Homily
for the Solemnity of All Saints (1st November, 2016) on the
Solemnity
Rev (Apoc)
7:2-4.9-14;
Ps
23:1-6. (R.cf. v. 6);1Jn 3:1-3;
Matt 5:1-12.
One day, a catechist was confronted by one of the First Holy Communion
candidates during the catechism class with this question: “Sir, why do we serve
God in this world?” Without reflection he retorted, “Why did God make you?”
(CCD 2) The girl replied: “You told us
that ‘God made us to know him, love him and serve him in this world, and to be
happy with him forever in the next’”. Her answer in the form of a reported
speech signalled to the catechist that the problem might be deeper than he
thought. Hence he asked her: “my dear, but why the question in the first place?”
The girl quoted Revelation 7:1-8. It
was then obvious to the catechist that the question was more than what he could
handle and as a result referred the little girl to the parish priest.
Topic: You are Called to be a Saint.
Let us start by reaffirming that the
Church as a family of God is of three states – the Church Triumphant (those
already in heaven), the Church Militant (part of this family that are still
here on earth), and the Church Suffering (our brethren who have left this world
but were not as perfect as God wants and as a result are being purified where
we call Purgatory). Today, the Church is celebrating that part of her that are
already in heaven. These include the canonized and beatified and also those we
never knew they made heaven.
Our topic is taken from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans chapter
1 verse 7. As we celebrate these brothers and sisters of ours who are
already in heaven, it is important also to note that the call to be Christians
is a call to be saints. The bible especially the New Testament is full of
examples. In his letters, Paul referred to Christians as saints, cf. Rom 1:7, 1Cor 1:2 among so many others.
Again when God called Ananias to go and baptize Saul whom he arrested on his
way to Damascus to persecute Christians (Acts
9:1-9), he replied: “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much
evil he has done to thy saints at
Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13).
Furthermore, Paul in Acts of the Apostles while defending himself before
Agrippa said that he (Paul) “shut up
many of the saints in prison” (Acts
26:10).
Again, our call to be Christians is a
call to be part of Christ, the head, the Church, cf. Acts 9:4; 1Cor 11:3; Eph 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col 1:18; 2:10; 2:19.
And this Christ is the fountain of holiness, cf. Heb 12:10; 1Thess 4:7; Eph 4:24; 2Cor 7:1. Therefore since
Christians form the body of Christ the head, Christians have no option other
than to be saints because the head and the members ought to be one. A Christian
who is not a saint is a diseased part of the body and should be cut off, cf. Mal 2:11-12; Rom 11:22.
Having seen that we are called to be
saints, let us consider just some of the things that the bible tells us about
saints. Firstly, saints are God’s beloved (Rom
1:7) because they hate every form of evil and God in his turn preserves
their lives and delivers them from the hand of the wicked, cf. Ps 97:10. The saints have an ultimate
reward, “…the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess
the kingdom forever, forever and ever” (Dan
7:18). This kingdom the saints will enjoy forever is the one Saint Paul
wrote about: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man
conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1Cor 2:9, cf. Is 64:4-5a, Eph 1:18). Hence, “precious in the sight
of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Ps
116:15) because they are going back to God. To what extent do we hate evil
today?
Again, the saints will judge the
earth, cf. Mt 19:28 as a result of
which St. Paul wonders how far we judge our own affairs, cf. 1Cor 6:1-2. Christians today do not
settle misunderstandings among themselves without going to court, ụmụnna, ụmụada, village meetings, native doctors, idols, among so many
others. This reminds me of what happened in one of the parishes around. Two
Christians had a misunderstanding. One of them went and reported the matter to a
priest of an idol. But the other reported the matter to the Police. In the
process the DPO asked them if they were Christians. They answered in
affirmative and to buttress this point, the one who reported the matter to the
idol brought out his bible. Hum! Remember, this is among those called to be
saints who will judge the earth. How much do we share in the inheritance of the saints in light (Col 1:12) because the
mystery (our Lord Jesus Christ) hidden
for ages and generations has been made manifest to us, cf. Col 1:26?
Furthermore, saints also avoid sin.
In the words of Saint Paul “…fornication and all impurity or covetousness must
not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints” (Eph 5:3). Christ our head has condemned sin in the flesh, cf. Rom 8:3. Christians are called to walk
in the Spirit which brings life and not in the flesh that brings death, cf. Rom 8:6. The Psalmist calls the saints of God to Love and fear the Lord
for those who fear him have no want, cf. Ps
31:23, Ps 34:9. Our God is just
and “will not forsake his saints” (Ps
37:28). The prayers of the saints rise to the throne of God mixed with incense,
cf. Rev 5:8; 8:3-4).
Surely for some it is no longer
possible for them to become saints. On the contrary, despite how bad one’s past
was like, he/she can still be a saint. The First Reading tells us of the great
multitude “who have come out of great ordeal; they have washed their robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev
7:14). My dear, no robe is too dirty for the blood of the Lamb. Hence for
the Psalmist, “1... Blessed
is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man to whom
the LORD imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Ps 32:1-2). St. Paul also wrote that
we, Christians are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with
the saints and members of the household of God, cf. Eph 2:19. Even the most saintly need prayers, cf. Eph 6:18. So let us pray for ourselves
and never rejoice at our brothers/sisters failure. Heaven is for all. Saints
are called to endure, cf. Rev 13:10;
14:12. But all those who have hope of enjoying with the saints in heaven
must purify themselves, cf. 1Jn 3:3.
So my dear ones in the Lord, as we
read in the Acts of the Apostles of the saints at Lydda, cf. Acts 9:32, of the Saints of Achaia (2Cor 1:1), Saints at Philippi (Phil 1:1), the saints at Colossae (Col 1:2) among others, can you be
referred to as a saint in your parish/station/branch, and so on? If yes,
rejoice for you are one of those we celebrate today and if no, thank God
because you can still make the best out of what is remaining. Please, make the
best of it.
Bible Readings: Acts 9:10-14; Col 1:1-14; 1Cor 6:1-11;
1Thess 4:1-12; Rom 8:1-17; Rev 11:15-19.
Silent Prayer:
Considering what the bible tells us about the saints, are you a saint or
not?
Let us pray: Grace to you
(all the saints of God) and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ–Amen (cf. Rev 22:21, Rom 1:7).
You are free to share this reflection with others if
you consider it worthy.
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