Proper
25 :: Wisdom of Solomon 3: 1–9; Psalm 24; Revelation 21: 1–6a; John 11: 32–44
This
is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker
on Sunday, November 4, 2018.
“SAINTHOOD: A
MATTER OF REFLECTED LIGHT”
About a week and a half
ago, on October 24th, we were treated to a full moon. (I think this
occurrence of this full moon is called the “hunter’s moon”.)[1] Fortunately for us here in central Pennsylvania, the weather for most of that
entire week was wonderful: Crisp, clear
autumn air, with not many clouds and very little rain, so we were able to enjoy
the developing full moon and its waning afterward.
As I began to think about
All Saints’ Sunday, I thought about the ways in which being a saint is a matter
of reflected light, just like the moon. What follows here is a reflection on
saints and sainthood, using the moon as the starting point:
Reflected light:
No matter how brightly the moon might shine as it turns
its face fully toward earth during its full phase, the truth is that the moon
has no light of its own. It merely reflects light that is coming from the sun.
In the same way, a saint
is a person whose orientation is toward the light of God. A saint can’t claim
any holiness or righteousness of their own, for the saint’s holiness and
righteousness comes solely from God.
At times in Christian
history, some have tried to claim that, because we human beings are created in
the “image and likeness of God”, [2] we can
attain holiness on our own efforts. (The 4th and 5th century British monk, Pelagius, made such claims, which the Church rejected.)
Some parts of the Christian community continue to adhere to the idea that, in
this life, we can attain complete and total holiness.
The reality of Original
Sin (about which St. Augustine of Hippo had much to say in the 4th and 5th centuries) undercuts any notion that we can boost ourselves
up the ladder of holiness on our own merits and efforts.
No, any measure of
holiness that a saint exhibits is entirely a matter of reflection, reflection
of God’s holiness and God’s action in that saint’s life.
The dark side: The moon has a side which never faces the
sun.
In a similar way, the wise
saint acknowledges the presence of a dark side of human life. We all have such
a side to our composition as human beings. In some, the dark side is quite
prominent, in others, the dark side is still present, but is diminished in
size. It is God’s working which can tame and control this unruly aspect of
being human. (Here our analogy which uses the moon as an example breaks down a
bit.)
Reflected light for the
benefit of the world: The moon’s reflected light, shining in its
most wonderful way during its full phase, reflects the light of the sun for the
benefit of the earth.
In like manner, the
saint’s reflected light isn’t to show forth God’s glory alone (as important as
that aspect of the saint’s holiness is), but it is for the benefit of the
world.
The saint’s orientation is
two-fold: toward the source of light, God, and toward the world which God loves
and for which God sent His Son.
Acknowledging the reality
of partial or obstructed light: Just as the moon doesn’t
orient itself toward the earth in full phase all the time, so too, we will have
to admit, the reality is that a saint doesn’t always reflect the light of God
fully and completely.
Using the moon as an
example, let’s look at some this reality, which has to do with the dark side of
our humanity:
·
Phases of the moon, phases in the saint’s
life: The moon, because its rotation is the same length of time as its orbit,
is always oriented toward the earth in the same way. A saint doesn’t have that
concern to deal with, but the wise and discerning saint is aware of the
possibility that their life won’t always fully reflect God’s light in the
world. At times, God’s light will be seen only faintly. At other times, it may
be brighter, even as it isn’t what it should be, a full and perfect
transmission of God’s light.
·
God’s light, blocked: The moon, on occasion, doesn’t receive the
light of the sun. That’s because the sun’s light is blocked by the earth, which
has come between the sun and the moon. Such events are spectacular, often
prompting people to travel long distances to experience the event. The saint
can enter into periods of time when the cares and values of the world can
eclipse, can block, God’s light.
This All Saints’ Sunday offers us the
opportunity to reflect on the lives of the saints we have known. Perhaps, as we
think about them, we might appreciate those times when they fully reflected
God’s light in the world. We might also think of times when the light of those
saints shone only in part, not in whole. And as we think about that inevitable
aspect of being fully human, we might also think about the causes for such an
impaired reflection of God’s light. Then, we can give thanks for those saints’
recovery of God’s light as they entered fully into their calling as saints of
God.
Finally, we might apply that same
reflection to our own lives, as much as we are able to do so clearly, for the
truth is that we ourselves will reflect God’s light fully and effectively only
part of the time, not all of the time. At times, our witness to the light of
God will be partial. At other times, it might be eclipsed entirely.
AMEN.
[1] The hunter’s moon is the first full moon
that occurs after the harvest moon in late September or early October.
[2] See Genesis 1: 26 – 27.
