We are still in the Octave of All Saints, but I want to talk to you about the Epistle to the Philippians, chapter 3, beginning at verse
17
BRETHREN, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed unto the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself.
The letter is talking about enemies of the Cross , who mind earthly things. It is therefore obvious that they will not be members of God's Saints.
Who is not a saint? Any person who "minds earthly things" is not a saint. Why is such a person not a saint? Because his God is not the God in heaven who made him, but his own appetites and desires—his "belly." What is the result of not being a saint? The life of such a person is marked by "shame," when it could have shared in the glory of God. But doesn’t everybody go to heaven, no matter what? No, those who are not saints are not fit for heaven. They do not belong there, and they will not go there. Their "end is destruction"—an eternity in hell, separated from God and the saints, never knowing anything again in a positive way.
St. Paul’s negative definition tells us that sainthood is a serious business, much more serious, for example, than being recognized by the Church on earth as "holy." It is a good thing, of course, that God’s Church should hold up certain men and women as good examples of what it means to be a Christian, a saint of God. But on the other hand, what really matters, is what God knows so positively—the content of our hearts.
The greatest saints are probably the "plodders." These are men and women who find it difficult to resist their sinful desires, but who fight every day of their lives to keep their bellies from becoming their god. These may have to repent a hundred times a day, having fallen into temptations that other people seem to avoid with ease. Nevertheless, they throw themselves on God’s mercy; they claim nothing for themselves, but ask the Father in heaven to remember nothing about them at all but the Blood that Jesus Christ has shed for them.
In the end, because they know no glory but that of Christ crucified for their sins, they may be the most glorious of all. They remember what this morning’s collect tells us, that God is not only our "refuge and strength," but also "the author of all godliness." They render up to God, then, anything that is good in their lives, worshipping him for the least good thing that they do or think or know, recognizing it as a gift of divine intervention and supernatural aid.
And the final thing for us to remember, as this year’s octave of All Saints’ draws to a close, is that, no matter how easily godliness may seem to us to come to anybody else, in his or her own way every saint is a "plodder." All saints struggle to obey. All saints struggle to know God positively, as well as negatively. All saints struggle to know themselves as God knows that they can become with the help of his grace.
And so we honour one another, strugglers and plodders all, on All Saints’ Day. We do this, not by praising ourselves, but by praising the God who gives us the grace to struggle and plod. This may not seem exciting, but it is much like the cross that Jesus Christ dragged up a hill on Good Friday. Since the fall, there is a certain amount of negative business that must first be accomplished, that the positive love and grace of God may shine in the world and give a life that will endure forever.
Is it not a wonderful thing to know that our Citizenship is in Heaven,
from whence also we look for our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Have a glorious Sunday!
Father Ed Bakker
Anglican Catholic Church / The original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo
Australia
