Reflections on the Solemnity of All Saints
Trying to live the Christian life is frequently
likened to climbing a mountain. In the gospel for All Saints we hear our Lord
delivering his main teaching about discipleship from a mountaintop. It is not
easy being a Christian, and it is
like climbing a mountain. But why?
 |
| A whitewashed tomb |
As we listen to our Lord it becomes clear that Christ
wanted disciples that were not just obedient to laws but who were virtuous. He did
not want followers who just kept an outward observance of the Law of Moses. Our
Lord was interested in the heart not just visible actions. He was therefore
interested in what precedes our actions; He was interested in the source of our
actions - the source of our thoughts or motivations. The Christian life is hard
because we not only have to strive to do
the right thing, but we must also strive to think the right thing and desire
the right thing. Our Lord’s greatest criticism was not directed towards those publicly regarded as sinners, but to those
whose sin was hidden by outward righteousness. He called them whitewashed sepulchres!
Outwardly they seemed clean, but inwardly they were dead!
In the Sermon on the Mount He sets out His moral
teaching (i.e. how we are to live) based not merely on outward adherence to God’s
laws, but a much more demanding teaching based at the level of the heart. The
heart, in the Christian sense is not the seat of our emotions, but it is the
mysterious centre of our being where our will is located, and from our heart
issues thoughts and desires. We could put it this way, healing our heart is
central to becoming the disciple Christ wants us to be – it is central to
becoming a saint!
Let us think about a moral command like: do not
steal. When morality is brought to the level of the heart, then we are guilty of
theft, not just when we perform the action of stealing something, but from the
moment we consent to the thought of
stealing something. Once we give our will to it in our heart, then we have
broken the commandment and committed a sin and possibly a grave sin. We may not
ever actually steal anything physically speaking, but by consenting to it in
our hearts we have broken the commandment – and this is a very grave matter in
most circumstances. The same principle applies to all the commandments.
Remember what our Lord taught about adultery? Someone commits adultery by
consenting to it in their hearts. Consent is the crucial thing. The moment we
say ‘Yes’ to a sinful idea, a sinful thought, a sinful desire, then we have
crossed the line. Of course, thoughts come to us, even our Lord was tempted,
but the moment we consent in our hearts to that sinful thought we commit that
sin, we break that commandment.
Today we remember the Saints in glory. The innumerable
hosts of Saints in heaven whose names we do not know. And it can seem that
their holiness is very far from us – it seems we are at the base of the
mountain, and they are at the top. So it is important that you understand one
very important thing: we cannot reach the top by our own effort! The reason our
Lord makes such high demands on His disciples, on you and me, is that He
provides us with something that is key to climbing the mountain. He provides us
with one of two key things to healing our hearts: grace. The other thing is our
repentance – we must decide to repent.
So let us climb that mountain towards the Saints with
both feet: one repentance and the other grace. Amen.
