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It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!
–– 1 Peter 1:12
Halloween, a cultural revelry marked with carved gourds, macabre cinema, buckets of Hershey and Skittles miniatures, inflatable Jack Skellingtons (the King of Halloween Town), ghouls draped from trees, introverts with stranger danger alarms going off, and costumed kiddos dressed as superheroes, dinosaurs, Barbies, and billionaires (i.e., Taylor Swift). It is estimated that Americans will have spent $12.2 billion this year on Halloween, with $700 million of that spent on pet costumes. Sooo … yeah. I will say that the dominant fervor in our neighborhood, and probably in yours, was light on spooky and heavy on joy, and who can argue with that. It is ironic, though, that the name of this cherished rite, Halloween, or more formally, All Hallows Eve, identifies it as a mere prelude to the day that follows –– All Saints Day.
In our Reformed Tradition, All Saints Day does not point solely to an elite force of super-Christians worthy of medals and feasts and naming rites on church signs. Rather, the coterie of saints includes all who call on the name of the Lord, past, present, and future. You know what that means –– you, too, are a saint, but don’t get a big head about it. We number among those to whom God demonstrated, in and through Jesus, that ours would be a uniform God wouldn’t object to wearing. For God so loved the world…
Yet, even though all saints are flawed and somewhat broken, God decided that we would be the best candidates to share God’s love with others, and when I think of all the saints I’ve encountered through Christ’s church, I’d have to say that God devised a great plan. In our staff meeting last week, we talked about the saints we have been blessed to know through our lives and in this church we call home. I recall the grace-filled privilege of knowing Bob Brame, who wears the title of saint so well. He was among the most well read and thoughtful individuals I have known, his inquisitive mind never ceasing to process new information and knowledge. Near the end of his life, when visiting Bob in the hospital, I found him studying the midrash of the Jewish Talmud. Bob was a great conversationalist, a faithful disciple volunteering regularly at Crisis Assistance Ministry, and a humble spirit with a keen, self-deprecating humor.
You know saints past and present, who have in their own unique ways revealed something to you of God’s love and Christ’s ways. So, as you continue sneaking a few bites from the leftover Halloween candy, take a moment to also reflect on the saint, past or present, without whom your ongoing experience of God’s kingdom would be diminished. “It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you.” For all the saints…
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