In the name of the Father and of the Son and of

the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Jesus said: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as

But these wonderfully comforting blessings are to be followed by a sequence of comments from Jesus which challenge the status quo, unsettle the established norm, extend the old Law and draw his listeners to a heightened awareness of what the new order will demand.

This is formidable advice propelling his listeners towards a higher spiritual plane, and culminates in (what I consider to be) one of the most challenging directives in the whole of the New Testament.

That is, to be "perfect"; and to be as perfect as God!

As the impact of this condition sinks in we must really wonder how we can cope. Here is surely too wide a gap to close, too high a mountain to scale, too long a journey to undertake.

And yet Christ lays this constraint upon us clearly and without reserve. What are we to do and where are we to turn?

As one suggestion, we could look to the SAINTS.

SAINTS

To begin with, the company of Saints is surprisingly broad, combining truth with fiction and reality with legend and myth. This is especially so in the realm of Patron Saints, which is almost a separate topic in its own right, and should not be allowed to divert us at this point. However, I cannot resist observing that as the lay preacher today I might have usefully invoked Saint Chrysostom (whose name means "golden mouth") who is the patron saint of orators!

Some Saints fall easily into a special category of those close to Christ; those who lived with Him and whose subsequent lives (and deaths) reflected his glory. St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. James, for example, fall into this category. St. Paul, on the other hand, falls into the category of those whose contact may be described as a second-hand knowledge of Christ but whose own experience was of an intense and mystic personal kind.

Of course the Virgin Mary has always held a special place in Christendom and indeed in the Church of Rome is held to be so loved by God that she rose bodily to heaven.

All these have become pillars of our faith, examples to be emulated, sources of inspiration, channels for intercession, providers of miracles, and yet human beings who have a special status through being drawn close to God.

And yet time and again we are reminded that they were subject to essentially human weaknesses of fear, anger, doubt, envy, cowardice, lack of understanding and lack of faith. Clearly even these Saints which we may put in a special category were not beyond such failings. If these are the holy ones, those who have entered the kingdom of heaven and joined the elite band close to God, then perhaps there may be some glimmer of hope for us.

In a quite broad sense, we might observe that in the early Church, all believers were described as saints; a practice, by the way, renewed in more recent times by religious denominations such as the Mormons (the "Latter-day Saints"). In fact it was not until around the 6th century that the title of "Saint" was attached to honour those set apart by the Church as deserving special status.

St. Ignatius is a fascinating, if rather stark example of this state of mind. As a bishop of the Church in Antioch, he was condemned to be sent in chains to face death in the amphitheatre in Rome. During this journey he wrote letters to churches on the way and it was in his letter to the Roman Christians that he revealed a striking insight into the mind of the would-be martyr.

He writes .... "I am voluntarily dying for God ... Let me be fodder for the wild beasts - that is how I can get to God. I am God’s wheat and I am being ground by the teeth of wild beasts to make a pure loaf for Christ ..." and in continuing dramatic language ... he pleads ... "Come fire, cross, battling of wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs, crushing of my whole body, cruel torture of the devil - only let me get to Jesus Christ!"

Such saintly examples may well have provided as much rationale for the subsequent torture and horrendous deaths of those in need of a "cure" of their souls as it did in offering inspiration for others!

At this point it could be useful to pull this review into sharp modern focus - for Sainthood is certainly not confined to the past.

It is interesting to note the naming of this Saint for several reasons. First, Sister Teresa was born Edith Stein of German Jewish parents. She was later to join the Roman Catholic Church and became a Carmelite nun. Despite being offered the opportunity to avoid the general transportation of Jews to the gas chambers of Auschwitz she declared... "Why should I be excluded ... If I cannot share the fate of my brothers and sisters, my life is, in a certain way, destroyed."

So in Edith Stein we have a Christian martyr who at the same time is believed to be the first Jewish-born saint since the Apostles.

From the zealous, even compulsive, martyrdom of Ignatius to the resigned acceptance of Edith Stein we can gather some comfort and direction for the dedication of our own lives to Christ.

As we know, Job was cruelly and sorely tested, even to the point of challenging God to justify this treatment - but he held to his faith, humbly acknowledging God as wise and great; and to this day we hold up the behaviour of Job as one who can sustain faith in the face of total disaster - surely for us an example of a saint-like character to emulate.

But for most of us, at this stage of our journey towards God and "perfection", it is more likely that it will not be from the towering figures of mighty Saints that we will draw comfort and encouragement, so much as from the lives of "ordinary Saints" closer to us in time and nature. Edith Stein for example.

Here is surely someone to whom we can all relate, someone in the streets, touching and caring without pretence. In Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s own words ... "Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile ... to all who suffer and are lonely give always a happy smile. Give them not only your care, but also your heart."

In this life of a young girl from Yugoslavia, drawn to full-time service in the Church, called to provide an example of devoted care of the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta far from home, there is something of substance to encourage any one of us to strive harder to make our own lives more saint-like.

And let me broaden still further the company of Saints by noting those close to us, perhaps in our own family, work context or community whose "saint-like" characteristics inspire us by their example.

We see this in those families where individuals have devoted a lifetime of care to others, who have stoically accepted all that life can deal them, who have remained steadfast in their faith and service of the Church.

We see this in the workplace and the community where individuals have consistently put their personal interests behind service to others and by their example inspire us to do likewise.

Without wishing to unnecessarily embarrass our own Padre Luke, who but a man totally committed to his Church and the selfless service of others could have come out of retirement to so lead, encourage and stimulate this Parish. As he soon "re-retires" may he do so with our prayers and thanks.

Those so known to us may well be a pale reflection of Job, Ignatius, Edith Stein, Mother Teresa ... but nevertheless exhibit something of those qualities which we can recognize as saintly.

It is perhaps in this "ordinary" sense that the Saints may draw us closer to that state of perfection required by Christ for there is something certainly attainable for us in the example of those surrounding us in our everyday lives.

If we only look they are there, and we can do likewise. This theme is captured neatly in the Hymn "I Sing A Song of the Saints of God" (the Australian Hymn Book Hymn 551) and summed up in its final verse:

So, we may well look afresh at All Saints Day. Since the early 7th century this feast day has commemorated all Christian Saints but in particular to honour those who do not have special days or festivals named for them. It may be it is in this legion of Saints, indeed those who perhaps surround us now, that we find the hope and inspiration to direct our own lives towards their example.

"You therefore must be perfect ...?"

Well, certainly not entirely on our own initiative. But if we remain responsive to the presence of God, the love of Christ, the working of the Holy Spirit and the example of that countless host of Saints with which we are surrounded, we may ever draw nearer to that state of preparation held before us by He who was the Author and Perfector of our Faith.

Amen.

Professor Graeme Watts