Saints Among Us

Hebrews 12:1&2

 

        Yesterday I preached the meditation for the funeral of a saint.  Everyone should have the opportunity to do that at least once. That might sound a bit morbid but I found it to be quite uplifting. Maybe we should recognize the saints among us before they die. They would be embarrassed by our accolades but isn’t it wonderful to bath in a feel good story.

        The most amazing thing about a saint is they allow us to see beyond what is right in front of us. Everyone recognizes problems. Everyone fears potential failures. We struggle with drama because we expect things to go sideways. Saints point out what God and godly folks are doing in our midst. Saints accomplish what we believe to be impossible because saints are not subject to our limited vision. Saints function like a pair of corrective lenses. Remember the first time the optometrist put a pair of glasses on our nose.  I was nine years old before realizing leaves fell from trees. I thought they just appeared on the ground. Saints don’t suffer from limited vision.

        My favorite saint is Alice Taylor. I am certain I have mentioned her but her story is worth hearing again. In the late 1970’s Alice was stuck in an abusive marriage. Alice was also trying to come to terms with discovering she was a lesbian. Her church told her she was damned to hell unless she would renounce her discovery. She tried conversation therapy.  Her minister attempted to perform an exorcism. Her husband divorced her and Alice was literally thrown out on the streets of Va. Beach. She went to St. Columba Presbyterian Church and asked the minister, Nibs Stroupe, if he had any odd jobs she could do to earn some money. Nibs told her if she could sweep floors twice a week she could sleep in the sanctuary. Alice confessed to Nibs that she was a lesbian.  

Nibs responded, “Do lesbians not sweep floors?”

Alice was horrified at the response. She cried out, “I am a lesbian. It would be shameful for me to sleep in the sanctuary.”

Nibs responded, “Who told you that? You are a child of God. Where else should you be but in your father’s house?”

Alice eventually was made the part-time custodian and also she was put in charge of a food and clothes pantry. But the demographics of the community changed as the neighborhood houses were demolished and turned into shopping malls. The church was forced to close its doors. Alice went to Norfolk Presbytery and asked if the building could become a ministry for homeless folks. Her adventure survived at its original location three years. Then Alice moved to a deserted fire station. She used the expanded building to minister to the city of Norfolk. She began a winter homeless shelter that operated within 15 churches. Many of those folks slept in you guessed it, the sanctuary. Eventually she moved to another building and spent every waking hour helping folks get off the street and into affordable housing.  Alice never left the Presbyterian Church. Ten years ago she became an ordained elder. Her partner of 35 years recently graduated from Union Seminary. Alice is now retired but St. Columba Ministry continues to thrive in the Hampton Roads area.

It is true, Alice was bigger than life. Folks throughout the country know her story. I am blessed to have worked with her and our friendship is a highlight in my life. But most saints work in obscurity. That doesn’t mean that the work they do is any less important.

My friend JoAnn married a young man called to be a minister. Spouses of ministers often get buried in the shadow of the one they love. JoAnn seemed happy to stay in that shadow. Malcolm preached. JoAnn sang in the choir. Malcolm ministered to adults. JoAnn nurtured children. My two children, Martina and David, loved JoAnn.

JoAnn and I co-wrote five Vacation Bible Schools. The only resource we used was the Bible. I think that was the beginning of my discovering how much amazing stuff is in this book. Our productions were magnificent. Cecille B. DeMille would have been jealous. But the most amazing part was JoAnn insisting children have a major role in anything we created. JoAnn believed children could visualize the impossible because adults had not yet ruined their imaginations. If you were a child at Winter Park Presbyterian it was like being transported to Never Neverland. Only Jesus was Peter Pan and Captain Hook did not exist.  

While Deb and I went on to new adventures, JoAnn stayed behind in Wilmington. Malcolm died 18 years ago but until last week JoAnn was still going strong. The only complaint I ever heard from JoAnn was that occasionally adults kept limiting what was possible. She undertook her last adventure at 85. She signed up for a Ukulele Camp. Everyone in the camp was under the age of 15, except for JoAnn. Once she completed the camp she asked the worship committee to allow her friends to lead the music one Sunday month. She said it would give the old folks in the choir a break.

The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us put aside every excuse and run the race that is set before us.”

I know while I was telling these two stories, some of you were reminded of saints in your life. They may still be living. He or she may be sitting next to you. They are those folks, young and old, who are not limited by age. They are those folks who are not limited by labels. Sainthood is not an exclusive club. Every one has been given a Godly vision. It just takes some of us longer to understand the talent we have been given. It’s easier to recognize sainthood in others.

So here is what I want you to do. Take a moment and think of someone who has been a saint in your life. Now I am going to count to three. When I say three call out the name of that person. Say it loud and say it proud. They have run a race for you. Here we go 1…2…3.    

That was awful. Say it like you mean it. Say the name loud enough so God can hear you. One more time.  1…2…3.

How did they become a saint? What was her story? What did he overcome? What was the constant anchor in her life? For Alice and JoAnn it began with a faith in a living God who would not let church or culture or limited thinking push them into the shadows. They found the courage and perseverance to move forward because they never doubted God had put them here for a purpose.  To paraphrase the words of Martin Luther King, “Everyone can be a saint because anyone can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree. You don’t have to have a million dollars. You don’t even have to make your subject and noun agree. All you need is heart full of grace and a soul motivated by love.”

I am going to count to three one more time. This time say your own name. Say it loud and say it proud. 1,2,3.  

        What you heard was the roll call of the saints. Now go out there and make God proud.          Amen.