Who are these saints that we remember? That decorate our walls and windows and speak to us from the grave? (Who we sing about in our hymns?)
In today’s Gospel, we have the story of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus said to Martha, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
I think the saints are those who believed, who saw the Glory of God in their time and place, and their lives reflected that glory. Not perfect but faithful and true.
"This story about Lazarus shares much in common with that of the Samaritan woman at the well. With the Samaritan woman the issue was seeing Jesus as the source of living water as compared to ordinary water. Here the issue is to see Jesus as the source of living life as compared to ordinary life." (David Ewart)
Faith in the glory of God in Jesus is seeing that living water, that living life, beyond what we can experience in our daily lives.
The toughest part of being a Christian, I believe, is trying to live our faith in our daily lives. It’s easy to say we are a Christian & proclaim our beliefs. But it is much more difficult to live out our beliefs, to embody the truth of our faith in Jesus Christ.
"Religion is not ours till we live by it, till it is the Religion of our thoughts, words, and actions, till it goes with us into every place, sits uppermost on every occasion, and forms and governs our hopes and fears, our cares and pleasures."
These words come from William Law who was a renowned priest in England in the 18th century, who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to King George I. He reminds us that our religion, our faith, is not ours until we truly own it in our lives and live it in every place we go, even when we may suffer for it... That’s why we remember those saints, because they did it in their own time, in their own way, and we seek to be such faithful disciples today.
St. Moses the Black – lived a life as thief and bandit until his travels brought him into a monastery and his whole life changed as he found that living water. He was later killed when bandits attacked his monastery (he saved his fellow monks).
St. Thomas a Becket – lived a life of privilege in government until he becomes an Archbishop and it changes his life, and he found that living life in that call and he died serving God.
St. Teresa of Avila – faithfully joined a convent and when she began reforming it and starting new ones, she suffered under the Spanish Inquisition, but remained faithful to her visions of God.
To follow the saints, to live into our discipleship, walking with Jesus, is to simply be who we are most fully…
St. Irenaeus, “the glory of God is a human being fully alive!”
Ehab Taha, a 26-year-old from Canada, was riding public transit in Metro Vancouver when a large man he described on Facebook as “suffering from drug abuse and\or mental health issues” became aggressive in his train car.
The man was alarming fellow passengers “with erratic movements, cursing, shouting” until a 70-year-old woman decided to reach out and help him by extending her hand and grabbing his.
The sweet gesture soothed the man. Eventually he sank to the floor of the train as tears flooded his eyes.
"It was quite incredible how much he calmed down in a split moment,” Taha told HuffPost Canada. “It was the most touching thing I've ever seen.”
Moved by “the incredible display of humanity,” Taha snapped a picture of the two holding hands and posted it to Facebook.
“I spoke to the woman after this incident and she simply said, ‘I'm a mother and he needed someone to touch.’ And she started to cry.” Although the woman felt a great amount of empathy for the man, like most, she was initially petrified to interfere.
"She was very brave. She even mentioned that she thought about what would happen if he stabbed her with the pen -- because he had one in his hand -- but she said it was more important he didn't feel alone."
At the end, he said 'Thanks, Grandma,' and walked away.” (from Huffington Post)
In the end, what Jesus asks of us, is to offer ourselves, to embody that love that Jesus shares with us even if we might suffer for it. To be that gentle touch that someone needs as that mother did on the metro, even when it involves risk. Such a beautiful act of love!
Our faith calls each of us to offer ourselves in the Spirit of Jesus to a world hungry for love and kindness. Such faithful love & compassion is a fragrance that fills the world with the glory of God. It is why these saints are on our walls, why these faithful souls are in our windows and their witness surrounds us still. We remember and we follow. For as that beautiful old hymn put it:
They lived not only in ages past; there are hundreds of thousands still;
the world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will.
for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.
May our lives reflect and proclaim the Glory of God. Amen.
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