Joy to you as you rise on this Holy Day!
Sunday Morning: Hebrews 12: 1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Today, I invite us to pause and give thanks for the many saints in our lives. Saints, in the Celtic Tradition, are not just those who have been recognized by the church as being “holy,” but include people in our lives through whom the light of Christ has shone. Even if it is just for a moment, they are a saint if they have showed you the love and example of Christ. These saints are icons to us, because we were or are able to see God through them. Jesus is, of course, the greatest icon, because through him, we have come to know God in so many ways. It was explained to me once that Jesus and the Saints are like the icons on our computer desktop–we click on them in order to open up programs, and so we “click” on saints in order to open up the God program. In our daily lives, it is so wonderful to have those people whom we can look to to see the light of Christ shining, as we sometimes find ourselves overwhelmed by so much darkness. So who in your life is or has been a saint? Who, when you engage with them, opens up the God program?
I invite you to light a candle, saying the following words as you do:
Once there was someone who said and did such wonderful and amazing things that people began to follow him. They needed to know who he was so one day they asked him. And he said: “I am the light.” (Adapted from Godly Play)
Let us join our voices with the Great Cloud of Witnesses in prayer:
Holy One, as we come to your table this day, we long to feel your presence through those whom we have known and continue to know as saints. We thank you for their example to us, and ask for courage so that we too might allow your light to shine through us for all to see. Help us to grow into the fullness of your glory in all we say and do this day. Amen.
May you be nourished and fed by relationships this day!
