Message from the Rector

Becoming the Saints of God

Paul writes in the letter Romans, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” The word we have in English as "saint" in Latin was "sanctus," which means "holy." To be holy is not to be possessed of a particular quality (as in "holier than thou" or, another word associated with "saint" - to be "sanctified"). Rather, to be holy means to be set apart for God's use. We say that the church sanctuary is holy not because of its design or its furnishings but because its primary purpose is to be the arena in which God and God's people encounter one another. When the clergy say a prayer of blessing over water, it becomes holy water used in sacramental ways such as for baptism. The followers of Christ were holy ones not because of any supernatural gifts but because they claimed Jesus as Lord, were God's beloved and were available to do God's will. In a sense, they were saints not for what they had accomplished but because of what they were becoming.

In light of this understanding of “saint”, each one of us is becoming a saint of God, which is our stewardship theme of celebration this year. The Christian life entails living in the tension of the real and the ideal, the now and the not yet, the present and the eternal. We uphold and strive for the ideal while recognizing and acknowledging reality.

The reality is that there is much to celebrate together… a healthy and attractive campus, a thriving preschool, a growing Christian Education program, festive fellowship opportunities including a fundraiser with wine tasting, silent auction, music and art, significant technological advances (now the preschool and church both have websites and electronic newsletters), and so many reliable, dedicated volunteers (you!) that support the church programs and outreach. This is the reality of St. Aidan’s. We are a warm, loving, Christ-centered community… yet we continue to strive to be saints of God, striving for the ideal St. Aidan’s. What would this look like? Who is our mission? These are questions the vestry will be contemplating at the vestry retreat in January.

“When we read the lives of the saints, we are struck by a certain large leisure which went hand in hand with remarkable effectiveness. They were never hurried; they did comparatively few things, and these not necessarily striking or important; and they troubled very little about their influence. Yet they always seemed to hit the mark; their simplest actions had a distinction, an exquisiteness that suggest the artist. The reason is not so far to seek. Their sainthood lay in their habit of referring the smallest actions to God. They lived in God; they acted from a pure motive of love towards God. They were free from self-regard as from slavery to the good opinion of others. God saw and God rewarded: what else did they need? They possessed God and possessed themselves in God.” (Creative Prayer, by Brigid Herman, Paraclete Press, 1998)

As you prayerfully discern your church pledge for next year (2008), reflect on your journey of becoming a saint of God. Are you where you want to be? What is the ideal you are striving for? On this journey together we are always reminded of the good news that we possess God and ourselves in God.

In Christ’s Peace,
Reverend Joyce

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November 2007