We do need the right clothes when we party. Jesus told a story about a gate crasher who was identified by his jeans and trainers, or their equivalent. But in the vision of St John the saints are wearing proper clothes, white garments, with palms to wave. When we baptise someone we tell her, see in your white garment the sign of your Christian dignity. White stands for purity and innocence and above all it is the symbol of joy. So join the Dominicans and you can wear a white garment every day!
But seriously, you are a new creation in Christ. You have put on Christ, as a person puts on a suit of clothes. It means you are called to holiness. Does that mean you are holy already? Perhaps you are not sure but you know you are excited by the idea. Was Mrs Thatcher a good public speaker? Not everyone thought so but she was excited by the idea. She took great pains with her voice. What would be the point of being a follower of Christ unless you want of him want he wants for you, to make you a saint? Surely all who entertain this hope must purify themselves, just as he is pure.
The feast of All the Saints is like a resting place on a journey. We see already in the far distance our home that lies ahead. Though there is still a long way to go we are encouraged by the sight, we are already the children of God and what we are to be in the future will be revealed one day. The amazing thing is not simply that there is forgiveness of sins, that would be splendid, or that we know that we are loved, wonderful though that is. But there is more waiting for us. We are called to share God’s own life, to be his adopted sons and daughters, to live through love in His presence. Not to be postponed for the age to come, already by our Baptism and the Eucharist, in the here and now.
St Therese of Lisieux tells us that we can become holy by following the little way of love. So it is not complicated. It is tough. It is always a struggle, the silent struggle to stay true to one’s promises, to defend the poor, to care for justice also for the unborn, to get alongside the unloved. To be always genuine in our dealings. To be merciful and single-minded (what pure in heart means) and people of peace.
Now we are so used to hearing about this personal path to holiness that’s meant for me, I can try for myself. But in fact, when it comes to brass tacks, I cannot do it all alone, my competitive mentality and my comfort-seeking hunger for consumer goods always get in first. Holiness implies a desire for wholeness, and that is the world’s problem, not a personal ambition. If the natural resources of the world are plundered, if the earth is trashed by our waste, fragile ecosystems put at risk, if we cannot think and plan as though the poor nations counted, what future? What kind of world not only for the poor nations but for our own grandchildren too?
The beatitudes of Jesus contain a catalogue of discontents: here are the spiritless, the bereaved, those broken by poverty, those who never get their fill of justice in this world, those who are persecuted for the cause of right. Are these just personal accidents that some people are lucky enough to avoid? Well the Ebola disaster was not inevitable. It results from decisions about how investments are made and resources shared – or ring-fenced for the developed world. So there is a problem. How can we join the company of the saints in light and be complicit in injustice?
Pope Francis writes in The Joy of the Gospel: “an authentic faith is never comfortable or just something private to oneself. It always involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to leave the world somehow better than we found it. We love this magnificent planet on which God has put us, and we love the human family which dwells here, with all its tragedies and struggles. The earth is our common home and all of us are brothers and sisters. Pope Benedict said, the Church cannot remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. And, our loving response to God isn’t to be an accumulation of small personal gestures, a kind of charity à la carte to ease our consciences. The gospel is about the kingdom of God, it is about loving God who reigns in our world. Christian preaching and life are meant to have an impact on society, (to promote) fraternity, justice, peace and human dignity” (180-183).
Should the Church interfere in politics? Well, it interfered in religion, didn’t it?
Are the Beatitudes of Jesus to be read as a pat on the back for his listeners? Or aren’t they the programme for struggle, indeed for a permanent revolution? We need to hear the Lord saying to us that there really is a blessedness about all this, that in and through the struggle we are called to the company of saints by the one who says, Come you blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom prepared for you. Yes, for you. We already received our party clothes when we were baptised so now, we can come as we are. Amen.
text by fr Bob Eccles OP
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