Life As a Saint

You might be interested or might already know that Christians weren’t always called Christians. Jesus and the disciples would have been called Jews or Judeans, and the disciples in particular were just called that – disciples, students. Only later, as the movement got to be more distinct, and new people outside the Jewish tradition joined, did Christians get their name. So, when the apostle Paul was writing his letter to the people who have started a church in the town of Ephesus – the Ephesians – he doesn’t call them Christians, he simply calls them saints, or if you’d like to translate it a little differently, they are people who have been made holy by God.

In the time since Paul and the Ephesians, our faith tradition has acquired the name of Christian, and the idea of what a saint is has shifted, too. A saint is still someone whom God has made holy, but now we tend to think of people who have done amazing things in their lifetimes, and whose holiness extends even to miracles after their death.

But what if we went back to Paul’s way of talking about saints? What if all of us, the people of the church, are people God has made holy? What if we are saints, too? The reading from Ephesians this morning tells about life as a saint.

First, to be a saint is to be part of peaceful cooperation within a community of saints. “Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” Paul admonishes. Practice humility, gentleness, patience, and peacemaking. Live together in unity, because as saints we are hoping together in one God, one Spirit, and one Lord. Work out differences with understanding, not self-righteousness, and be quick to see the other person’s side. Being a saint means being a part of a community of saints.

Second, to be a saint is to have particular gifts that are meant for the good of the community of saints. Paul names a few – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, whose job it is to, as he puts it, “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” In other words, some of the saints have gifts to help organize and encourage others, and all of the saints have gifts to do the work of ministry. Being a saint means contributing your gifts to ministry.

Finally, as a community of saints, Paul calls the church to be committed to truthfulness and maturity so that every part can work properly and we can become the body of Christ in active service to the world. Being a saint means being part of something bigger than we are – God’s vision for the world.

In the middle ages in Europe, townspeople gathered together to construct huge, beautiful cathedrals. But many of them took hundreds of years to build. Now we can go and see the finished product and marvel at the grandeur of these awe-inspiring houses of worship. But what was it like for the people who worked for years and years, just to lay a foundation? What was it like for the stonemason who spent his whole life on a wall or two? And yet as a community of saints, the Christians of that time built cathedrals. They were part of a vision that was larger than themselves.

The life of a saint that Paul describes is something like being a worker on one of those cathedral building sites. Being a saint means being part of a community of saints. Workers on a cathedral site need to be able to cooperate with each other. Good communication, patience, humility, and working for the same boss are all important things that help workers actually accomplish something together.

Being a saint means contributing your gifts to ministry. There are many different gifts and skills needed on a building site. Some people work well with stone, others can handle wood. Some people are good with designs and plans, others are strong and patient with hard work. Some are good at giving money, some are good at bringing water to thirsty workers. Building a cathedral requires many people and many gifts.

Being a saint means being part of something bigger than we are. What that something bigger is, in the case of building a cathedral, is pretty concrete. You’re building a giant church building. What Christians all over the world have been building for many years, with differing degrees of success, is a different kind of cathedral – a cathedral of people, relationships, and transformed lives, a structure of human beings living their lives in obedience to Jesus. Each person is both the worker and the materials for this cathedral, and together we build and shape one another with our practices of love, hospitality, justice and faithfulness. Together we are building the body of Christ. Together we are building the kingdom of God.

This morning in our Candle of Hope, I read a story about a town of saints – people God has made holy. They aren’t rich or strong by the world’s standards, but what they have, they give, without expectation of reward, and trusting, by God’s grace, that there will be enough. In our gospel lesson for today, Jesus gives them and us hope for enough, even in times of scarcity and insecurity. “I am the bread of life,” he says. “I am the manna God sent to the people of Israel, wandering in the desert, to make them a holy people.” God laid a foundation in Israel, in those forty years lived in trust that God would provide. Jesus now feeds us our daily bread – hope, comfort, fellowship – and today in our communion we remember and give thanks, trusting that there will be enough. Thanks be to God, Amen.