All Saints' Day

One of many things I can truly appreciate in the Christian Tradition is the celebration of the witness of the Saints who came before. Much of the protestant "denominations" have done a good job at taking it away from the culture of the Church; while militant secularists have been after the culture altogether. A question that ran through my mind before is, "why do we bother observing feast days and the Saints when following Jesus is basically just that?" Following Jesus. Doesn't it take away glory from God and bestow honor upon another person or group of persons? Quite the contrary, I would argue.

Observance:
How does celebrating the Saints honor and glorify our Lord and Savior? Why is celebrating them so significant? Because the witness of the Saints shows us how Christianity is practiced to the fullest. Usually some significant acts by their hands, are often attributed to them, and are patron to those who do similar things; i.e. Michael the Archangel, is described in Daniel 10:13-21 as protector of Israel; so in the Church, he is patron most notably to those who are defined as protectors  such as military, police, paramedics, and firefighters. The Apostle Saint Paul writes, "Imitate  me as I imitate Christ," (1Cor. 11:1.) We look to the example of each individual Saint, some standing out more than others, in their walk with the Lord. From acts of charity, vibrant ministries that converted even entire nations like St. Patrick; using their skills and talents for the betterment of the Church and their communities, like Saint Francis; even giving up positions of power and high esteem for refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods and the Caesar, such as Saint George, and many others having died by some of the most heinous deaths imagined by the human mind. So it is good for the Christian to read on these people and see how they gave their lives through the time since the establishment of Christ's Church and be inspired by their servanthood; Man and Angel alike.

Persecution And Martyrdom:
As we observe All Saints' Day, I am reminded that many Saints were killed for their faith; and it is no question that this has been going on since Jesus established the Church, continuing to this day. In the Gospel of Matthew 10:16-25, Jesus tells his disciples of the persecutions that will come: being delivered to the synagogues, governors, being betrayed by family, friend and neighbor, saying that they will be hated by all for his sake. Amidst all that he says not to worry and not to fear them because they can only kill the body, but to fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Hell (Matt. 10:28.) In the book of Acts there are accounts recorded by Luke of persecution against the Church unfolding, as Jesus prophesied, such as that of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60.) Saul, who would later convert and become the greatest evangelist of all of the apostles as Paul, though he didn't consider himself the greatest, began as a Pharisee who hunted down, captured, imprisoned, and killed Christians. He came to the end of his ministry by way of martyrdom, himself.
Those who die for the faith should in fact give us courage to stand up if we are so called at any point in our lives to lay ours down for His sake. It is not to say we should stand idle when these times come, and wait for them to kill us, because God desires deliverance for us; by what ever means he wills. As we are the Church Militant, we need to pray for them constantly who still suffer in other lands for their faith in Jesus Christ, and provide for them when we can. This All Saints' Day, it would be a good time on which to reflect and give thanks to God for those who stood their ground fearlessly for the Gospel through these last 2000 years. Let us be thankful also, for those of us living in the West and the United States especially, that we don't have to look over our shoulders while walking down the road, or that when we gather for Sunday services there is little to no need for armed security 24/7 because of constant religious or sectarian violence.
This Holy Day should really remind us that we can rest assured of the Truth of the Gospel in the witness of the Apostles in their own acts of martyrdom. No person of sound mind (and I trust Jesus that they were) would die for a lie by the hands of those openly hostile to its message. Death has been conquered by Jesus in his resurrection from the tomb, and we are assured through the tradition of scripture that because of this, death cannot separate us from Him. As Peter said in his second Epistle, "for we did not follow cleverly devised myths... But we were eye-witnesses of his majesty," (2 Peter 1:16.) The more I learn, the more I realize that persecution and martyrdom are, in an ironic way, forms of preserving and persevering in faith.

Service:
Reading about the Saints helps us in our servanthood to God. As I stated before, some Saints are patron to different occupations or ministries because something significant was done through and by them. The accounts of the Saints paints a picture of how we use our own lives to serve God; in our homes, our jobs, our leisure, and our studies and turning these things into worshiping the Lord when not in church or having our quiet time with God. Serve as unto God, not unto Man, as it's written. And the Saints are helpful in this, when you look at them in light of Scripture and not as some vain adoration that Rome mandated in the Medieval Church.

Conclusion:
Let their testimonies move you and be inspired by the Holy Spirit to be a more effective servant of God in Jesus Christ. It could revive your ministry, corporately and individually, stir you to want to do more good works as fruit of your faith, and obtain the crown and treasures in Heaven God so desires to give to his Church Triumphant. We have to respond to the Holy Ghost, to proclaim the Gospel as the Saints have. With all the darkness prevailing in societies at large today, nothing really is that different in the world, and in a broad view, there is nothing to fear. It's just evident that we have a lot more work cut out for ourselves than we ever realized. If you think and pray about deeply, it's actually a real blessing in disguise, as we know and are assured in all things true! The Apostles and the Saints after them, are true and right testimonies.
A blessed All Saints' Day to y'all!

(Thanks for reading. I hope this helps. I don't claim to be elegant in any way, and I need as much work as the next person. Pray for each other. If you like this, follow barelyprotestant.blogspot.com that is Barely Protestant on Facebook and Against Heresies on Facebook. Give my Facebook page a like or follow too on The Via Media. I would like to know your thoughts. Thank you for bearing with me. God bless!)