my
forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus
paid the price for me.” It is because of
that amazing work of Jesus that we can say, “I am a saint.”
“But, Pastor,” you say, “You don’t know the things I’ve
done! I’m not a saint. I’m a sinner.”
The last sentence in true.
You and I are sinners. But we are
also saints. Martin Luther spoke of our
state as forgiven sinful people in terms of a paradox. He says that we are simil justus et peccator.
That is, we are always at the same time saints (justus), perfectly holy in God’s sight because we have been washed
in the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all unrighteousness, and we are
always sinners (peccator), guilty of
every sin against God’s Law. We always
struggle with our sinfulness as the Devil accuses us and tries to make us think
that we are not right with God, and he seeks to cast doubt on our faith to turn
us away from our loving Savior. We must
cling to Jesus’ promises in the Word and Sacraments and not to our performance,
for that is the only way we can know we are redeemed. Again, the Cross is enough.
So, Saints of God, live as you are: and remember you are saints. Share the hope that is in you. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and remember
His promise to come again. We long for
that day when we will no long struggle with the sin, but our entire selves will
be purified. In the meantime, know that
God is at work in you. His Spirit is
empowering, growing and sanctifying you.
He is using you in a special way, just as He did the saints of old. Cling to God’s promises and worship God
saying, “Gloria Dei” – that is, “To
God be glory!”
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