Tuesday, October 29, 2013

All Saints Day

Who are the saints in your life story / journey?

The biblical tradition provides us with a multitude of images.  From the Old Testament we are given the concept of a new Israel, a community possessed by the holy spirit and representing in the here and now the community we will know in the after life.  From the New Testament have “the holy ones” such as the apostles and members of the early church.

Interestingly, the Bible does not give us strong trends toward individual saints.  Saints are the community or because of relationship to the community of believers.  The idea of a lone ranger saint does not appear in the Bible.

Another change along the way has been the function of saints in our lives.  There was a time when we prayed for the saint to be cared for by God, especially when their service was dangerous or when they were martyred.  More common today is to ask the saint, especially when they are deceased, to pray for us.

How do you relate to the saints?

Sharing faith,

Dr. Brooks