11-03-2019 All Saints' Sunday | Fr. Randall

To be a saint is to be made holy by baptism and by the life we live in the body of Christ.  We are made holy by God’s grace, not by our own actions. Saints are those who know that God loves them. There is no other way of saying it-saints know they are loved. The result of this love is that the saints look more and more like the God of Jesus Christ. There is no room for hatred, and in fact, those who are the haters are the ones to whom more love is required. This isn’t about struggling to be good people. It is about the goodness of God. May we look at it this way: when all that we have to eat is love, then every meal is a love feast. This is the banquet of the saints, one to which we are all invited to participate! In Luke’s sermon on the Plain, Jesus offers less a job description of sainthood and more a foretaste of the fullness of life promised to the children of God.

 “Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Hebrews 12.1). Let us remember these words on this special day. We must not slow down! We must continue to be renewed during this time of transition to complete the race God has set before us!