When I used to write prayers of the people for worship, I often included a line like this, “Remembering the example of Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, we commend our lives to your service.” One upset member informed me that we should be praying for our members and not dead bishops. I explained we weren’t praying for the bishops; we were remembering them before God, asking to be inspired by their example. We were really praying for ourselves. She didn’t buy that. She didn’t want any dead bishops mentioned in prayers, although she didn’t mind prayers mentioning members of the congregation who had died. I couldn’t persuade her that the church was the whole community of saints, living and dead, of every time and place.

It is important to remember the faithful who went before us. That includes everyone from my first Sunday School teacher, Miss Olson, all the way back to John the Baptist. They all were important. Athanasius (296-373), for example, was a fearless defender of the doctrine of the Trinity that we confess in our creeds. He strenuously opposed the view that Jesus Christ was merely a creature not the eternally begotten Son of God. Athanasius got himself removed as bishop and exiled five times by various emperors for his zealous defense of the faith.

We can learn from Athanasius that there is often a cost for upholding the truth. I think that’s something we always need to remember and pray about. May we always be inspired by the example of those who were Christians before us.

Read 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne