The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad indeed. [Psalm 126:4]
[They] are male and female, Christian and non-Christian, married and unmarried, religious and lay, pragmatists and artists, named saint by a process or proclaimed saint by the people who lived in the shadow of their lives…people who saw themselves clearly as the others’ keepers. Sr. Joan Chittister, A Passion for Life
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. [Matthew 5:11]
*The Season of
Creation originated in the Anglican Church of South Africa and was
formalized in 2008. It is designed for us to explore our faith from a Creation perspective. We
use Biblical and other readings that pertain to the specific theme of each of
the 7 weeks of the Season. Alternate readings used are posted with
asterisk.
Week IVs Theme
is:
The Saints Among Us
Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints. What comes to mind when you think of a Saint? For many of us, I expect, the mind-image that arises is of someone many centuries and continents removed from our everyday place and time in this world; someone who is an example of complete perfection in every facet of life that is unattainable for us mere mortals, and, if we're honest, living a life undesirably difficult for us to accomplish. The word “saint” comes from the Greek word hagios haygee-ose in US English, or hyee-ose in Greek], which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.” Yet most saints and Saints, the ordinary and the officially designated, are/were flawed humans with real human frailties and struggles, even a few sins along the way. When and how then did their lives become so exemplary? The best discussion I have found is from Sister Joan Chittister**, which follows. This piece offers us some food for prayerful thought on ways we might discover our inner saint and seek to, at the very least, support the very basic tenets of the Greatest Commandment [Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28].
"For centuries the church has confronted the
human community with role models of greatness. We call them saints when what we
really often mean to say is "icon," "star,"
"hero," ones so possessed by an internal vision of divine goodness
that they give us a glimpse of the face of God in the center of the human. They
give us a taste of the possibilities of greatness in ourselves. What qualities
will be necessary to live a life of integrity, of holiness, in the twenty-first
century? What models of those values, if any, have been raised up to show us
the way to God in a world that is more preoccupied with the material than with
the spiritual, more self-centered than selfless, more concerned with the
mundane than with the divine, more parochial than cosmic? [They] are male and
female, Christian and non-Christian, married and unmarried, religious and lay,
pragmatists and artists, named saint by a process or proclaimed saint by the
people who lived in the shadow of their lives. They are people like you and me.
With one exception, perhaps. In their eyes burn the eyes of a God who sees
injustice and decries it, sees poverty and condemns it, sees inequality and
refuses it, sees wrong and demands that it be set right. These are people for
whom the Law above the law is first in their lives. These are people who did
not temporize with the evil in one system just because another system could
have been worse. These are people who saw themselves clearly as the others'
keepers. These are people who gave themselves entirely to the impulses of God
for the sake of the world."
Sr. Joan has not painted an easy picture of a lifestyle for our time-limited journey in earthly existence. There are choices to be made and sooner rather than later. It’s important to remember that there is always an opportunity for us to seek God first above all else as the Lord has done great things for us. It requires some dedication, some intention, and some transformation. Jesus calls us to come out from our self-imposed tombs and unbind ourselves from the temptations that lock us away from our divine endowment. In that release we can change not only ourselves but the culture we live in. Author Parker Palmer*** says it best, [We] can transform our culture only as we are inwardly transformed. So, let us begin, again, together.
**Sister Joan Chittister, Roman Catholic nun and former Prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA, an activist, author and speaker on a variety of subjects such as spirituality, religious life, peace, and justice among others. The excerpt is from: A Passion for Life: Fragments of the Face of God, Orbis, Maryknoll, NY, 1996
***Parker J. Palmer is an author, educator, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He is the founder and Senior Partner Emeritus of the Center for Courage & Renewal; see: https://couragerenewal.org/parker-j-palmer/
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O God of Grace and Mercy, in these times of trial and travail, strengthen us to arise each day with the inner peace of experiencing Your face at our center, and purity of intention in our hearts. Open our conscious thoughts and actions to humility and humanity, following the example of the Saints who have gone before, and the saints who live among us now.
~ O God of Grace and Mercy, endow us, who abide with You in love, with the perseverance to guide Local, National, and Global Leaders away from falsehoods and fraud toward the just reward of all who seek Your . We pray especially for: add your own petitions
~ O God of Grace and Mercy, deliver from distress all in anguish from illness of body, mind, or spirit, and infuse those who give them care with gentle and peaceful hearts. We now join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
~ O God of Grace and Mercy, as You bless and wipe the tears of all who mourn, keep us all in the knowledge that death will be no more in the joy and gladness of all who live again, reaping their newness of life with songs of joy. We pray especially for… add your own petitions
~ O God of Grace and Mercy, we pause in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials… add your own petitions
~ O God of Grace and Mercy, inspire the hearts and minds of all who lead us in Your church, who mercy. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
The
Celebrant adds: God of us all, Saints and
Sinners together, set our hearts free from the prison of hate, the
emptiness of self-importance, and the mindlessness of earthly privilege. May we
each claim our divine endowment of trust, truth, grace and mercy as we strive
to stand always with You. We ask through Jesus, our Redeemer Christ; in the
Unity of the Holy Spirit; who together with You, are One God above all, through
all, and in all, for ever and ever. Amen.
