All Saints.  By the Rev’d Stuart Ansell

There are three varieties of saints in the Bible, although many of them were declared to be saints long after the Bible was put together. Two of the three varieties are human, the other variety is angelic. Thus all the Archangels are Saints - Saint Gabriel, Saint Michael, Saint Raphael, and Saint Uriel. 

All the apostles (with the exception of Judas Iscariot) are saints, as is St. Paul, but also, in the early Church all Christians were known as "saints". In those days you didn't have to die first or even have a miracle associated with your name, but it was simply used as a nickname for Christians. Even today we continue to talk about the "communion of saints" whenever we recite the Creed. And whenever we use that expression we affirm our belief that all those who have died and gone before us meet with us in the Eucharist and share our Communion with us. 
It seems to me to be something of a shame that this last understanding of the word "saint" has been replaced by the image of someone who isn't just an ordinary human being, but someone who is somehow larger than life. When we talk about "Saints" today we generally mean the Mother Theresas of this world - people who are so good and so unselfish and so generous and so loving that they seem to be nearer to the angels than to ordinary human beings. 
Few of us will ever get to meet that sort of Saint, but many of us meet everyday saints every day, even though we may not necessarily recognise them as saints. They're people who live just around the corner, and they're made of flesh and blood. They might sometimes be angry or upset, because they're human beings. But they probably laugh a lot with a good sense of humour, and they have a heart of gold. You know you could call on them if you were in trouble and they'd be only too willing to help you out. They're very good friends to have, because they never let you down and they don't talk about you behind your back. They're often down-to-earth people with practical skills like gardening or woodwork or washing or cleaning or cooking, and they use these skills for the benefit of other people without thinking twice about it. Good churches are full of them and Jesus described them as "salt" for society. 
In fact Jesus spoke about them in a sermon he gave up on a mountain side, a sermon which was read to us today from Matthew's gospel. Jesus called all those saints "blessed" or "happy". Listen again to those whom he specially singled out for mention. 
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That is, those who are without material possessions and whose confidence is in God. Material possessions don't mean much to them; they're content just as they are without always wanting or needing more. 
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. That is, those who have been through that terrible grief of bereavement and have faced it, and come through the other side. Through that experience they find themselves clinging to God. God himself comforts them, and they emerge as stronger people. 
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. The Kingdom of God won't come by violence, and violence has never yet solved world problems. There is a different way, and it's the way of the meek, the way that Jesus showed us when he told Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane to put away his sword because violence is no way to grow closer to God. 
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. These are the ones who can't bear to see injustice and who have the guts to stand up to it and to make their feelings known, even if it destroys their popularity. In the end, they gain so much more than they lose. 
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. These are those who pop next door to see that their neighbours are OK, even if the folk next door have proved themselves to be the neighbours from hell. The merciful forget all that when their neighbour has a need. The merciful don't see the bad things, they only see the need and they go out of their way to fill that need. The merciful never throw up their hands in horror and never condemn other human beings. 
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. It's what comes from the inside that defiles a person, said Jesus, not that which can be seen on the outside. The pure in heart are OK on the inside. They're close to God's heart and they'll see God for themselves. 
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. The peacemakers don't add to the gossip that's going around. In fact, they don't even listen to the gossip. Neither do they nurture hatred or pay people back. Instead, they give themselves to try to heal situations and relationships and to bring peace to a community however small. 
And finally, blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You're not cursed but blessed when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you. It's a terrifying feeling if that happens to you, but if it does happen, rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. It's always been the same, all down through the ages; the good people have been persecuted. Not always in big ways although some have given their lives for God's sake, but often in small, mean, hurtful ways, and most Christians have to suffer that from time to time. 
People who are becoming blessed or happy in any of those ways are saints. Or at least, are well on the way to becoming saints. There are many saints in churches today. They aren't Archbishops of Canterbury or Mother Theresas, they're ordinary, everyday folk who live ordinary, everyday lives in ordinary, everyday ways. But as we can see from Jesus' sermon on the mount, in God's eyes, the ordinary is extraordinary and the everyday is actually quite rare. 
We are members of the Church of All Saints, and today is our Patronal Festival, when we remember all the saints who have gone before us. You can probably remember some saints of your own; people who were unremarked and unremarkable, but people who were special to you. Let us give thanks for all the saints, and pray that we too might become saints for God.