This weekend we will celebrate All Saints. During worship we will light candles to remember and give thanks for the life and ministry of saints in our congregation who have joined the Church Triumphant since last All Saints Day. We also will focus on the blessing of having each other with whom to travel in faith. Our tradition considers ALL members of the Body of Christ saints. That does not mean we all live perfect lives. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We become saints not by performing miracles, but through the claim God makes on us in baptism. By water and the Spirit, God makes us members of the church of Jesus Christ, saints in his ministry.
Saints often have more impact than they realize. Sometimes seemingly simple acts of ministry make a great difference. That impact flows from the gifts of the Spirit abundant in every ministry and from the wonder woven into the relationships we share. A recent practice initiated by Le Bonheur Hospital in Memphis has provided concrete evidence of this. La Bonheur works with four hundred churches in the area it serves in a program in which hospital staff members, called "navigators," work with liaisons in congregations to arrange visits, transportation, and follow-up care for hospitalized members or friends of those congregations. From 2007 to 2009 hospital officials noted that patients in this program had 50% lower mortality rates and 20% lower readmission rates. As saints from congregations visited, helped with transportation, and made follow- up calls, the health of other saints dramatically improved. As in any scientific endeavor, only further testing will validate these results; but the message is clear. Good things happen as we stay in touch with each other.
I see this often. Our saints understandably expect a pastor to visit when they are hospitalized. Yet, when any of our saints also visits, the hospitalized saints almost always tell the story with obvious and emotional gratitude. We all know about being busy. When someone with whom we worship and serve takes time to express concern for us, the community becomes more vibrant and God seems more personal and near. For those less able to travel, please know that handwritten notes have similar impact. Saints experience the blessings of Jesus' promise, "I am with you always," as other saints take the time to let them know they are valued, loved, and worth a few moments of time.
This weekend we will read the names of departed saints, light candles, and thank God for them. We can further honor those saints by looking for opportunities to strengthen the ties that bind us. All 1000 plus should not make hospital visits next week! That would not help our convalescent saints and it might make the hospitals file restraining orders! But all 1000 plus of us can make personal contacts weekly. When a child sings a song we enjoyed during worship, we could write a note or make a call. When we do not recognize a face, we can extend our hand or even invite that person out for coffee. Only our imaginations limit the possibilities, and when the Spirit touches our imaginations, anything becomes possible.
Those who traveled in faith before us bless us. So do those with whom we travel now. May our celebration of All Saints inspire us not only to give thanks for those blessings, but also to add to them.
Grace and Peace Saints,
LP
The last lines of "All Saints, We Are" remind me of a quote from Joan Chittister: “We are all a means of blessing for one another. You have to want to be a blessing, of course. And who knows? Maybe the problem is not that we don’t see the blessings around us. It may be that we don’t see ourselves as blessings. And so we aren’t.” Sometimes I think it is easier to recognize how much we are blessed by those around us than to believe we can be blessings to others as well.
ReplyDeleteJoan - great commentary! Seems we've been blessed and blessing in so many ways as a church community in these past few weeks with the First Lutheran, Mobile Food Bank, SEM and other activities.
ReplyDeleteLP, I love the blessing you mention of "having each other with whom to travel in faith." Our church community helps so much during the good times and the bad!