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October 21, 2021Feast of All Saints Day
Have you ever seen or participated in a relay race? Teams of runners work together and depend on each other in this competition. When one team member finishes her or his part of the race, the baton is passed on to the next person in the relay. Only then can that next runner begin, and the baton is passed again after that stretch to the next person. The baton is the permanent fixture in all of this. On All Saints Day, I think of the Good News as the baton, passed on by the holy women and men who came before us. Since the time of Jesus, this Good News of great joy (Luke 2:10) about Jesus, the Son of God, is passed on from one generation to the next. But we are not to just stand here with it, we are called to take it and run with it...to live it. Jesus gives us the “training” on how to run this race, and its core is in the Beatitudes. We hear them today, quite fittingly. They turn the world on its head: blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry and thirsty for righteousness, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. Luke’s Beatitudes are even more direct: blessed are the poor and hungry. Society seems to glorify the powerful, rich, and tough...those who pierce communities with division, and even bullies. As Saint John reminds us in his letter today, the truth is that we are God’s Children. We belong to God. This means we belong to LOVE. We belong to the Good News, not the bad news we hear so often.
The baton of the Good News has been passed on to us by great examples throughout history: the saints. They have shown us what it looks like to run this race with spirit, determination, and passion. They have entrusted us with this mission. We are holding something special in this baton of the Good News, friends. It is not a task to be taken lightly. It is the gift the world hungers for...it is the remedy for the bad news. And we are to go running into the world carrying this Good News. On your mark, get set...GO forth and proclaim the Gospel with your life. Dear Saints- may we not let you down!
