Today, we celebrate All Saints (or All Hallows day) and yesterday was All Hallows eve (commonly known as Halloween). Pope Gregory III is the responsible party for these curious days in the calendar. The celebration of the one, All Saints, was meant to stamp out the underlying pagan festival of the European countries, Samhain or Summers end of the other, All Hallows eve. Thus, the prayers and services of All Hallows eve in preparation for the following day supposedly removed the temptation of the celebration of Samhain. Irrespective of the origins it is a time for us as the Christian faithful to reflect on a couple of things on this recognisably spiritual twenty four hours from the Eve to the Day. Recognisably spiritual because whether pagan or Christ follower it is to be recognised as a time of coming closer to God's presence.
Firstly, what or who are the saints we are celebrating? Pope Gregory III firmly established the date as a day to celebrate all those who had died in the Lord and passed into heaven. It had been celebrated on various dates throughout the year often coinciding with pagan feast days or celebrations. The Saints are often associated with those who have been granted sainthood, most notably the famous ones like Luke or Mary MacKillop. Yet, in the scriptures the word saints is reserved for all those who are in Christ, in other words believers who are both living and dead. In some respects as we gather at All Saints, Buraja today we are remembering both the living and the dead associated with a place that showed the face of Christ to the world. Yet, in our celebrations today we often only celebrate the dead rather than the living and remembering that God is the God of the living not the dead. Whilst our readings celebrate those around the throne (Rev.7:9-17) we need to remind ourselves of those that are around the throne lived as Christ.
Our Gospel reading for today points this out (Matt. 5:1-12) as we hear of the way to live in an ethical and Christian manner. It is not pie in the sky goals for us but actual living that is the requirement of God. It is a means of reacting and being in relationship with those around us so that we are likened to the saints who were the living followers of Christ. Something that we often forget, partially due to how we are conditioned to think theologically, is that Jeshua (to remove our normal associations) spoke to people who were poor and who were in the midst of daily struggles. He did not preach in theological terms but in the parlance and relevance of a downtrodden society that had been colonised. On this day, if on no other, we need to remember that the Gospel is for those who are struggling and it is good news because they are given the understanding that we struggle with them, they are not alone. In our theologising we often allow ourselves to follow ancient Greek philosophy and Augustine's meandering as a trusted part of who Jeshua was and neglect the honest story that is behind the theologising moment.
The second take away message from today, is that in light of having been lured away from the simple minds of the past into a confusing array of theological words that divide us more then anything else, we need to live as the Christ. Not, I might add, the theologised Christ. We need to go back to basics and live as the Saints of yore did in speaking the truth and living the truth of the Gospel. It is this that makes us saints nothing else for we are just as human and frail as everyone else but as followers of the Christ we bring the Good News to those that are at the margins of society. We bring the truth that needs to be spoken into the lives of our own society irrespective of the cost for we are all martyrs for Christ. In 1 John the writer informs his recipients that the reason the world does not know us is that they do not know God (1 Jn 3:1b). The reason being that as Christians we are truth speakers, which is anathema in the world, for the world does not want to know the truth and hence God's presence of love that comes with the truth. We are those that bring the truth of God into the lives of those around us.
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