The Feast of All Saints is a day on which we honor and respect all those who lived before us, those who lived their lives with holiness, embracing grace, so that through that grace, they were able to become glorified in Christ (and so, participate in and experience the kingdom of God). But it is also a day for all of us. We are to call to our mind the saints who came before us, the grace they received, so that we can follow the best of their examples and become like them. We are all called to holiness. Of course, we can and should also learn from their mistakes. We should learn that we, like them, can err, but we, like them can also gain forgiveness, and so find grace is not cut off from us just because of something foolish we say or do. We are to always look for and pursue holiness – not, of course, the sham holiness of legalism, but the holiness of love. For Christ showed us the path to sanctify is the path of love. And when we love, we will share the graces we have with each other. The more we love, the more we will share, and the more we will find ourselves growing in holiness, becoming more and more like the saints, until, at last, grace transfigures us and we are saints as well.
Love is the key to holiness. Love shows us that we need each other, that we are in this world together. What we do, good or bad, effects each other. We should, therefore, seek what is best for all. The more we love, the more we will want to do all we can to make sure no one is hurt by us. We will do all we can to make their lives better. Thus, we should help and support each other, realizing and reinforcing the love which connects us and makes us one. If we reflect upon and follow the dictates of love, we will cast aside all selfishness. We will seek to give ourselves over to others. We will not look to be first, to be honored above all others, to have power before all; instead, we will seek to serve, and in this way, we will appear to be among the least in the world. And yet that will bring us about holiness and true greatness, revealing the meaning of Jesus when he said: “But many that are first will be last, and the last first” (Matt. 19:30 RSV).
This is what the saints did throughout their lives, and why so many of them, especially some of the greatest among them, are not even known to us to this day. They didn’t think of themselves. They didn’t seek for great honor and glory in front of others. They loved and were loved; they helped build others up and in so doing, through the bonds they formed with others, they were also lifted up. Some of them were born with privilege, so that, from birth, they were thought as one of the greats, but instead of holding on to what they had been given, they freely gave it away, so that being born among the first of their people they willingly became one of the last. But this only made them great in the kingdom of God.
It is important to see how the greatest saints act in and out of love, not holding to such greatness as something to separate themselves from the rest of us; this is why they continue to look to the world in love, continuing to act in that love, in the humility of that love, working for the good of creation even as they experience and participate in the kingdom of God. They continue to be there for us, surrounding us, helping us even now, so that they continue to be the first who are last, and the last who are first. With the grace they have been given, they continue to act on our behalf; why would they stop doing what makes them great, that is, why would they stop acting out of love once they enter the kingdom of God if the kingdom of God is the kingdom of love? They were glorified for that love, and continue in that glory and show themselves to continue to be worthy of honor and praise because of the way love continues to be manifested in and by them in their actions. They continue to be transformed by God’s grace, to become more and more loving, which is the result of their continued deification. All of them, all of the saints, those known and unknown, continue to embrace the work of love, and like God, continue to surround us, helping us even as they encourage us to become just like them. All of them, especially those who are not so well known, show us what it is we should be pursuing; we should not seek earthly glory, but the kingdom of God. We should desire to reign in eternity with love. They, of course, show us to do so, we must follow Jesus and his dictates of love:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:1-2 RSV).
Love should draw us in to Jesus, to follow after him. If anyone should get our way of that love, that is, if anyone should demand us that we should act contrary to the dictates of love, we should not do as they say; we should follow Jesus. We should put Jesus and the way of love above everyone and everything else. And since it is the way of love, we should show no malice to anyone, including and especially those who would try to take us away from the path of love. We are called to love everyone, because in everyone there will be some good, and that good is something which God loves. But we must make sure we engage such love properly, and not allow people to abuse it and lead us astray. We should love them, but that doesn’t mean, if they want us to do something wrong, we should do as they wish. Sometimes loving them means opposing them, again, not with malice, but with care and concern, hoping that in doing so, we can make things better for all, including them.
We should not allow our love for others turn away from the greater love which we should have, which is why Jesus said: “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:37-38 RSV). Sometimes love can feel like a burden, as when we feel we are being pulled apart in many different directions due to the expectations everyone places upon us. We can also see how love can be perverted and manipulated when it is not properly balanced in the way self-love can turn into selfishness. We must always think of everyone, working on behalf of everyone, including ourselves, but in such a way that we don’t allow an imbalance in our love cause us to promote some at the expense of others. As it is easiest for us to put our focus on ourselves, in and with self-love, Jesus’ reminder that we should not seek to be first, to be served, but to be last, to be servants, is key. It will make sure we can grow in love because we don’t subvert all the love we have and place it upon ourselves. By becoming last in this way, then, we will be able to grow in love, and the more we grow in love and share that love to all, the greater we will become; love can make us truly one of the greats, with a greatness which might not be recognized in temporal existence, but will be recognized and known in eternity. This is what happened to so many of the nameless saints who have come before us; while we might not know who they are, their greatness is known in the kingdom of God, and they are honored by us when we honor and respect all the saints. The saints, of course, do not look for or expect such honor or praise, but they are willing to accept it when we give it out of love, for then, they hope, we will let that love overtake us and make us like them, so that one day we can be with them, sharing with them the glory of the kingdom of God.
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