2017-11-06
Brooke Strong
Communion of Saints
Scripture: 1 John 3:1-3
Last Sunday, October 29th, we celebrated Reformation Sunday - the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 proclamations against the Catholic Church on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church in Germany. The actual date of this act was intentionally October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day – because Luther knew hordes of people would be passing through the gate to come to church the next day in order to honor the saints. The church at that time taught that since saints had more than enough good works to merit them getting into heaven, Christians who may not have had enough could buy some of those extra deeds in order to bolster their own merits, thereby shortening their time in purgatory. This practice, known as the selling of indulgences, raised heaps of funds to build lavish Cathedrals, and this infuriated Martin Luther. As a serious Bible student, he was convinced that we are saved only by God’s grace through faith in Christ. This is what prompted him to write his famous document, and put it up for theological debate.
Given this historical context, it is no wonder that Luther did not think much of celebrating “All Saints” or its companion feast on the next day, All Souls. Here is some of what he had to say about these feasts: “I would have both of these feasts done away with everywhere, if for no other reason than for the sake of the abuses associated with them. For even if there are a few who know how to observe them in a godly way, they are but few. . .
I have previously and often said how the saints should be honored. That is, you must make the distinction between the saints who are dead and those who are yet living, and what you must do for the saints. You must turn away from the dead and honor the living saints. The living saints are your neighbors, the naked, the hungry, the thirsty, poor people; those who have wives and children, who suffer shame, who lie in sins. Turn to them and help them. That is where you are to apply your works . . . Now our papists turn themselves away from them and have laid all their honor upon the dead saints, endowing churches, building altars, and wandering around in useless works. 1
With this background from the founding father of Protestantism, I find it somewhat remarkable that today, we in the Protestant Church even celebrate the Feast of All Saints. But what I find even more astounding is that, this week, the Catholic Church honored the one whose protestations against their church started the reformation, a revolution that ended up splitting the church and igniting holy wars across the European continent. It has been fascinating for me to follow the story of the current Pope, Pope Francis, as he began the year with a controversial trip to The Lutheran Church of Sweden in order to join in the launch of celebrating the 500th year anniversary of the reformation. That visit spawned rumors and speculation that the Pope might actually declare that Martin Luther is most certainly in heaven, meaning that, at least for Roman Catholics, Martin Luther would be able to be referred to as “Saint Martin Luther.” It was thought that perhaps the Pope would make this declaration on October 31st. 2
So, how did I spend my Halloween? I spent it searching the internet to see if this would actually happen. And I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed that Luther was not made an official Saint on Tuesday. However, the Pope did do something to honor Luther that day. The Vatican issued a Commemorative stamp.
This 1.00 euro postage stamp depicts Jesus in the foreground, and the city of Wittenberg in the background. It has both Martin Luther and his friend, the theologian Philipp Melanchthon, kneeling on the left and right of the cross. Martin Luther is holding the Bible, while Philipp Melanchthon is holding the Augsburg Confession which he wrote, the first official public presentation of the principles of Protestantism.
So, while the Vatican stopped short of making Luther a saint, giving him a commemorative stamp instead, an act my colleague and friend Bob Brandt refers to as: “The biggest participation trophy in history,” I somehow believe Luther would indeed be happier with the stamp than he would have been with sainthood. It seems to me he would much rather have his image travel this world by stamp than he would want to be commemorated as saint in the next world, especially given his views about honoring the dead saints.
And I can understand Luther’s criticism of worshiping those saints who have died. Yet despite Luther’s views, today even we Protestants believe that there is something to be said for celebrating the feast of All Saints. We acknowledge in gratitude those who have gone before us, who have shaped who we are, both as individuals and as a community. These saints we remember today have helped to form our faith, fashion our character, they have given us the basis for many of our beliefs. They have contributed in countless ways, loving us and shaping us into the saints we are today.
And when I say “Saints,” I do not mean perfect people. Our reading this morning reminds us that we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. We continue to grow into who we will become. Most of us, if asked, would probably not call ourselves saints. We would never think ourselves worthy, good or pure enough for that title. And, the truth is, we will never become perfect, or pure as Christ is pure, in our lifetimes. Martin Luther himself famously said that while we live we are all simultaneously saints and sinners. But Rev. Emily Heath expounds on this saying: We are imperfect and messy, prone to doing all the wrong things, and completely hapless. And yet, we are also the beloved children of God, trying every day to get it just a little more right. . . . We believe that when we die we join the Communion of Saints. Far from a club for people who lived perfect lives, or believed without doubt, sainthood is a state achieved not by works but by dying in the hope of Christ's grace and love.
That means that one day we will all be saints. For now, though, we are simply saints-in-training. Like any other learners, we will often get it wrong. We will stumble and cause pain. We will behave in decidedly un-saintlike ways. And yet, we will continue to move forward, closer to sainthood with each breath.3
Reverend Heath calls us “Saints-in-training.” Carroll Simcox puts it another way "We think of ourselves now as human beings. We really aren't that - not yet. We are human becomings. . . . If you are living in Christ, believing in him and trying to follow and obey him as the master of your life, you are by his grace, becoming ever more and more like him."4
In this endeavor to become more like him, more Christ-like, our communion of Saints, living and dead, guides and inspires us along the way. And just as we individually strive to become more and more Christ-like, the greater Christian community does as well. I see the act of reconciliation by the Vatican issuing a Luther commemorative stamp this past week as a sign of hope. Four or five hundred years ago, this bridging could never have been predicted. Granted, five hundred years is a long time, but even in the last decades, I have witnessed changes that lean towards greater communion. When my Catholic father sought to marry my Protestant mother in a Catholic ceremony back in the late 1950’s, he was told that unless he tried to convert her, and unless any children they had would be raised Catholic, his marriage to her would not be recognized by the church that they would be considered as living in sin. In the early 80’s when I, a Protestant, married my Catholic husband, the priest who married us invited us to see our union as a sign of hope, as a symbol of bridging two disparate Christian faiths in love. That is quite a change of perspective. And what might yet be has not yet been revealed, as our scripture reading says. We continue to strive for a purer communion with each other, and with Christ.
The English language has a variety of words for collectives, for groups of various species. Some are commonly used, like a flock of sheep, or a herd of goats. But many are more vivid and descriptive, like a convocation of eagles, a parade of elephants, a charm of finches, a pride of lions. I love that our collective for a group of saints is called “A Communion.” I suppose it could have been an exaltation of Saints, or a purity of saints, or a gloriousness or heavenly host of saints. But it isn’t. We call this group of earthly and heavenly believers a Communion of Saints. Communion – derived from the words “com” meaning with or together, and “unus” meaning oneness or union. Sometimes, this communion between the saints is beautifully lived out, and other times, it is barely discernable. But we can believe and hope that we, as Saints in training are also a Communion in training. What this communion will one day become has yet to be revealed. And as we strive toward this, toward more communion, we are called to remember and live into what unites us: the conviction that we are all children of God, bound together and held in the love of our parent, of our God. And we remember that we gather as a Communion of Saints, however imperfect, when we come to this table. This meal is a symbol of our massive family reunion: where living and dead, saint and sinner, all enjoy the banquet around one table, because all are bound together as children of God, and held in together in the love of God.
Barbara Brown Taylor reminds us that On All Saints' Day we worship amidst a great fluttering of wings, with the whole host of heaven crowding the air above our heads. . . . On All Saints Day they belong to us and we to them, . . . . Because of them and because of one another and because of the God who binds us all together, we can do more than any of us had dreamed to do alone.5
What all we can do has yet to be revealed. But it is more than we have ever dreamed. So as we gather and partake of this feast, let us remember and honor those saints who have gone before us, who are gathered at table as well. May their lives, and their heavenly communion, inspire us to be ever more firmly bound in communion with one other and with our God, and to live in ever more Christ-like ways. Amen.
1http://beggarsallreformation.blogspot.com/2015/10/luthers-practical-advise-on-honoring.html
2https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/vatican-announces-stamp-of-martin-luther-on-500th-anniversary-of-reformatio
3http://www.ucc.org/daily_devotional_saints_in_training
4 Carroll Simcox, in James W. Cox, ed., Best Sermons 5. (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1992).
5 http://arc.episcopalchurch.org/sermons-that-work/001105sr.html (Weavings, Sept.-Oct. 1988, pp. 34-35, quoted in Synthesis)