31 Oct All Saints’ Day: Our Super Heroes of Faith

Said we’ll be singing those angel hymns all together,
When the army comes marching right down from the sky.
– “Saints” by Poor Bishop Hooper

Much ink has been spilt about whether or not Christians should celebrate Halloween, but I think we miss the much deeper point. Instead, this holiday was meant to celebrate the church’s history of super heroes of faith. No, these heroes don’t wear masks and fight crime using superhuman abilities. Instead, these heroes lived by faith in ordinary ways.

I like how the 1662 Book of Common Prayer summarizes the holiday as a time for:

The unity of Christians of all ages, countries, and races in Christ, and the perfection of that unity in heaven.

So, I wonder if it would be healthier to focus on the original holiday of All Saints’ Day (and All Saints’ Day Eve, from which Halloween derives its name, All Hallows’ Eve”). Although the holiday originally fixated on heroic martyrs, those who gave their lives for their faith, it has expanded to include all believers who have come before and left a legacy of faith as a path for us to follow.

Hebrews 11 gives us a long list of saints to celebrate, summarizing that people like Noah, Moses, and Abraham lived by faith and didn’t focus on earthly rewards:

But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland.
That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God,
For he has prepared a city for them.
– Hebrews 11:16 NLT

The song I quoted and linked above concludes with his own imaginative journey through the pantheon of saints that have come before…

And then he took my hand,
And we went into the Garden
And saw Adam die alone,
Saw a baby in the water,
Floating to a safer home,
Watched the walls fall to the trumpeters…
– “Saints” by Poor Bishop Hooper

Finally, we not only celebrate the saints who have come before us. We celebrate that we’re numbered among them. We celebrate that each letter of the New Testament is addressed to us, to “saints.” We might not have the same address in Macedonia, but they were meant for all of us just the same. Never forget that you are saint and that you are part of family of saints from every age, from every tribe, from every continent, rich and poor, young and old—saints all the same.

Happy All Saints’ Day!