Most of us would say “I’m no saint” without thinking twice, and Pastor Huebel spends this All Saints Day explaining why the Bible will not let that stand. He traces the word back from the medieval canonization process, with its bishops and investigations and required miracles, to what Scripture actually means by it, which is every believer in Christ. The sermon then follows the saints in two places at once, the church militant still living in a world that does not know them, and the church triumphant already home.
This episode draws from the Epistle reading of 1 John 3:1-3, which is also the sermon text, with the Holy Gospel reading from St. Matthew 5:1-12 and a word from Psalm 116:15.
Key themes include what Scripture means by the word saint, saint and sinner at the same time, righteousness received rather than earned, the church militant and the church triumphant, grief that still carries hope, and the promise of the resurrection of the body.
