All Saints’ Day

I imagine we all from time to time feel anxiety rising, in which we ask ourselves, “Have I done enough? Am I missing something?”  The most troubling aspect is that we often aren’t thinking of anything in particular, we just feel it.  And it’s not a great feeling.

All Saints’ Day and its root in baptism in Christ reminds us by the simplicity of water and oil, by the lives of the saints grounded in Scripture–that salvation, mercy, hope, and peace come only from God, by grace.      

Contrary to grace, our minds assume we are responsible for everything.  Good, bad–all of it–we–in some way–make it all happen.  This can trouble our minds into elaborate schemes interpreting reality so as to avoid our presumption of responsibility for past trauma and trouble.  Plus, our minds hate the randomness of good and ill, the out of control feel of our lives.  

The Saints and baptism in Christ Jesus remind us that we are part of something far, far more than me and you and what we call our “self.”  Again, our brains tell us that all we have, is our “self.”  And we must guard our “self” lest we lose it all.  

But Jesus taught otherwise.  He found his “self” in God, rather than his mind or his body.  Jesus was not worried about whether his life might be cut short by violence in response to his practice of faithful love and divine welcome.  He had already learned that everything was absolutely, and finally, in the care of God, his divine parent. So, he was free to follow the will of his Father.

Following Jesus, the saints, by faith in God’s grace, walk not in their own wisdom and goodness, but in Jesus’ mercy and by the strength of God.  By prayer, by finding hope not in the false hope of “self” but in their surrender to God and God’s creation, they find peace.  And it is always a gift.  Nothing earned, nothing owned, only shared for the sake of belonging to God’s wholeness and welcome.  Salvation is sharing in the glory of our togetherness–many unique relationships lived in the light of faithful love.

So our journey as saints following Jesus’ surrender to and in God, to what truly and finally is, to healthy, self-sacrificing love allows us to practice releasing our fear of what we are missing and whether we have done enough, all back to God.  This is our lifetime journey, the journey of the saints learning to trust God rather than “self.”  

As we surrender in Christ, we celebrate our baptism into forgiveness, healing, and cleansing.   May we remind ourselves of this reality every time we feel that anxiety rising–especially tonight if we are following the election closely.  Let it go and fall into the ever abundant grace of God.  This is the message of the Scriptures and the testimony of the saints before the throne of God, which is our hearts, as well as all of creation.   Peace be with you.