I have been a fan of All Saints’ Day since my youth. Maybe it was because of the stupendous hymn we sang every year “For All the Saints.”

The Festival of All Saints was preserved by many Lutheran church orders after the Reformation. Despite that, I have found a number of Lutherans who get upset over any mention of saints. That puzzles me since the word “saints” (meaning holy ones) appears over 100 times in the Bible. In the New Testament saints is used to refer to Christians. Maybe we should change All Saints’ Day to All Christians’ Day to make the point.

The Communion of Saints which we confess in the Apostles’ Creed can be a hard concept to wrap our minds around. It means the church is not just the people who belong to my particular congregation. It is all the people who have ever been baptized and remained in the faith, both living and dead. The Saints include millions of people over the course of almost 2,000 years. All of us worship the Lamb of God.

We can learn from all those who have gone before us in the faith. Peter and Paul are examples to us as are Augustine, Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Jr. and maybe Grandma and Grandpa, too. All Saints’ is the special day to remember all of them and to be inspired by them.

Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine,
we feebly struggle, they in glory shine
Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine. Alleluia

Read Revelation 5:9-14 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne