God is still making Saints!
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November 1, 2026 * All Saints’ Day
Lessons for All Saints’ Day, Year A: Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; and, Matthew 5:1-12.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today the Church lifts her eyes beyond the boundaries of time and space. Today we join our voices with the saints of every age, every nation, and every condition of life. Today we remember that the communion of saints is not merely a memory of the dead, nor a list of heroes from long ago. It is the living reality of God's people gathered into Christ, those who have gone before us and those who still walk the pilgrim way.
And at the center of today's feast stands that breathtaking declaration from the First Letter of John:
"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are."
Notice that John does not say that we might become children of God, or that we will someday earn the title. He says, "that is what we are." Before there is any achievement, before there is any holiness, before there is any saintly accomplishment, there is the love of God. Our identity begins not with what we do for God, but with what God has done for us in Christ.
The saints are saints because they first received that love.
Too often, we imagine saints as spiritual superstars, people unlike us. We picture halos, heroic virtue, and unwavering certainty. But when we look closely at the saints of Scripture and history, we discover something different. Among the saints are doubters and seekers.
Among the saints are doubters: Thomas could not believe the resurrection until he touched the wounds of the risen Christ. Centuries later, Julian of Norwich wrestled with the mystery of suffering and wondered how a world so marked by sin could remain in the hands of a loving God. Her questions did not drive her away from faith; they drew her deeper into it, until she could rest in the promise that "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." Saints are not people who have every answer. They are people who continue seeking Christ when the answers are incomplete.
Among the saints are seekers: Among the saints are seekers. Abraham left his homeland without knowing where God would lead him. Mary treasured mysteries in her heart that she could not yet fully understand. Augustine spent years searching for truth before discovering that his restless heart could find its rest only in God. Centuries later, Dorothy Day sought meaning amid the upheavals of the modern world and found herself drawn ever deeper into the radical demands of the Gospel. The saints are not people who possess every answer. They are people who remain open to God's call, continually turning toward the One who first turned toward them.
And among the saints are trusters: They entrust themselves to God's promises even when they cannot see the end of the journey. Mary accepted the angel's astonishing message with the simple yet courageous words, "Let it be with me according to your word," not knowing all that lay ahead for her or her son. Centuries later, William Tyndale devoted his life to making Scripture accessible in the English language despite persecution and danger, trusting that God's word would bear fruit long after his own life had ended. The saints teach us that faith is not certainty about the future. It is confidence in the One who holds the future. They walk by faith and not by sight.
And among the saints are every kind of vocation and temperament. One was a doctor, one was a queen, one was a shepherdess on the green. The saints come in every imaginable form. Some are people of action and others of prayer. Some preach, teach, heal, organize, or sing. Some stand against injustice and seek righteousness. Some make peace where there is conflict. Some feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and comfort the suffering. Some leave their mark on nations; others transform a family, a parish, or a single soul. As the hymn reminds us,
"The saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too."
Their lives are wonderfully different, yet all are united by the same calling: to love God and to love their neighbor. That is what sainthood looks like, not a single path except the path of God’s grace.
The vision from Revelation reminds us just how vast and diverse this company of saints truly is. The prophet, John, sees "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages." The kingdom of God is gloriously larger than our categories. That multitude includes women and men and non-binary folk; young and old; rich and poor; people of every race, ability, and background. Some knew privilege, others hardship. Some are remembered by history; many are known only to God. Yet all stand before the Lamb by grace alone. Diverse in identity, experience, and calling, they are united by one truth: They are beloved children of God.
The unity of the saints is not found in sameness; it is found in Christ. Their stories are wonderfully varied, yet they share a common identity deeper than any human category: They are God's beloved children, redeemed by Christ, and made holy by the Spirit. The communion of saints is a foretaste of God's kingdom, where countless lives, each uniquely graced, are woven together into one song of praise before the throne of God.
Today we remember those who have gone before us. We give thanks for the faithful dead whose examples still illuminate our path. We remember parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, mentors, clergy, and companions in faith.
And mostly today we remember that the story is not yet finished. God is still making saints. God is making saints in classrooms and hospitals, in offices and factories, in homes and communities. God is making saints among the young and the old, among the certain and the doubters and questioners, among the strong and the struggling.
God is making saints right here. We are God's beloved children. And if we are God's beloved children, then we can dare to live as the saints have always lived: loving where there is hatred, seeking justice where there is oppression, making peace where there is conflict, showing mercy where there is suffering, and bearing witness to the boundless love of Christ.
"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are."
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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