The Christian faith is not hung up on “Halloween” but some branches of the Faith do celebrate “All Saints Day” which originally was the significant celebration – and commercial and pagan forces have now meant that Halloween is becoming widely recognised.

On the first of November each year we celebrate All Saints’ Day, having survived All Hallows’ Eve (known as ‘Halloween’) the night before. Have you ever wondered what makes a saint? It’s an interesting question.

Classically the concept of a “saint” potentially applies to all of us. To be a saint is not to be a person who does miracles and is a “goody goody two shoes” – someone who is excessively virtuous, but rather it applies to the umbrella identification of those who say “yes” to the life and work of Jesus Christ.

The Protestant branch of the Christian faith was very keen, a long time ago, to emphasise this reality when it opposed the hypocrisy that existed in the late-Middle Ages when it came to naming very unvirtuous people as “saints”.

Yes we are indeed sinners too, certainly, and we need forgiveness, but that’s not all we are – we are not defined by our mistakes. We too can be beautiful human beings, just as the saints of old were. They’re not actually all that different from us. When we understand ourselves to be just like the saints, it changes the way we think of ourselves.

So for those of us who can buy into this more modern interpretation of the “sainthood” – let us also be challenged to live a life that is consistent with living as a child of the light and in the reflected glory of God’s incredible and unconditional love. We are blessed by God; we are children of God, capable of being wonderful people, who make a difference to the world. Within each one of us lies the glory of God, waiting to shine out like a beacon of hope to the world.

Being a saint doesn’t mean being perfect. It means faithfully doing whatever it is we feel God calling us to do at this time, in a way which is true to our faith. We rejoice in the prayers I’m sure they are saying for us, as we too play our part in being saints in God’s world. And for our encouragement we have this view from the scriptures of that great crowd of witnesses (the saints gone before us).

“As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with perseverance the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end.” (Hebrews 12: 1 – 2)

Rev David Williams
College Chaplain