All Saints- Hebrews 12:1; Jude 3

 All Saints Day is one of the great celebrations of the Church. This feast reflects a long development from the early years of Christian history through the centuries. In the New Testament, there was already a strong sense of community, communion, and continuity among believers. Christians shared with one another, interceded for one another, gave thanks for one another, and honored the witness and example of the faithful who had gone before. They had the sense of being surrounded by a great "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1); they also knew that they must continue to "contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).

Thus, All Saints Day is a celebration of the Christian faith from Biblical times to the present and beyond. Let us rejoice in the heritage of the saints, and by divine grace, let us seek to be saints who pass the Christian faith on to others!

All Saints Day- 1 November- Jude 3-4

Since a period of renewal of faith in my mid-twenties, All Saints Day has been important to me. It is a time to emphasize the Christian heritage passed down through the centuries. During this week, we think of all those Christ would call "blessed"; we think of all those made saints or "holy ones" through the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism.

Although it is not an official reading for All Saints Day, I always recall the third and fourth verses of the brief Epistle of Jude- " Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

From the times of the Apostles onward, false teachers have crept into the Church, seeking to corrupt the Christian message in a variety of ways for a variety of purposes. This infiltration has been especially strong in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. So more than ever we should heed St. Jude's exhortation to "contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." Of course, faith is an attitude, but it also has specific content. The Faith has been revealed and passed on once and for all. It is enduring and unchangeable in its basic essentials. Its doctrine is embodied in Scripture, clarified by the ancient Fathers, and summarized in the ancient catholic Creeds. The appropriate behavior that flows from this Faith is summarized in the Ten Commandments, the Two Great Commandments, in lists of the gifts of the Spirit, and in lists of Virtues. In worship, this Faith is expressed in historic liturgies, especially in Baptism and the Eucharist.

On this All Saints Day, let us honor all the saints by following their lead and contending for the Faith that they have passed on. In a fallen world, especially in a decadent age, there are many false teachers, and we need to make special efforts to retain and pass on our godly heritage.

Introduction

I have considered starting this blog for some months, but various things happened along the way. In approaching All Saints Day, I have been thinking of "the faith once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). This timing has led me to focus on some Christian basics. In looking around the web, there are numerous religious sites. Some are organizational bulletin boards, some contain liturgical or devotional material, many are dedicated to religious news, and some have theological, apologetic, or even controversial elements. All those things serve a purpose, but here I am hoping to do something more personal. Although almost anything one writes can become controversial, I hope to emphasize positive comments on Scripture,  history, Anglican liturgy, and the church calendar.