Sunday Sermon, 2 November 2025
All Saints Day
A reading from the prophet Jeremiah
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
and make mere flesh their strength,
whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit.
The heart is devious above all else;
it is perverse—
who can understand it?
I the Lord test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings.
This is the word of the Lord.
Jeremiah 17.5–10 NRSV
Here is a quiz for All Saints day. Do you know which are these saints? (Answers at the bottom of the page!)
Patron saint of animals and the environment
Patron saint of travellers
Patron saint of music and musicians
Patron saint of Ireland, known for spreading Christianity there
Patron saint of hopeless causes
Our quiz highlights the different ways that Christians have understood the saints.
For those from a more Catholic tradition, the saints play an important intercessory role. Just as you might ask a friend to pray for you, so you might ask a saint to pray on your behalf. When travelling, someone might pray to St Christopher; or a musician, to St Cecilia. (That, by the way, is the inspiration for the famous Simon and Garfunkel song.)
This tradition goes back to the earliest days of the Church. Saints were first associated with particular places, such as churches built in their honour. Over time, they became connected with particular life situations. By the Middle Ages, guilds and professions adopted patron saints — for example, St Joseph for carpenters, and St Luke for doctors.
However, for those in the Protestant tradition, praying to the saints is often outside of our experience. The Reformers, such as Martin Luther, felt that by the Middle Ages things had gone a bit too far. The saints were still honoured as examples of faith, but they were no longer invoked as intercessors.
This has left us with a mixed legacy in the Church. For some Christians, the saints are a central part of daily faith; for others, they can seem rather remote. It leads us to ask: what makes a saint, and why are they special?
In our reading from Jeremiah, we have a good description of what makes a saint, and one which I think all Christians can agree on. A saint is someone who trusts in God. Jeremiah says that one who trusts in the Lord is:
‘like a tree planted by water,
sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
and it does not cease to bear fruit’
This is a beautiful image. The roots of a tree go down deep into the ground, and are nourished by the water from the stream, and nutrients in the soil.
Crucially, this means that when things get difficult, the saint draws upon the deep roots of their faith to help them. When the heat comes, when the drought comes, the saint has enough grounding in the life of God to be able to persevere.
I find this a challenge. It is easy enough to feel that we are trusting in God when things are going well. But when things in life get difficult, we can often feel exposed. Our prayers can feel ineffective, or futile. We try and fix things in our own strength, but find we are not strong enough. Or we rely on others, and find that we are let down.
The saints provide for us an example and role model for how to trust in God. They are the ‘cloud of witnesses’ that provide encouragement when it feels like we are failing. And the saints point us, again and again, towards Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.
When I was a child, there was a large tree just outside our house. I would enjoy climbing in its branches, and with friends we would find a comfortable place to rest. The saints are like old trees that we can spend time with. They can help and inspire us in faith, and bring joy and comfort as we learn and treasure their stories.
I pray that on this All Saints Day, the witness of the saints will encourage and help us more ordinary folk in our daily walk with Christ.
Amen.
Answers to the Quiz:
Patron saint of animals and the environment – St Francis
Patron saint of travellers – St Christopher
Patron saint of music and musicians – St Cecilia
Patron saint of Ireland, known for spreading Christianity there – St Patrick
Patron saint of hopeless causes – St Jude