Sunday Reflection – All Saints Sunday

Nov. 01, 2026

“In Communion with all the Saints”

Matthew 5:1-12.

Today is All Saints day, a day the church remembers those gone before us in the faith. We think perhaps particularly of the Saints in lite, those who have demonstrated a great faith and through it set an example for others.  As those we read about in the scriptures, St John, St. Mark, St. Paul,…. or those as St. Augustine, St. Teresa, St. Francis,…..those who have lived exemplary lives of faith, and while they did,… we know however these too were not perfect human beings, they were flawed as any of us might be, they simply had an extraordinary love for God, that led them to do extraordinary things. We also call to mind those whom, though they may not have a day set on the Calendar for them, or have the title of Saint bestowed on them, they however have lived their life in a way that stand out as saintly to others. Saints from the everyday of our lives, who have stood out to reveal something of the Divine, something Holy to us.

In the gospel we have for today, we know it as part of ‘the Sermon on the Mount'(Matthew 5:1-12).  Jesus sitting on the side of the mountain, with the multitude stretched out before him, seeing in the faces of those who were poverty stricken, oppressed, sorrowing, suffering, speaks what we know as his most powerful teaching.

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

Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.

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

Blessed…..

Not that Jesus was saying any of these were a blessing, being poor in spirit, to mourn or be meek, but that it is in the midst of all that is wrong in life, all that is painful, all that is hard, difficult, there too we find God, and to do so is to find great blessing for oneself.  In the promise that is given, that God is near to the broken hearted, near to the suffering, to the lost, to the desperate, to the seeking.  They are not forsaken, but known, and loved.  And to find that,… is finding the Kingdom, not in some other life, but right in the life one finds themselves in the moment, right in the midst of where one is.

God’s Kingdom was made present in Jesus, and it is looking to him, that we too find Kingdom promise, Kingdom hope, Kingdom peace.

“Blessed are the merciful, Jesus says, for they will receive mercy.

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

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

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

Jesus was all these things and more himself, and it is through our own acts of mercy and love that we too know God’s kingdom coming into the world.

And so as we commemorate the Saints today, though the word ‘Saint’ speaks of a holiness; The word ‘Saint’ in fact comes from the greek word Hagios meaning ‘Holy Ones’ a word which stems from the Hebrew word, qadosh, meaning ‘set apart’; it is not a holiness as one set apart from, or above others …but as one set apart for the Lord’s purpose here on earth; someone who through their own lived example brought a little bit of heaven down to earth; shone a bit of God’s light into the world, doing their own acts of mercy, keeping the peace, and showing genuine love and kindness to others.

Saints, are not distinguished by how good they are, or what perfect lives of faith they might have, but by their extravagant love of God that shines brighter than anything else about them.

It’s like the story told about the little boy who went to church with his mother one Sunday, looking up at the beautiful stained glass windows of the cathedral, seeing the light streaming through, he asks his mother, who were those depicted in the window. She said to him, pointing to one of the saints as St. Paul, and another as St. Mark, and another as St. …..; the next day the young boy when in class, and the teacher asks the children, ‘what a saint was?’ The young boy puts up his hand and says, ‘I know, it is someone who the light shines through.”

And it is indeed, someone who the light shines through to reveal a bit of God’s goodness in the world.

So on this day, as we look first toward heaven, we remember and give thanks for those who have led the way before us in the faith, those who have left an impression on our own lives through who they were, the way they lived, the example they set, we remember and give thanks for them, and the blessing they have been in this life.

We remember too our own calling to be saints by virtue of our christian faith, though we reserve words like ‘holy’ and ‘sacred’ and saints perhaps for church things; we know it equally, if not more so, applies to the everyday of our lives, where we too have been given the opportunity to respond to God’s grace, as those set apart for his work in the world, living more fully in him.

And so in company with all the Saints gathered around the throne, we sing our praises to our God. “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”  (Rev. 7:12)

Thanks for reading, hope to see you here again next week, take care,

God Bless

Hannah+