Want more faith? Give it away.
All Saints Day RCL-C Daniel 7:1-3,15-18, Ephesians 1:11-23, Luke 6:20-31
In a youth group meeting one astute teen quickly raised her hand when I asked what being a saint was about. She said, “You have to be dead.”
She had noticed that when we talk about saints, we often do talk about people who are dead. But being a saint is not about being dead or being perfect.1 It is about being someone who lives with faith. That’s what we’re doing. Here and now, we are the saints.
We are not always sure we have enough faith. When we want more, we can give it away. That always works.
Giving it away is passing on whatever got us through a challenging time with our heart and humanity intact.2 It probably wasn’t a creed or a doctrine. Sometimes I talk about 12 Steps, or particular people or places or things. Sometimes I talk about church.
What faith looks and sounds like in church is kind of predictable. That’s a good thing. Out in world, it’s harder to predict where God or faith will show up. That’s a good thing. That’s the Jesus story — that out in the world, we find God and God finds us in surprising, confounding and saving ways.
Wherever we have found what we needed, “increasing our faith” happens when we pass it on to the next person who needs it.
It’s even simpler when we are passing it on — giving it away — to the next generation. That’s helping children listen to stories and look at life with “an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love (God), and the gift of joy and wonder in all (God’s) works.”3 We know how to do that.
We are the saints. In challenging times, someone, somewhere helped us find the faith we needed to get through. Anytime we’re wanting more, all we need to do is give it away.
Peace.
Death has a way of making those we love “perfect.”
Forty-four percent of Episcopalians are 65 and older. None of us gets to that august age without having lived through a few challenging times.
Prayer for the newly baptized. Book of Common Prayer, 308.
I love the notion that when we think we need more, start by giving it away. Such a generous way to live.
This was a real stunner for me! I never considered the idea that “giving away” my faith would help it grow, but with the reading of this fine piece, I’m looking at all that differently. Thank you for once more waking me up with your insights!