FOR ALL THE SAINTS - By Nathan Metzger

I was raised a Lutheran on the Plains of south central South Dakota. Our piety was a mixture that few people seem familiar with anymore. We knelt for Confession and at the rail for Holy Communion, but we only received the Sacrament once a month (“To make sure we have enough sins built up to make it worth Jesus’ while to be there,” my grandfather would say). We kept the very basics of what the church calls the liturgical calendar. The colors that adorned the church throughout the year indicated which church “season” we were in (Christmas, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost…we observed the major holidays). But unless a feast day or other commemoration landed on a Sunday, we seldom did anything with it. As I study more, though, I find myself drawn to the church calendar more and more. And the question I get about it most often is: “Why?”

The answer I give is this: “Because it helps me.”

An example: As I sit down to write this, the liturgical calendar tells me that the feast of St. Barnabas is today. Although he is mentioned periodically in the New Testament, most of what we know about Barnabas comes from the Book of Acts. He is first introduced as a Levite from Cyprus named Joseph, but the the early church leaders decided to call him “Barnabas,” (literally, “son of encouragement”).

Names and nicknames often carry meaning, and Barnabas’ name is no exception. His faith in what the apostles’ preached was apparently enough that he sold a field that he owned and laid the proceeds of that sale at the apostles’ feet. An act like that has a tendency to both encourage and humble the recipients.

The next time Barnabas pops up is in Acts 9, when his path crossed with that of another saint - a man named Saul of Tarsus, who had made it his life’s work to rid the world of people who follow “The Way”.  In other words, he was out to destroy the Church.  But while traveling to Damascus with the intention of arresting those he found, Saul of Tarsus encountered the risen Christ and was changed forever.   From there Saul went to synagogues in Damascus, proclaiming Christ until he learned of a plot to kill him.  Saul escaped, and the way Acts tells it, he went to the only place there was to go: to Jerusalem, to meet with the apostles there.

By this point, Saul’s previous personal mission to hunt down Christians was well known, so when he tried to join the Church in Jerusalem, the disciples there were afraid, suspicious that this was a ruse to trap them.

Only one person was willing to hear Saul out: Barnabas.

The “son of encouragement” listened to Saul, believed him, and took him before the apostles, vouching for him.  Barnabas took a big risk, essentially exposing the apostles to persecution.  But that risk made it possible for Saul of Tarsus to connect with the larger church.  This connection helped Saul of Tarsus put away his own past and sent him on a new mission as Paul of Tarsus, or as he's better known as, Saint Paul, telling others what God had done in Christ.  Paul and Barnabas shared that mission, traveling together and no doubt encouraging each other until disagreement sent them in different directions.  Even then, I suspect that the encouragement Paul received from Barnabas stayed with him the rest of his life, seeing him through arrests, imprisonments, death threats, and more.

This story of Saint Barnabas has been a huge help to me as I’ve watched friends come and go (even as I come and go!).  It’s helped me recognize how things don’t go the way God would like them to go either, but that God still carries blessings through in spite of the circumstances we cause.  There may be risk involved, but there are risks in this world worth taking.  These are just some of the lessons gleaned from the calendar of saints.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul gave thanks for the gifts that had been sent to him, rejoicing in them.  Throughout the letter Paul encouraged the Philippians to be of one mind, standing firmly in the Gospel that they received, following the example of Christ.  In chapter 4, Paul gave final instructions:

“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” 

Philippians 4:8 (NRSV)

There is really One who is truly worthy of praise, and that is the Triune God.

Christ’s earthly ministry is one to behold. It EXCITES me…and it terrifies me. 

His acts of power to help people are acts I want to do as well until I meet the teachings that lead to power — self-giving love — and I see where it got Him — a tortured death on a cross... 

...and suddenly it doesn’t excite me anymore.

The thing is, I’m not the first one to struggle this way.  That’s how the church calendar helps me.  St. Barnabas’ story is just one of many that remind me that there have been people like me throughout all of history that have also been EXCITED and TERRIFIED by Christ. 

Throughout all of history there have been people who want to follow, but are afraid to follow, yet who are loved by God and redeemed BY GOD.  For all their struggles, God still causes good through them as He remakes them through Christ and teaches them Christ’s way.  A lifetime lived in this struggle, striving for excellence out of thankfulness for the gift God has given in Christ is also a life that is commendable.

The calendar points me to kindred spirits.  It shows me that I’m part of something much bigger than myself that God has been helping along for millennia.  It shows me that I’m not alone.  It also helps me clues by which to look for God among my own, contemporary neighbors, people who are saints because of what God has joined them to in His Grace.