Reflections On Being a Saint

There is a marvelous description of God, in the Book of Deuteronomy Chapter 32 verse 11:

“Like and eagle that stirs up its nest that flutters over its young spreading out its wings catching them bearing them on its pinions.”

The picture that the verse presents is really this. The mother eagle builds a nest with twigs and down for her young. When she judges them ready to fly, she flaps her wings which span almost six feet directly on front of the nest. The force created by her fluttering causes all the soft down lining to be blown from the nest. The sticks then poke into the tender bellies of the young, making their once comfortable home too uncomfortable to stay in any longer. Those who can take their first flight. Those who cannot, crawl onto their mother’s wings and glide with her. She will then suddenly dive down causing those perched on her wings to fall away from her. They will flap their wings until they take flight. She hovers nearby ready to pick than up and carry them on her wings when they tire.

The writer of the Book of Deuteronomy saw God acting just like the mother eagle in pushing Israel out of the nest in Egypt and teaching them to fly into the land of freedom. He did not abandon them after they began to fly. He was always there to sustain them and rescue them when they were about to falter. There is a sense in which this is a wonderful model for a description of the church. It is a place where people learn to grow and spread their own wings. A place from which one can chart one’s own flight. From time to time the prophet or preacher must stir the air around those who are seemingly unwilling to take their first flight. Last Sunday’s sermon was a nest stirring time. But I do hope that the pastor and other Christians are always there undergird those who are taking their first flight or those who grow weary along the way.

Today we are talking on what it means to be a saint. Last Sunday I identified Pope John XXIII and Mother Theresa as models for what it means to be a Christian. I think I could have included a Protestant in that group—namely Dag Hammarskjold, the first Secretary of the United Nations.

I would like to say that this simile of the eagle is certainly a beautiful description of what it means to be a saint. Saints were indeed people with wide wing spans. Like the mother eagle, saints knew just when the world was ready to fly, and they too flapped their wings and blew the soft down out of the nest, awaking the world out of its lethargy and causing those who followed them to fly to new heights and catch a new vision of what the world could be.

Last week I told you about the young custodian in Coventry who went out into the ruined Cathedral the morning after the city was firebombed and almost totally destroyed—that young man took two charred beams and tied themtogether in the form of a cross and planted it where the Cathedral’s high altar had been. He then took another charred piece of wood and used it as a giant pen to write on the wall behind the cross he had just planted: “Father forgive them.” Later as the people of Coventry came to view the ruins of the Cathedral, they were deeply moved by the cross and the inscription. It turned the hatred of the whole town into the spirit of forgiveness. He was the person of the moment who transformed the attitude of the whole city and gave impetus to a new day of rebuilding, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Today their new cathedral stands as a monument to this kind of reconciling and forgiving love. This to me is another beautiful vignette of a saint.

While traveling to Coventry, our group was able to participate in the noon vigil for peace. I was very impressed with the litany for peace used in the service. They did not have extra copies of the little booklet at the time, so I gave the leader a pound and she promised to send me a copy when they replenished their supply. This week I received this little booklet. In it I discovered another beautiful example of what it means to be a saint. It comes from a prayer found at the Ravensbrook Concentration Camp where 92,000 women and children died in the gas chambers. The prayer went like this:

“Lord, remember that not only the men and the women of goodwill, but also those of ill-will. But do not only remember the suffering they have inflicted on us. Remember the fruits we bore thanks to in this suffering:

Our comradeship

Our loyalty

Our humility

Courage the generosity.

The greatness of heart which has grown out of this. And when they come to judgment let all the fruits which we have borne be their forgiveness.

They had learned well from their crucified Lord whose first prayer from the cross was for his crucifiers: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” It suddenly dawned on me that those who wrote this beautiful prayer were probably Jewish martyrs and not Christian martyrs. It is a dramatic illustration that we Christians do not have a corner on sainthood.

It is in this setting that I would like you to look once more from the Scripture lesson for today taken from the 7th Chapter of the Book of Revelations reading from verses 9 to 17.

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 

10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God,who sits on the throne,and to the Lamb.”

11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: “Amen!Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 

15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.

16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd: “He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

It is evident from this passage that these saints had a deep commitment to God which caused them to be willing to suffer “terrible persecution” at the hands of the Roman Empire in order that the church would survive. They were the ones who put their lives on the line and stood in the breach to secure the life of the church at a time when Rome had vowed to destroy it. There was no power in Heaven or Hell that could cause them to recant their faith. They had the courage—the God who inspired courage to withstand any power in Heaven, Earth, or Hell that would oppose the lesson of their Christ and the bringing in of the future Kingdom of God.

In our scripture in I John, we see a second characteristic of saints described. It is an incarnation of agape love that makes one Christlike in nature. The Romans marveled at how these “Christians” love one another.

The Beatitudes in Matthew Chapter verse 5 to 10 tells the qualities of Sainthood:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,  for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Have you ever thought of the persons who are called “saints” in your life? As I think of those I call saints, to a person, they were deeply committed to Christ, but they also had a tremendous openness and compassion to and for people around them. This Christlike spirit was clothed in humility. You felt they were interested in you. They were approachable and willing to listen to your concerns.

I always think of Uncle Jess Halsey. I often wonder if my long pastorate at Savage Memorial was unconsciously modelled after his for, he spent 35 years as pastor of Seventh Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati. I remember him telling of an incident that occurred when he was attending the funeral of his seven-year-old son who was run over by a truck. As he pulled up into the minister’s parking place at the church, he was told in no uncertain terms to move out and find another parking place. He never said a word to the officer but moved out and found another place.

Sometime later he saw that same officer stop all traffic and help a blind lady across the street. He wrote a letter of commendation to the police chief who singled out this officer for special honors the next day at roll call and read Jess Halsey’s letter before the whole police force. That afternoon the officer stopped by the church to thank the pastor. When he entered the study, he was very embarrassed to find it was the old, bald-headed gentlemen he had moved out of the minister’s spot on the day of the funeral.

I was a student minister in Covington, Indiana. Since I was not ordained and could not officiate at communion, I invited him down to Covington to not only preach and officiate at communion, but also to baptize our oldest son Dave. It just happened that it was also the Sunday after the death of Franklyn D. Roosevelt, and the whole American nation was shaken. I will never forget how in a very beautiful way he brought hope and comfort to that little congregation and sent them out feeling that the future was still ahead, and God would raise up a leader namely Harry Truman who would lead us out of war int peace.

The church gave him $25.00 for his weekend. Out of that he had to buy a two-way ticket to Danville, Illinois a distance of some 140 miles. About Thursday I went to my mailbox at the Seminary and found an envelope with my name on it in my box. In it were two ten-dollar bills and a five. There was nothing to Indicate where the money came from. I knew that it came from Uncle Jess. He knew that I was struggling to make ends meet and this was his way of making a gracious gift to us.

Saints are made of this kind of stuff. As we think of the great saints who have made a difference they have always stepped into the breach in a time of crisis. They were men and women of deep dedication and compassion. They were also prophets in their time. The great French philosopher Henri Bergson defines the prophet as the person of the future who stands out ahead of his or her time and is able to lead the masses into a new day.

They always come as a breath of fresh air because they are an open hand to loving and wise and caring, and they seem to be able to sense what is needed and to inspire those around them to-do what is necessary to bringing the future. I cannot help but refer once more to Pope John 23. They put him in because he was an old man, and he was sick. They wanted him to be a care­taker pope who would do nothing until the council of Cardinals could agree on a strong Pope to succeed him.

Little did they know that this caretaker Pope would change the face of the church. He would leave the Vatican at night and go down int the Ghettoes of Rome and move among the poor and administer to them. Up until now, the Roman Church had adjudged all Judaism as guilty of the crucifixion of Christ. He went to the Jewish leaders of the world and asked for their forgiveness and at Vatican III through his lead took this curse off the back of the Jews. He also began to establish relationships with the separated brothers and sisters in the Protestant community.

He included Protestants as a part of the Holy Catholic Church, beginning the healing process for a church that had an open sore for over 400 years. He was also a bridge over troubled waters to a world of the sixties that was torn by brokenness and protest. Because of all of this, he became a great symbol of healing and hope for all the world.

Beloved God has called all of us to be saints. I know that it is not a very popular word today. None of us would really like to be called a saint. But we are all called to be God’s people saints, people who are loving and caring, people who are out ahead of the herd becoming the world to a new day. We may not possess all these qualities of sainthood I have enumerated this morning, but if we possess some of these qualities—let us cultivate them and share our lives in love with the world.

I know the Lord will make a way for me,
I know the Lord will make a way for me.
If I live a holy life
Shun the wrong and do the right
I know the Lord will make a way for me.