We are marching towards sainthood!

Homily for All Saints – November 1, 2014

Revelation 7:2-4,9-14, 1 John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12a

Introduction

My former bishop tells the story of when, as a young priest, he had just completed his graduate studies in New York and was returning to Uganda.  After congratulating him on his academic success, someone told him: “Father, although you have now acquired an academic title, there is still one more title you need to get.”

“Which one,” the young priest asked?  “Monsignor?”

“No,” was the answer.

“Bishop?”

“No.”

“Archbishop?”

“No.”

“Well, it must be Pope.”

The answer was still, “No.”  “The title that you still need to add to your name is that of “Saint, Saint Denis.”

Scripture and Theology

We Christians are on a journey; the journey of becoming saints.  Before our baptism, we were lost, we had no GPS, we were sense of direction.  Baptism set us on the path that leads to heaven.  Although we often have other reasons for being Christians, such as peace of mind, living a good moral life, the only reason that counts is this: we are Christians so that we can become saints.

In today’s second reading, John describes the saints: it is those who are with God in heaven as well as those on the journey towards heaven.  He says:

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.

Being like God is what saints are!  Seeing God as he is, is what saints do!

The saints are also the ones whom the writer of the first reading from Revelation describes in his vision: “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.”  They stand, dressed in white robes before the throne of God, praising him.  That is the life to which we should look forward: being like God and seeing God as he is, as we share his company forever.

Unlike Halloween, which celebrates those disturbed spirits still lingering around on earth and causing all kinds of trouble, All Saints Day celebrates those spirits, who have made it to heaven and are rejoicing with God.  The spirits of Halloween have lost their way; the spirits of the saints kept on the right path.  Halloween dramatizes our fears of death and darkness; All Saints Day tells us that heaven and the hope of heaven have overcome these fears, promising us the life and light of God.

Christian Life

But how do we ensure that we shall make this journey to sainthood successfully?  How do we get there?  What road do we take?  Do we take Interstate 10 or do we take Airline Highway with all its traffic lights and small towns?

Throughout the gospel, Jesus suggests ways in which we can live and remain on the path that leads to heaven.  In the Beatitudes, he declares as blessed, in other words, saints, those who live according to the way of the Beatitudes.

·        As Jesus promises, they will arrive at the heavenly destination and be counted among the Blessed those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn and those who are meek.

·        They will be admitted through the pearly gates, he says, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful and those who are clean of heart.

·        Heaven will be the abode for those who, along journey are peacemakers, are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and are insulted and persecuted and have had every kind of evil uttered falsely against them because of Jesus.

And so, if we are to pack any supplies for the journey to heaven, it is these beatitudes and the values of mercy, poverty, righteousness, meekness, and cleanness of heart.  Yes, we still sin and sometimes we take the wrong exit.  But because we have entered the correct address into the GPS of our life, because we have charged it with God’s grace in the sacraments and in his word, our GPS recalculates and brings us back to the main highway to heaven.  Because our eyes set on getting to heaven, hopefully, we will live lives worth of heaven.

Conclusion

When I first came to New Orleans, I was surprised that the song, “O when the Saints go Marching in,” refers to the New Orleans Football team.  In Uganda, this is a song we sing about the saints in heaven.  It includes all the saints, including Pope John XXIII and John Paul II, who were just recently canonized as saints, and from that date their names will be on the list of the saints of the Catholic Church, models for us all to follow.

But let me suggest a third meaning for the saints referred to in this song about the saints marching on.  These saints are us.  We are the saints who are marching on and who want to be counted in that number, of those who have made it to heaven, and are busy rejoicing in God’s presence.  That is our goal, that is our motivation, that is our hope.