Daniel 7: 1–3, 15–18 / Psalm 149 / Ephesians 1: 11–23 / Luke 6: 20–31
This
is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran
Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, November 2, 2025 by Fr.
Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.
“SAINTS: BEACONS OF GOD’S LIGHT IN THE WORLD”
(Homily
text: Luke 6: 20–31)
(Liturgical note: This Sunday, we observe the Feast of All
Saints, whose actual day in the Church Year falls on November 1st. However, in
the Lutheran tradition, as well as in many other liturgical traditions, this
festival can be moved to the following Sunday.)
In recent times, the observance of All
Saints has taken on a more specific meaning: It commemorates those saints who
have entered into God’s rest during the year past. Now resting from their
earthly labors, we say that they now make up the Church Triumphant, that host
of heaven which is gathered around God’s throne. For those of us who are still
in our earthly journey, we say that we constitute the Church Militant. (I
realize that these are terms which aren’t heard very often these days.)
However, historically among the churches which maintain a liturgical heritage,
All Saints Day, falling on November 1st, was followed by All Souls Day[1],
commemorated on November 2nd. (This day does not appear in our current Lutheran
liturgical calendar[2].)
So, our observances of these days conflate both All Saints and All Souls Days.
I think it’d be good for us to
celebrate and honor not only those saints who now rest from their labors, but
also those saints who are present among us, day in and day out, those holy ones
with whom we rub elbows. That is the focus of the sermon for this day.)
We begin our consideration of saints
and sainthood with some questions:
1. What
is a saint, and how might we recognize one if we encountered one?
2. Can
we name someone we know who is a saint?
3. Do
we aspire to be a saint in our daily living and believing?
In the first chapter of John’s Gospel
account, we read that Jesus Christ is the light that has come into the world.
We also read that that divine light overcame the darkness of the world. (See
John 1: 4-5)
So, perhaps, as we think about saints
and sainthood, it might be a good approach to think of God’s holy ones as those
who have received the light of Christ, and who shine that same light into the
darkness of the world around us.
A good illustration – it seems to me –
might be the kerosene lantern.
A lantern consists of a body, which
also contains a reservoir for the oil which sits at the bottom of the lantern.
It also has a wick, which draws the oil up into the body of the lantern. As the
wick burns, it draws more oil upward. The lantern also has a globe, made of
glass, which allows the resulting light to shine into the darkness.
Now then, when God deliberately creates
a human being, He outfits that person with all the essential requirements for
being a beacon of light in the world. We human beings are created with a body,
a mind, and a spirit. We can discern and relate to God, for we are created in
God’s image and likeness (as we read in Genesis). It is as if we are created
with a reservoir with which to receive the oil of God’s grace and mercy when we
are formed and created. (Our illustration breaks down a bit at this point, for
God has given each one of us the freedom to allow God to work in our lives, or
to refuse to live a godly life.)
Then, at baptism, God fills our
reservoir with the gift and the light of the Holy Spirit. It is that Spirit
which makes possible our orientation toward God, and which guides us through
life’s twists and turns. The Spirit’s work is like the match which ignites the
oil of God’s grace, creating light as a result.
As the light of God begins to shine,
others around us see that light, and recognize it as being something unique,
for it is: It is divine light, something that is different from other things.
Now then, let’s draw some conclusions
from our illustration.
First of all, it is God’s creative and
loving impulses that make it possible for us human beings to be beacons of
God’s light in the world. Saints aren’t self-made creations; they do not
generate light without God’s oil and the match of the Holy Spirit to create the
light. It should be clear from this illustration that God has a role to play in
the business of creating saints and sainthood, but people also have a role to
play, for we are called to allow God to make use of the raw materials (the oil
reservoir, the wick and the globe in our illustration) we have been given at
birth in order to cooperate with God as light-bearers to the world.
We said a moment ago that saints aren’t
self-made. It should be clear that saints are those who do more than simply
“being good”. There is something unique that results from the openness to God’s
will, to being willing to have the Holy Spirit strike the match that lights the
fire of God, a fire which can shine throughout our earthly journey.
Finally, the business of being a saint
and sainthood is sacramental in nature. Recall that the definition of a
sacrament is something that contains an outward and visible sign, which points
to an inner and spiritual grace. Returning to our illustration of the lantern,
we might liken saints to the lantern, whose oil reservoir, wick and globe all
support the business of allowing the lantern to be a light generator. The light
which we see is made possible by all the other parts of the lantern which
support the process. So, too, with saints: They exhibit God’s light, showing by
their words and by their actions that the light of Christ dwells in their
hearts and minds.
So, we close with the questions with
which we began:
1. What
is a saint, and how might we recognize one if we encountered one?
2. Can
we name someone we know who is a saint?
3. Do
we aspire to be a saint in our daily living and believing?
AMEN.
[1] All Souls Day is often known, these days, as the “Commemoration of All
the Faithful Departed”.
[2] Neither the 1958 Service Book and Hymnal, nor the 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, contain a commemoration of All Souls Day.
