Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure. We take a brief sojourn today from our contemplation of Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem before His arrest, death, and burial. We jump back to His Sermon on the Mount wherein He is illustrating the life we are to live as His followers. On this All Saints Day, we consider those who took Jesus up on His offer. They entered and lived through a way-of-life that works for all who desire eternal life. As St. John tells us, they made themselves pure as Jesus is pure so they might be like Him.
Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure.
We take a brief sojourn today from our contemplation of Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem before His arrest, death, and burial. We jump back to His Sermon on the Mount wherein He is illustrating the life we are to live as His followers.
On this All Saints Day, we consider those who took Jesus up on His offer. They entered and lived through a way-of-life that works for all who desire eternal life. As St. John tells us, they made themselves pure as Jesus is pure so they might be like Him.
Of course, we realize this wasn’t then, nor is it today, an easy process. One must be willing to take up those attitudes of being – the Beatitudes Jesus speaks of – being poor in spirit, mourning the state of those who do not know Jesus, being meek, thirsting for righteousness, being merciful, clean of heart, peacemakers, and accepting and suffering persecution and slander because of faith in Jesus.
It goes further of course, the entirety of the Sermon on the mount and its instruction on turning the other cheek, giving more than demanded, and going the extra mile is part of that life.
Jesus, of course, lived a sinless life. Yet even He, when faced with fulfilling the Father’s will, prayed that He would be spared from the cross.
Jesus and all the saints reveal the challenge. They also show us that it is possible. So, where do we start – regardless of age?
For us it starts in the smallest of ways. It is in small acts of graciousness, a smile, a kind word when one is not expected. It goes to how we extend ourselves, that extra minute to make a phone call to someone, to pause for a prayer for those in need, spending a few minutes to visit or just be there for someone.
Take on the disciplines Jesus and His Church offer – fasting, reading of scripture, alms giving, sacrifice – they help us immensely.
Additionally, pray for those who have hurt or offended us, and offer them forgiveness.
We can draw all these attributes in a direct line through the saints all the way back to Jesus. It is the way He drew near to those in need, brought healing, forgave from the cross, fasted, prayed, gave, and focused on scripture.
The way to becoming as saint is to do what St. John speaks of – be like Jesus.
We are all offered options, today more than ever. It is the small choices, the things most easily ignored that provide us the option to be saints.
