October 28, 2026

Wednesday Word . . . All Saints

This coming Sunday, November 1, is the Feast of All Saints. This is the day when we specifically remember that we have been knit together in one communion and fellowship with those who came before, those who are now, and those who will come after, in the mystical body of Christ.

When we think of the saints of God, we probably think of those Big S saints: people like Peter, James, John, Mary, Martha, Francis, Julian, Cecilia, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and so many others. But the saints of God are also all of those little s saints who are unknown to most people and have lived faithful lives in their generations. While unknown to us, they are certainly known to God.

This All Saints' Day will be especially meaningful for the people of Saint Luke's. Between All Saints' 2025 and 2026, we lost our fair share of saints. From Mary Fowlkes to the Eastwoods to Dale, Johnnie, and Pam, we have bid farewell to those who have passed on to the greater glory of that place where sorrow and pain are no more, but life everlasting. And while we sorrow at their passing, we can also be comforted in the knowledge that for them, life is changed, not ended.

We will also renew our baptismal covenant. We will once again promise to continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. We will once again promise to persevere in resisting evil, to proclaim the Good News, and to seek and serve Christ in all persons. We do this on a regular basis because it can be difficult to continue to live into those promises, so we need a reminder every now and then of what we are trying to live in and up to. And what better way to honor the saints of our recent past by promising to live as they would want us to live?

The saints are not just the Big S or little s saints of the past, they live among us today. As the hymn says, “You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea, for the saints of God are just folk like me.”

May we live in a way that honors the saints of the past, and may we live in a way that someone somewhere considers us to be a Saint of God.

Blessings,

Todd+