how to become a saint

faith, love, good works

Acts 9:36-43

The final reading assigned to today, by the Revised Common Lectionary, is Acts 9:36-43. It is from this passage that I would like to focus my reflections for today.

³⁶Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. ³⁷At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. ³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” ³⁹So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. ⁴⁰Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. ⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

This is a rather curious story. A disciple dies; Peter is called for and rushes to the scene; he prays and she is miraculously resurrected. Exciting? Yes. But it does raise some interesting, if not superficial, questions.

At first glance, we are very naturally drawn to the mention of this disciple’s good works and charity. This caused me to wonder whether it was her saintliness that qualified her for resurrection? We may actually find that the answer, on one level, is “yes”, but this question is just too petty and distracts us from getting to the heart of this passage.

On another level, the similarity between this passage and the raising of Jairus’ daughter is just too coincidental to be an accident. In Mark 5:35-43, Jesus says to Jairus’ dead daughter, “‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’”, the passage tells us. “Talitha” is only one letter away from the name of this saint, Tabitha, who is very much resurrected in exactly the same manner, but by Peter rather than Jesus.

Of course, we shouldn’t make too much of this similarity, because if Luke, the author of the book of Acts, is trying to contrive a connection, why didn’t he himself record Jesus’ original words as Mark did. Nevertheless, and many commentators agree, we are meant to make the connection between Jesus’ works and that of the apostles. Did not Jesus himself state, “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these” (John 14:12).

So, despite these interesting, but questionable, issues, I believe that we should not miss the sense of grief, relayed by this passage, at the death of this woman, this saint, who clearly elicited much admiration and affection from many. Her death was considered an ‘emergency’, a great loss to the community and neighbourhood. Let us consider together why some people are called “saints”, and just what we can learn from them.

the inspiration of saints

According the Britannica Concise Encyclopaedia, the term “saint”

refers to those noted for their holiness and venerated during their lifetimes or after death. In Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, saints are publicly recognized by the church and are considered intercessors with God for the living. They are honoured on special feast days, and their remains and personal effects are venerated as relics. Often Christian saints perform miracles in their lifetime, or miracles occur in their names after their death.

In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, saints are spiritual persons highly regarded.

While we of the Protestant tradition may not use the term very much, the Tyndale Bible Dictionary tells us that, “in the NT, ‘saints’ became the apostle Paul’s favourite name for Christians (Rom 1:7; 8:27; 12:13; 15:25–26, 31; 16:2, 15; plus 31 other places in Paul’s letters). The name is also used 14 times in the book of Revelation.”

To summarise all this information, let me tell you that saints are people of faith who have gone before us, who inspire our own faith, and model holy living for us. But as such, let me also encourage you, and give you permission, to celebrate their example. I believe this to be right and proper! In my own life, I have had the privilege of having many such persons to inspire me. Thus, I believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with humble respect for those who have persevered in faith, who lives encourage us to persevere. Continue to learn from these examples!

the qualities of a saint

Considering again our reading from Acts, in which one such saint is resurrected by Peter, at the very least this passage reminds us of the importance of the saints to the kingdom. According to the Tyndale Bible Dictionary again,

The name indicates that Christians are expected to be holy (Hebrews 12:10; Revelation 22:11) because they have been consecrated to God as a holy priesthood and have rejected the ways of the world (1 Pt 1:15-16; 2:5, 9). More than that, they are the people of the coming age, who will reign with God over the earth and over angels.

Thus, the “saints” —or “holy ones”, according to some translations who want to link the term deliberately to the OT— are those who embody the best expression of what it means to be a Christian. Their faith is real. There is no question about their sincerity or integrity. They are the kind of people who ‘glow’ with the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing frivolous or self-promoting about them. In the imagery of a favourite song of mine from my youth, the saints are “invisible”; when you look at them, you just see Jesus.

Like Jesus, the saints operate as a living example of what it means to be a Christian, to be a follower —a disciple— of Jesus. They prove that faithful, holy living is indeed possible.

But if they prove that it is possible to be faithful and a committed follower of Jesus, then we must ask if anyone can be a saint? You see, we naturally attribute this title to those who we believe to be spiritually superior to us. They are the one who did what we so desperately want to do, but feel as if we so miserably fail at it. They must, by virtue of their achievement, be better than the rest of us.

While this self-pitying justification is a trap too easy to fall into, it does not correspond to the truth of the good news of Jesus’ life and teaching. We are all to conform to the likeness of Jesus, particularly in his love and in his works.

Jesus stated that, “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me” (John 10:25b). That is to say that his identity as the Christ was proved by what he did, thus confirming his words. John recorded the words of Jesus, to this effect, in John 14:11: “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves”.

His identity was revealed by what he did. We call what he did extraordinary because we believe that they are somehow impossible for ‘mere mortals’. But did Jesus not also state, recorded in John 14:12, “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these”.

“Greater works than Jesus? No way! Well, maybe for the saints this is possible”, I can hear you thinking to yourself. I know that this is hard to believe —I find it hard to believe for myself— but the person who trusts Jesus and his teaching, and orients his or her life so as to train themselves to do the things that Jesus did, can in fact do the things that Jesus did! These qualities and works will not be extraordinary; they can and will become the ordinary routine of those who are authentically and fully committed followers of Jesus.

The apostle James confirms this when he wrote, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do [...] You see that [Abraham’s] faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did [as is our own]” (James 2:18-22).

Consider also the example of Barnabus, of whom it says, in Acts 11:21-24,

The hand of the Lord was with [the church at Antioch], and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord.

Notice that this passage does not mention miracles —just in case anyone was starting to think that was what I was going to encourage specifically. No, the disciples of Jesus who met as the church at Antioch were faithful and blessed by God. Their faithfulness drew people to the throne of God’s grace, and news of this reached the leaders at Jerusalem. They sent Barnabus to check out the situation —even as Peter was likewise sent to check out Tabitha’s death. Barnabus encouraged the Antiochan Christians to continue being faithful, and he too was an example of faithfulness.

Trust. Faith. Hope. Love. Good works. These are the qualities by which a person comes to be called a saint, by which they come to inspire others to faith, righteousness, and holiness. There is an essential relationship between hearing the good news and seeing the effects of the power of the good news that must be borne out in the lives of individual Christians and communities of the faithful.

Who can become a saint? This is not the right question. As far as the apostle Paul was concerned, all faithful followers of Jesus are saints. So, the question for us today instead is, “Are we faithful examples of following Jesus?”

conclusion

Not only is it necessary to be a faithful follower of Jesus, it is possible to be a faithful follower of Jesus. Let us remember the example of the saints who inspire us. Let us remember what spiritual disciplines they practised in their pursuit of holiness. Let us recall the good works for which they were known, perhaps even those same works that they shared with us.

Let us commit ourselves to likewise reflecting the love that Jesus had for God, then for his neighbours, so that we too may be counted among the saints and draw others to the throne of God’s grace.

sermon delivered by Ian Forest-Jones
at Hurstville Church of Christ
on Sunday, 29 April 2007 at 10am
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