All Saints_2026

Readings

1 John 3.1-3

Matthew 5.1-12

Sermon

The Introduction to the Peace for All Saints Day reminds us that “we are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, through Christ our Lord, who came and preached peace to those who were far off and those who were near.”  As we give thanks for the saints who have gone before us, the great cloud of witnesses who modelled Christian living, we do so knowing we are all saints, with a small ‘s’. Even more importantly, we are all children of God.  Our reading from I John 3 begins with the exclamation, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are.” 

We are God’s children, we are made in his image, each uniquely reflecting aspects of his glory, as we live our lives for him.  We share a family likeness, yet are all different, and in the community of saints which is the church we can rejoice in our diversity whilst celebrating our unity.  We can give each other, as individuals within the body of Christ, the space to develop unique characteristics, to be who God made us to be.  Two of my favourite quotes from Saints of old are from St Catherine of Sienna, “Be who you were created to be and you will set the world on fire”.  And St Irenaeus: “The glory of God is a man (or woman) fully alive”.  Be who you were created to be; be fully alive!

St Paul, writing to a group of small-s saints in a church in Ephesus in one of his letters, urges them to “lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called”.  He goes on to describe the different gifts and callings we can expect to see in the church, amongst the children of God, gifts of leadership, of teaching, of pastoral care, of prophecy, of evangelism.  He explains that these gifts are given to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ to unity and maturity, to the measure of the fullness of Christ.

I am quite sure that there are, in many churches, people who have yet to discover their gifts and calling as saintly children of God.  One of the things I love about this diocese is the amazing number of Authorised Lay Ministers and LLMs and recently people ordained as part of our Auxiliary Pathway.  It is far beyond the dreams of many dioceses.  I have talked to people in our churches who have marvelled at the growth in confidence they have seen as these folk have exercised ministry, as they have begun to be who they were created to be.  I’m sure there are many more who can share in ministry like them, journeying towards being fully alive, whatever age and stage they are at.

It’s vital that this happens.  For the church to realise its potential as the hope of the world, equipping the saints for the work of ministry needs to be rediscovered as a foundational principle for us all – fulfilling our calling as Kingdom People means everyone finding out their gifts and playing their part.  Paul also wrote this: (I’m quoting from The Message translation of the Bible),

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” (Ephesians 1:11-12)

God has designs on us for glorious living.  Every single person here.  And every person not yet part of our churches but who will become part of them through your invitation and welcome.  Fully alive, gloriously living people, setting the world on fire by using their gifts to promote justice and combat the impact of climate change; by using gifts to work with children and young people, or lonely and housebound people; by using gifts to enable churches to flourish organisationally – these are the kinds of Kingdom People who can be raised up to lead mission and ministry, beloved children of God, who are secure in the knowledge that God made them and sees them as part of his heavenly family.

It’s not only famous saints who have made a difference to the world over the ages.  It is small-s saints, children of God, who have committed to realise their potential and  distinctive characteristics, who have stepped out of their comfort zone, and allowed themselves to be stirred up to discover who they were created to be, alongside each other.   God provides for all the needs of his children, if we but work together, finding out who we are and what we are living for as part of his overall purpose, united in radical mutuality, as a family, working properly and being built up in love.

So my prayer for each saintly child of God in this diocese, is that you set your part of the world on fire as you discover who you were created to be and become fully alive as you are equipped for the work of ministry. That, as saints together, young and old, you each play your unique part, using your unique, God-given gifts, ever more realising your potential   That you rest secure in the knowledge that you are part of your church because God has called you, his child, who he knows by name. That together, as his kingdom people, you live out the values of faith, hope and love, as saints in each generation before us have done, and as saints in future generations will do so too.