|
Sunday after All Saints’ Day
November 7, 2004
Christ Church, Covington
“Let us now praise famous men, our ancestors in their generations” (Ecclus.
44:1).
On my desk are bookends, pretty ugly ones in fact; on one side is the seal
of a notorious college fraternity often found on campuses in the American
South and hardly anyplace else. An imprint on the other side tells me that
these ponderous objects were made by the Dismuke Iron Works in Columbus,
Georgia; from the look of these bookends, this outfit got its start making
canon for the Confederate Army, and artistically never progressed much
beyond this. They’re not lovable or appealing, but there they sit, because
they belonged to my grandfather.
Our celebration of All Saint’s Day reminds us that the Christian faith is
passed on by people, by personal contact and relationship. I’ve got those
blessed bookends because my grandfather was involved in my life, even
though I hardly knew him; in countless ways he helped to make me what I am
(though I wouldn’t want to fault him for that: any problematic pieces I
take full responsibility for!). In the same way, Christianity is a web of
personal associations, where we are brought into relationship with each
other and through that association, with God. This is part of what we mean
when we talk about “the communion of saints”.
So who were the persons who communicated the Christian faith to you? Who
is the “famous person” in the communion of saints that you wish to praise?
A parent or grandparent? A spouse or Sunday School teacher or priest? You
ought to think and reflect on this a bit, and give thanks to God for it.
Perhaps you have a memento from that time, the spiritual analog to my
bookends, or an even more significant reminder close at hand. Whether you
have those physical tokens around you or not, however, the most
significant gift that you have been given is the gift of faith. Paul wrote
to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first
in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives
in you” (2 Tim. 1:5).
That gift of faith is not just in the past, however; not just a thing
given which you can now wrap up and tuck away (though that’s the way we
treat faith sometimes, like a cherished toy from childhood that we’ve now
outgrown). For Paul goes on to write, “I remind you to rekindle the gift
of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Tim. 1:6).
Who in your life now is mediating faith to you, modeling faithfulness and
relationship with God? Who is providing a metaphorical “laying on of
hands” so that faith can be renewed? We all need mentors if faith is going
to continue to live and grow within us.
And then, turn the question just a little bit and look at it from another
angle. Who is looking to us for leadership and example in the life of
faith? None of us is insignificant in the life of faith. Bishops and
priests, vestry members and Sunday School teachers, parents and
godparents, small group leaders and committee members: each of us is
implicated in the life of faith, with an example to offer. We are models
to each other, to our peers if to no one else. If not us, who else? If we
think no one is looking at us, then we are being dangerously modest.
Remember again your own story and your own experience. Faith is caught and
spread by personal example. People are important. Who do we look to for
example in the life of faith? Who is looking to us? If we look around, and
try to answer these questions, we will know what it means to be part of a
“communion of saints” here and now.
The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.
Return to Recent Sermons |