Ephesians 1:11-23
My grandfather never set out to be a saint. But he was a good man who loved God, loved his family, worked hard, and cared about the people of his community. And somewhere in his youth, when he was memorizing verses in Sunday School, he must have learned verse 3 in the 6th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, which is: “But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
He met my grandmother, Winona, and proposed to her. They settled into a small village in Vermont, nestled at the foot of Mount Mansfield, and raised four children, their oldest child being my mother.
My grandfather purchased a building on Main Street and opened up a little grocery store. All four of their children grew up learning how to run the cash register and became adept at doing mental math quickly. I have fond memories of walking the block from my grandparents’ home to the store, holding my grandpa’s hand and listening to him jingle the change in his pocket as we walked. You could buy anything in that little store, from rubber cement and rubber galoshes to sliced ham or a chunk of cheese cut off the huge wheel. On a hot day, my favorite treat was pulling an ice-cold Coke out of the cooler, and placing the bottle cap at just the right angle against the can opener attached to the cooler, to pop the cap off of the thick glass bottle. Seven ounces of fizzy sweet liquid never tasted so good!
You don’t really know what saintly qualities hide within a humble man, sometimes, until he dies, and you discover the things he never spoke of. It seemed like the whole town turned out for my grandfather’s wake, which was held in the family home, a block away from the old store. And some of them shared, with deep gratitude, about how my grandfather had helped their family to survive during the Depression. My grandfather was just a young man, in his mid-twenties, when the Depression hit. And yet, he had a generous and kind heart and allowed those families that needed to run a tab in the store, and pay when they could, to do so. Turns out, there were families that never could pay, and my grandfather quietly allowed those debts to be forgiven.
The qualities of a saint, they say, include humility, generosity, and devotion to God. My grandfather had these good qualities, and more. Nothing, mind you, that ever qualified him for canonization. I mean, for one thing, he was a member of the local Congregational church, so no prayer of attaining Catholic sainthood!
We celebrate the saints today. I’m sure we could tell stories all day long, about the people in our photographs, and what we see in them that qualifies them for sainthood. And let’s tell those stories, throughout the coming year, for they need to be told and celebrated! And all of us are the saints-in-the-making, my friends. John Wesley, founder of Methodism, reminds us that we are all going on toward perfection. And we, the faithful, travel that path of salvation by what Wesley called the “means of grace.” In other words, by the works of mercy we engage in, as well as the works of piety. Visiting the sick and those in prison. Feeding the hungry. Being generous to the poor. Praying, receiving communion, worshiping together, reading scripture daily (not just on Sundays :0), studying the Bible, fasting, and sharing our faith with others. Checking in with others of the faith, to see how it is with their souls, and to share how it is with ours. This is the work of saints-in-the-making, my friends.
I would encourage each one of us to practice one or more of these works of mercy, and do as my grandfather did, by following the guidance of Matthew 6:3, doing that good work quietly, for God sees your good work, and that is enough. And I’d caution that while my grandfather had the financial means to give groceries away and still make ends meet, good works are not always those that cost money, so don’t despair that you can’t do these works of mercy because your finances are tight. One good work is giving of our time, as faithful people. Being with people is often just what is needed, either offering to pray with someone, or just taking the time to sit and listen.
There is no fast-track to the saintly life. Indeed, my grandfather would have laughed heartily at the thought that helping some families during the Depression placed him in any saintly category whatsoever. He would have very humbly said that all he did was help people, and who wouldn’t help people, when life is hard?
We are in hard times, here and now. There is no better time to practice the means of grace. I found a Dollar Tree Dinners page online that has great suggestions for inexpensive meals. At Dollar Tree, or any discount grocery store, one can purchase the food, place it in a small box with the simple recipe, and it is an easy-to-fix, nutritious meal. With the SNAP benefits at risk, these kinds of suggestions are just small things that individuals can do to help with one of the works of mercy, feeding the hungry.
Let us remember, tho, that just because the means of grace refers to “works” does not mean that our work, and our work alone, is what gains us anything. The Holy Spirit is at work in us and through us, right now! Helping us to do God’s will, and as we participate in God’s plan to offer salvation to the world, God’s power will be revealed. God’s love transforms even the most reluctant “saint”…helping a sinner to journey that path to salvation and discover for themselves the deep grace at work in his or her life. It’s enough to bring one to tears, when we stand in awe of how much God loves us, and forgives us and opens his arms wide to welcome us into his sheltering embrace.
God’s anointed one came to heal this broken world, to bring us into that new creation that is right relationship with God, our Creator. As we learn and practice daily the means of grace, and build our faith community, God will bless our good works, and reveal to us, step by step, what God’s will is so that we may eagerly journey together in the joy of discipleship, as we serve God and all God’s children.
I think that, were my grandfather with us today, and if I asked him to share his wisdom with us, on how to walk this saintly path God is calling us to walk…I think he’d say pretty much what Paul says in today’s scripture. Paul says, in Ephesians Chapter 1, verse 18: “I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers.”
Well, Grampa Murray was a quiet, small-town mom-and-pop general store owner, so maybe he wouldn’t be quite so fancy in his talk. Although I do love that poetic phrase, “the eyes of your heart.” He’d probably just say something like this: “Look with your heart, not with a balance sheet. Let God balance the sheet. Just focus on the people right in front of you. One person at a time. And just be there for them. The eyes of your heart will let you know what you need to do. And God, in God’s power and wisdom, will take care of everything else.” Amen.
Pastor Elizabeth Bailey-Mitchell
