| NOVEMBER 1, 2023 -- Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2
“To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:7
“There will certainly be no fear for the close servants of Allah, nor will they grieve. They are those who are faithful and are mindful of Him.” Sura Yunis: 62-63
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam there is a concept of people who strive to be holy, and who are sometimes referred to as “saints”. In Hebrew the term translated as “saints” is qaddis, which can also be translated as “holy ones”. The Greek word used in the New Testament is “hagiosis”, which also translates as “holy ones”. In classical Arabic the word is alqidsan, best translated as “friends of Allah”, or walia tuqi, translated as “holy one”.
What is a “saint”? Some will try to divide people into “saints” and “sinners”, but we all are sinners, even the holiest of saints. Let’s first recognize that I am not talking about “Saints”, those recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as deserving canonization, after a long process. Rather, I mean the much larger body of people who love God and prioritize serving God and his people over their own selfish desires. In essence, they strive to follow the two great commandments: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind, and all your soul” and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”.
The Apostle Paul begins his letter to the young church at Corinth by saying that they are “called to be saints”. And the letter to the Romans begins: “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints”. In Exodus we find God instructing Moses to tell the people: “Now then, if you will obey My voice and keep My agreement, you will belong to Me from among all nations. You will be to Me a nation of religious leaders, a holy nation.”
To me the lesson is clear: none of us can make ourselves saints, but we are all called to be saints, and we become [lowercase] saints by answering God’s call by loving God, loving our fellow human beings, and striving to follow God’s commands.
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