1993 West Church Street, Freeport, IL 61032
Church 815-235-1993 School 815-232-3511 CDC 815-232-3443
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Oct 30, 2008 Newspaper
Column The
Rev. Willis R. Schwichtenberg This
coming Saturday, November 1, “All Saints Day.”
The word “saint” is used in different ways among Christian churches.
In the Roman Catholic church it usually refers to individuals who have
been “canonized” or recognized as saints using certain criteria.
Other
churches such as the Lutheran church do not follow this process of
“canonization” but do talk about “saints” as being people dead or alive
who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and who are living their lives to His
glory. What might be called
“official” saints in the Lutheran Church and other Protestant Churches are
great New Testament leaders such as the disciples and Paul and others and Early
Church leaders such as Origen, Augustine and Athanasius. The
word “saint” in the Bible is essentially the Greek word “holy one” or
“separate” or “set apart” and usually refers to believers in the church
on earth and heaven. It appears
more than 60 times in the Bible. In
Romans 1:7 the Apostle Paul says, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and
called to be saints...” In Acts
9:32 it records that “As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit
the saints in Lydda.” In the
resurrection account in Matthew 27:52 it says that “The tombs broke open and
the bodies of many holy (“saintly ones”) people who had died” being raised
to the life. We
could get caught up in definitions. Some
of us have heard someone described as follows:
“He’s no saint” or “She’s a real saint.”
Whether
or not we describe someone as being a “saint” or “saintly” we can
understand that the word refers to someone who has been made a saint or has
become saintly because of God’s working in his or her life. A saint is a person living his or her faith in this life or
enjoying the bliss of eternal life in heaven.
To that end, we would call all true Christians “saints.” One of the prayers we use for “All Saints Day” says it well: “O almighty God, by whom we are graciously knit together as one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which You have prepared for those who unfeignedly love You; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (Lutheran Worship, Pages 116-117)
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