There were once two brothers who were notorious for their bad tempers and greedy behavior. They were the kind of men who treated others poorly as means to achieve their own ends. And despite – or perhaps because of – their bad behavior, they both prospered in their chosen professions and became very wealthy.

The day came when one of the brothers died. The surviving brother approached the local pastor and asked him to conduct the funeral. The pastor, knowing the reputation of these two brothers, was hesitant, but the brother insisted. “Listen,” he told the pastor. “I know your church needs money. If you do this funeral, I’ll give you $250,000 in my brother’s memory. But, there’s one stipulation – somewhere in your funeral homily, you have to say that my brother was a saint, or else you’ll get no money.” After prayerful consideration, the pastor consented.

The day of the funeral came, and the crowd shuffled in while hymns played softly over the funeral home’s loud speaker. The pastor sat quietly in the corner, preparing himself with prayer. And then finally, it was time. The pastor rose and went to the lectern. Everyone held their breaths, waiting to hear what the pastor would say.

“Friends,” the pastor began. “You all know the kind of man the deceased was. He was neither liked nor respected. He cheated on his wife, abused his friends, and lied his way through life. He was a scheming, two-faced, evil son of Satan. But compared to his brother, he was a saint.”

Today we celebrate All Saints Sunday, the day we remember those Christians whose lives have shown us something of God. In his Epistles, including this morning’s Scripture lessons, the Apostle Paul addresses new Christians as saints, meaning holy ones. In fact, he uses the term “saints” nine times in his letter to the Ephesians, reminding them of their connection to God.

When we talk about “saints,” many of us may think of people who must have been practically perfect; we think of saints as those who lived and sometimes died for their faith in Christ – the apostles, the martyrs, the mystics, people who were – in the words of our final hymn this morning – “faithful their whole lives through, who bravely labored, lived and died for the God they loved and knew.”

But saints are not always characterized by their goodness; they are distinguished by their devoted love for God and their willingness to serve as God’s instruments here on earth. In the Reformed tradition, saints are ordinary people – people like you and me – through whom God does extraordinary things.

On this All Saints’ Day, we remember the special, precious people who helped shape our faith and inspired us with their love of God and their church. Today we especially remember the saints within this family of faith who died this past year -- Harold and Estella Curtis, Bud McMann, Bernice Burrill, Sarah Ledin, and the other fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and loved ones we have lost.

As we remember these saints, we are reminded that here at the First Congregational Church of Stoughton, we live in a community of time and place, but we live also within the great body of human memory. A few minutes ago, we celebrated holy communion, not just with each other and with Christ, but also with our spiritual ancestors. The sacrament is a means of connecting us spiritually with believers in other times and places. Together, they make up “the communion of saints” mentioned in the ancient Apostles Creed -- that fellowship of people which transcends the dimensions of time and space and is knit together in universal Church, in one body of Christ.

And not only are our lives touched by those who lived centuries ago; our lives are preparing the way for those who have not yet been born. We are “ancestors in the making,” the potential saints for future generations. We are the shoulders on which our spiritual descendants will stand, and even today, we are laying a foundation, molding a future, and establishing a legacy for future members of this family of faith.

Therefore, as the saints of this congregation, we have a responsibility to God – and also to the generations that follow us -- to be good stewards of this church, this gift from God; and one way we can do that is to build up this body of Christ here in Stoughton.

On this All Saints’ Sunday, which is also the third Sunday of our annual Stewardship Campaign, not only do we commemorate those who began and built the Christian community we call the Church; it is also about being a Christian community here on earth. And being part of this community of faith includes supporting it not just with our worship and attendance, but also with our time, talent and treasure.

One pastor ¹ uses imagery from the sport of skiing to explain how the gifts of our finances and hands-on commitment connect us with both the saints who have gone before us and the saints who are to follow us.

At some ski slopes, there is a torch light parade to celebrate and bless the skiers. Skiers carrying torches are at points along the slope down the mountain. The flame starts at the top and is passed down from skier to skier. Finally all the torches are lit, and the slope becomes a beautiful moving ribbon of light from top to bottom.

The First Congregational Church of Stoughton has been given to us by generations of the faithful who have gone before us. This communion of saints passed the light of God’s love to us, entrusting into our hands the gift of this church. And now is the time to honor that cloud of witnesses by taking care of this legacy through our gifts and our giving, so that we may pass the light to the generations that follow us.

The faithfulness we demonstrate through our Stewardship Campaign will have an impact on the people who sit in these pews long after we are gone. Our commitment of time, talent and treasure will affect the members of this church for years to come, and our support and generous giving will speak volumes about who we are and how important our church is in our lives, as individuals and as a family of faith.

May our response to this year’s Stewardship Campaign live up to the faith, commitment and generosity of the communion of saints that have gone before us, and may it serve as an inspiration and a legacy to those who will come in the future, by the grace of God. Amen.

¹Gary Ritner, as cited by Jim McCrea in “Everyday Saints,” First Presbyterian Church, Galena, IL, November 5, 2006.

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