UCA SA - Reflection for the Week

The communion of saints

By Clive Conway

This Sunday, All Saints’ Day, can easily become a celebration of amazing people in the history of Christianity – those whose faith seemed stronger, their actions more courageous, their certainty more absolute than our own. But this week’s lectionary readings have a slightly different message. They remind us that sainthood is not about spiritual perfection but simply about belonging to God and participating in God’s work of healing the world.

In Revelation 7:9-17, John sees “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” gathered before God’s throne. In his vision no one culture, nation or tradition stands at the centre. Instead, God’s future is a community marked by diversity, worship and belonging (7:9-10). This vision challenges any form of exclusion and reminds us that God’s embrace is wider than the boundaries we sometimes create.

The passage we know as ‘The Beatitudes’ in Matthew 5:1-12 fleshes this out further. Jesus names those who are blessed – “the poor in spirit”, “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”, “the merciful” and “the peacemakers”. Whereas our world usually measures worth by power, wealth and influence, Jesus proposes instead that blessedness is found in compassion, reconciliation, and the pursuit of justice for others rather than self-advancement.

1 John 3:1-3 adds another layer of hope: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God”. Even before we accomplish anything or prove ourselves worthy, we are already children of God. It is in our very identity, not our achievements. I know that in my head, but how often do I stop to reflect on just how transformative this simple revelation could and should be in my daily life?

The psalmist invites us to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). Faith is not a set of rules or doctrines, but an experience of God’s goodness and presence.

The saints are not only those who are remembered in history books or have days named after them in the church calendar. They are also the teachers, carers, advocates, activists, grandparents, neighbours, friends and all the others who have embodied Christ’s way through the course of history and today.

So, this All Saints Day we give thanks for those who have gone before us, but we also recognise that the ‘communion of saints’ is a living movement of people trying to reflect God's inclusive, healing and transforming love in the world today and we are invited to take our place within it.

Image: Exterior fresco at Monastery of Moldovita, Romania.