WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.479 A reading from Daniel. 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:14.320 In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. 00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:16.960 Then he wrote down the dream. 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:30.480 I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:39.439 As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:44.799 I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:51.039 So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter. 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:57.520 As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. 00:00:58.079 --> 00:01:06.640 But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever and forever and ever. 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:09.359 The word of the Lord. 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:14.560 A reading from Ephesians. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:36.640 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we who were the first to set our hope on Christ might live for the praise of his glory. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:50.159 In him, you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:58.400 This is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:05.359 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:11.759 And for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:42.479 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him so that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe according to the working of his great power. 00:02:43.280 --> 00:03:02.960 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:16.240 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:18.960 The word of the Lord. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:35.039 Jesus looked up at his disciples and said, Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:39.599 Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.360 Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:50.719 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:59.120 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven, for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:03.439 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:06.960 Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:10.639 Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:16.160 Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:19.120 But I say to you that listen, love your enemies. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:25.279 Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:28.560 If any one strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:32.959 And from any one who takes away your coat, do not withhold even your shirt. 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:39.439 Give to everyone who begs from you, and if any one takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:42.560 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.120 The Gospel of the Lord. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:56.480 Well, good morning, and welcome to the Feast of All Saints, and we get this opportunity year after year to think about the holy ones in our lives. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:05:04.800 And I have to say it's really an amazing frame we're given here as we approach Thanksgiving, probably my favorite American holiday. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:08.480 We get a whole month to think about the holy ones in our lives. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:25.120 Now, saints is one of those loaded words that I think is worth spending a little bit of attention on because many of us have heard of some of these very popular and famous saints like Saint Francis and Saint Christopher, you know, the kind of people who get statues and show up on medals. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:31.759 And you should know that those people are actually a kind of saint called canonized saints. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:45.519 Technically, what that means is that after they have died, miracles have been performed either in their name or through some of their personal objects, like their relics. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:56.639 You can go and, I mean, for example, there is a saint in the Lourdes, and people have gone to Lourdes and left their crutches behind. 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:59.600 And this is a miracle people still expect now. 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:01.519 Those are the kinds of canonized saints. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:07.839 And if you're ever looking at a picture and you want to know whether someone's canonized or not, I refer you to the one over there on the wall. 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:11.920 Canonized saints always have a halo on their head. 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:20.560 And the belief is this is what we get from our Catholic ancestry, is that those people have already entered into heaven. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.480 Thereby their prayers are answered and they can do miracles. 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:29.759 Those are people who have extreme faith. 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:34.879 Canonized saints. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:46.240 It may be good for you to know that our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters have the canonized saints, the haloed ones, but they have a second category of saints. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:56.160 These are the non-canonized saints who, frankly, have worked miracles in folks' lives without having been investigated. 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:03.439 And I want to suggest to you that it might be easier to be a canonized saint 40 years after you've died. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:11.439 Because, as Mark Anthony said, the evil men does live after them, the good is often teared with their bones. 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:13.680 With canonized saints, it goes the other way. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:19.120 We remember people's big heroic deeds, and we forget that their own family couldn't stand to be around them. 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:21.920 So I think this is really, really helpful to hear. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:25.120 Backward-looking saints is what we're used to. 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:41.360 And I want to suggest that as important as these people are, like Francis and Christopher and Michael and Claire and Bridget, when we hear in the Bible about the saints, we also have the opportunity to think about the lesser-known ones. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:46.399 And if you won't mind me saying, the ordinary saints. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:50.160 It's Bible speak. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:51.920 Really, it means holy ones. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.000 If we were to translate it straight out of Greek, it would say to the holy ones. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:04.240 And our day school kids know very well the word holy just means, thank you, Grant, it means special. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:06.879 Like extraordinary. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:12.800 The way we talk about it is look, we're going to use a chalice, which is a cup. 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.680 We're going to put some wine in it, but it's going to be extraordinary wine, right? 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:19.519 So it's a holy cup. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:21.360 It does something special. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.160 Regular wine just nourishes your body. 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:27.360 This wine nourishes your spirit. 00:08:27.839 --> 00:08:32.159 Saints are people who do extraordinary things. 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:38.399 They can be very ordinary, but they nourish the spirits of others. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:42.960 Saints are people who nourish the spirits of others. 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:45.200 In Renaissance art, you can see it. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:50.399 John the Baptist is always, every time you see him in Renaissance art, he's pointing. 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:52.960 Does anybody know who he's pointing to? 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:57.440 He's pointing to God in the person of Jesus. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:01.600 John the Baptist always shows you where Jesus is. 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:05.279 And I would suggest to you that's what ordinary saints do. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:11.759 They point us exactly to where God is in one another. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:15.519 Where is God in one another? 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:21.600 One of my favorite theologians is this guy called Boyle. 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:33.120 He is a Jesuit theologian out in Los Angeles, and his ministry for the last 30 years has been taking gang members right when they get out of prison and removing their gang tattoos. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:37.039 Turning them into bakers and waitresses. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:43.360 And see, removing the tattoos allows them to go out in public without being shot by a rival gang. 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:47.519 He's a Jesuit, and only Jesuits say things like this. 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:59.759 He says, you know, Jesus doesn't lose a bit of sleep worrying about whether or not we'll forget that the Eucharist is extraordinary. 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:02.639 Jesus is sure we remember that. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:22.639 Jesus loses sleep worrying about whether we'll remember how ordinary the Eucharist is, because we all eat three times a day, and it is in the presence of others that God has made manifest in ordinary ways. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:29.519 Paul writes his epistle today not to the church leaders in Ephesus. 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:34.000 He writes to the saints who are in Ephesus. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:38.559 And of course, at the time the Bible was written, most people were illiterate. 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:42.240 This would have been read out loud to a group of people. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:44.639 Who were the saints in Ephesus? 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:48.399 Well, presumably anybody who could hear the letter being read. 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:54.240 So we have this incredible invitation, I think, to think about sainthood. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:11:01.919 In the Episcopal Church, saints are those who point us to God, dead or living. 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:23.600 We have this other opportunity to think about ways in which we have and might continue to point others to God so that we can assemble as the communion of not almost saints, but the communion of already saints. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:29.039 We get to hear Jesus say the Beatitudes today in Luke. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:31.200 He says, Blessed are the poor. 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:50.480 I want to suggest to you, Jesus might be saying something a little different than the words themselves seem to read this morning. 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:56.000 I want to suggest Jesus might be saying, Blessed are people who are not already full. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:00.000 Blessed are people who make room for other people. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:04.559 Blessed are people who make room for God in their lives. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:10.559 Because they will be filled with godly things. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.200 We're celebrating a saint today. 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:14.639 She died about two months ago. 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:16.320 Her name's Meg Mitheney. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.399 Meg didn't wear shoes very often, and her hair was often a mess. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:25.600 But I'll tell you what Meg did is she made room for every person I ever saw her meet. 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:31.360 She made room to listen to them, to greet them, and not just say, How are you doing? 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:33.759 And you're supposed to say fine and leave. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.159 She actually wanted to know. 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:39.759 And she was made full. 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:44.639 She was made full by people answering her. 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:52.720 She made room for God in everybody I ever saw across our first front desk. 00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:02.480 We get to hear Jesus say a few odd things today, and I want you to stay with me for three of them. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:06.960 It's going to be hard because you're going to hear the first one and you're going to think it's ridiculous. 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:15.519 Jesus says, Blessed are you, and if people strike you on one cheek, you should turn the other. 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:19.200 And if people ask for your cloak, you should give them your tunic. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:28.720 And we could take this to mean, hey, we're not supposed to fight back, we're not supposed to do anything right, you know, we're just supposed to be these meek people. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:37.279 But I want you to know that this story right here is exactly what inspired both Gandhi and Martin Luther King in nonviolent protest. 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:39.679 I want you to walk through what this means. 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:43.919 There's the New Testament scholar called Walter Wink who writes half of a book about this. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:51.360 The most degrading way that you can hit somebody then or now is with the back of your hand. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:14:02.240 So if you're to strike somebody who you consider less than yourself with the back of your hand and they turn their cheek, now you're forced to do one of two things. 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:06.639 Use the back of your other hand, or actually hit them on. 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:11.600 If you hit them with your fist, they're no longer beneath you. 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:14.000 Now they're your adversary. 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:23.679 At the time of Jesus, if you owed money, people could sue you for your clothes in payment. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:28.559 So pretend Hal, snap back there, owes me some money. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:34.320 I could sue him for his blazer and for his pants, even. 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:38.639 So imagine here we are in public. 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:40.320 Like this. 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:42.720 You owe me$20, Hal. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:44.879 Give me your blazer and your pants. 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:47.200 And Hal says, Well, that won't cover the debt. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:49.120 Here, take my underwear as well. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:53.360 Who looks worse? 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:56.399 Hal or me. 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:08.720 Walter Wink says what Jesus might be doing here is saying, How is it that we unmask powers that put us at dis-ease with one another? 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:22.240 When the marchers went from Selma to Birmingham, you see, the strategy was when they spray you with a fire hose, and when the dogs come on you, you get up and you keep marching. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:34.480 You realize national television, in fact, the world's eye, was watching police fight people who weren't physically swinging back. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:43.200 And people could not understand how somebody could continue to fight someone who was not fighting back. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:44.639 But Martin Luther King Jr. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:46.799 was very clear they were fighting back. 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:54.559 They weren't fighting back against the police, they were fighting back against the powers of racism and segregation. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:57.360 This is what the saints do. 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:01.440 The saints do not have enemies in the realm of people. 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:05.759 The saints have enemies that are powers and principalities. 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:10.240 The saints do not fight against congressmen or unjust rulers. 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:13.279 The saints fight against unjust rule. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:18.399 The saints fight ageism and racism and sexism. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.480 And the saints do it in this way. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:27.039 Jesus says, you give when you're asked for. 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:36.639 The saints do it not by judging what people do with what they give, but by judging whether they continue to give. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:43.360 The saints are people who love in the most impossible and trying ways. 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:52.960 That sounds like extreme faith, but I want to suggest to you that you all know saints, frankly, that are extremely faithful. 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:59.440 So I'll tell you, my greatest saint in my life is my mother. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.000 She's still very much alive. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:11.200 She does have extreme faith, but you know, I think the biggest testimony in my life, my mother was a math teacher for 33 years. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:23.759 She's one of the few teachers I've ever had who the day after you took a test, it was returned to you not only with your grade, but with all of your mistakes worked out on your own paper. 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:36.480 So if you made an addition error or a sign error, she worked your problem out on your paper from that point on for more than 140 students at a time. 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:43.519 I didn't know what bewitched her to grade like that because I used to teach math and I didn't do that. 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.119 I did turn papers back the next day. 00:17:47.279 --> 00:17:50.160 That was the important part, but not quite like that. 00:17:50.319 --> 00:18:04.000 What was interesting is there were some students who didn't even look at their paper twice, but most of us, most of us who were able to just pause, realized what a gift her extreme faithfulness was. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:10.960 How many teachers have you had in graduate school or college who never returned your papers back at all? 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:12.880 Half of mine. 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:17.920 Here was a lady who would return your paper the next day fully marked out. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:22.000 Here was a lady who taught class without any special charisma. 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:26.000 She wasn't an energetic teacher, she was a faithful one. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:32.079 She wasn't somebody who had a cloud of groupies and took them to do this or that. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:40.000 She was somebody who got up and did her job faithfully every single day, and it made a difference. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:45.039 She was extremely faithful. 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:50.640 And in so doing, she didn't just point us to math, although she did that. 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:54.799 She pointed us to what it's like to follow God. 00:18:55.759 --> 00:19:02.960 She did not get overwhelmed when we didn't learn our lesson the first time or the fifth time or the nth time. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:07.759 That did not make her change her faithful behavior. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:11.519 She was faithful because she was. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:15.839 She was faithful because she is. 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:22.720 She gave, when asked, of herself. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.279 And there's a poem that Frederick Biekner wrote. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:35.440 It's kind of prosaic poetry, if you don't mind me saying, I want to read it once, and then I'm going to change one word and read it again. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:38.720 This to me describes the saints. 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:45.920 Here's a story from Frederick Beakner, Protestant minister, that he recalls early on in life. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:51.759 I hear you're entering the ministry, the woman said down the long table, meaning no real harm. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.599 Was it your own bad idea, or were you poorly advised? 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:05.519 And the answer that she could not have heard, even if I had given it, was that it was not an idea at all, neither my own nor anyone else's. 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:12.160 It was a lump in the throat, it was an itching in the feet, it was a stirring in the blood, the sound of rain. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:17.759 It was a sickening of the heart, the sight of misery, it was a clamoring of ghosts. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:29.279 It was a name which when I wrote it down in a dream I knew was a name worth dying for, even if I was not brave enough to do the dying myself, and could not even name the name for sure. 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:39.440 Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you a high and driving peace, and I will condemn you to what feels like death. 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:48.640 I hear you're thinking about becoming a saint, the woman said down the long table, meaning no real harm. 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:53.039 Was it your own bad idea, or were you poorly advised? 00:20:54.000 --> 00:21:04.400 And the answer she could not have heard, even if any saint in the world has given it, was that it was not an idea at all to be a saint, neither our own or anyone else's. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:14.319 It was a lump in our throat, it was an itching in our feet, it was a stirring in the blood at the sound of rain, it was a sickening of the heart at the sight of misery. 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:16.960 It was a clamoring of ghosts. 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:28.480 It was a name which when I wrote it down in a dream I knew was a name worth dying for, even if I was not brave enough to do the dying myself, and could not even name the name for sure. 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:34.400 Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you a high and driving peace. 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:37.519 I will condemn you to what feels like death. 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:52.480 The saints are these people who are possessed with this madness to point to God's presence in our world in the most invisible and apparently inauspicious places. 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:56.880 And of course, we remember them, ordinary saints, because they were successful. 00:21:57.920 --> 00:21:59.759 They did these things. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:00.880 Things. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:04.880 Like Meg, making room for time. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:07.359 Like Chris Kraft, who we remember today. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:12.720 Chris Kraft, who was in charge of most space operations that got us to the moon. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:19.759 A man so confident and learned and sure that he was able to continue after Apollo 1, right? 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:24.000 A man who could change his mind. 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:27.680 That's what a saint does. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:30.079 They say, I was wrong about that. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:36.160 Chris Kraft, who said the proudest accomplishment in his entire life was his family. 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:40.000 The saints are those kind of people. 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:42.400 The saints are people. 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:46.640 He's not in here. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:54.319 Like Rob Puckett, who is a funny man and never at anybody else's expense. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:22:57.599 That is ordinary faithfulness. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.000 And it points to larger life. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:05.200 And it is exactly the communion of saints we're invited to join today. 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:24.240 Not just some people long ago that we remember on medals, but people who have turned the story of our lives in math classrooms, in coffee shops, in pews, and first communion instruction and Cub Scouts. 00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:27.759 Those are the saints of God. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:45.039 And I think one of the biggest journeys we're all invited to make is not just to see the presence of God, the saints of God, as you look around this room or even in your workplace, again, anybody can hear the letter is called a saint. 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:56.799 The surest place to see a saint, and maybe one of the biggest growing areas you like me have, is in that glass above our sink. 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:05.759 When we shave or brush our teeth or comb our hair, because the scripture is quite clear. 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:08.880 We don't come here and become a saint later. 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:12.640 We come here to the rail because we're already saints of God. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:17.839 And maybe, maybe this is some internal discipline for you. 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:20.079 I have a hard time with these words. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:25.680 I can tell you what I'm saying and believe it in my head, but integrating it into my own life is really, really difficult. 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:30.799 And I would never get up in front of you and say, well, just be a saint like me. 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:32.720 That would feel really dreadful. 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:40.319 But I had a moment last week where two of my friends came into town from California. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:46.640 They were saints to me because they came for essentially a party. 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:50.079 They showed up, and boy, that was so life-giving. 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:57.279 That my wife, who's really good about everyday sainthood, kept knocking on the doors of my brain and said, Don't you see? 00:24:57.920 --> 00:24:59.440 It's a two-way street. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:00.880 You're a saint to them. 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:03.759 Now that's a hard thing to realize. 00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:11.119 It's a high calling to live into. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:15.440 And it's not just mine, it's yours. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:31.279 All of us have these moments where even if just for a moment we point to something greater than ourselves, I'll tell you, I think part of the reason we get so uptight about calling people saints is they might do something to ruin it. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:34.960 That's why we gotta wait till 40 years after they're gone, right? 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:36.640 Then we forget about the quirks. 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:46.240 But I'll tell you to my mother, there is nothing my mother could do that would pull her from the canon of sainthood in my heart. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:26:05.039 Even if she became a Wiccan or a Satanist or a Wiccan Satanist, even if she said, all that stuff I did, I just did it, it would never disqualify the time she pointed me to God because isn't that what the scriptures say? 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:08.720 Faith, hope, and love can never be disqualified. 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:15.359 Whether someone's given them to you or you give them to someone else. 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:28.000 Today we get to celebrate twelve new saints actively joining in the communion of well, the communion. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:36.799 This is just the day we get to see it. 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:51.839 And I hope we'll continue to see that in one another, and see that in ourselves, because the truth is this place points the world to something greater than itself. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:57.200 This place, this school, these scubbed out packs, our Christian ed. 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:00.480 Point people to God. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:04.240 You do that every day, saints of God. 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:09.839 And here we are about to join the communion of saints once again.