Paul begins his first letter to the church in Corinth with these words of salutation: “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints . . .”(1 Corinthians 1:2) I find some of the words Paul uses very interesting. For example, he wrote to the “saints” in Corinth. If you have ever paid close attention to what was going on in the Corinthian church, you may remember that it was a congregation about to tear itself apart with divisions. Scholars suggest the group may not have been more than fifty people, but they seem to have more than their share of problems. And Paul calls them “saints?” What’s up with that? They don’t sound very saintly. The Greek root word for “saint” is connected to the word for “holy” and “sanctified.” But these “saintly” people sound more like a holy mess!

We may think of saints in terms of individuals who are perfect. Saints are often depicted in religious art with halos hovering above their heads. But at its most basic level, a saint is simply another word for a Christian – someone like you and me. To be a saint means that we are followers of Christ, seeking in our imperfect ways to grow in our faith. This Sunday we celebrate All Saints’ Sunday. During our services we will remember those brothers and sisters connected to our church family that have died this past year. We also remember that our hope and belief is that death is not the final word. Resurrection is the final word!

Prayer for Today

Gracious God, we thank you for all the saints who have made a difference in our lives. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus the Christ -- our hope and our resurrection. Amen.