Today we celebrated “All Saints Sunday” at the church where I serve as a deacon. I know it is not very Protestant of me – but I love saints and wish Protestants spent more time telling the stories about those who have embodied the gospel of Christ with creativity, boldness, and passion.

During the children’s time I talked about heroes. Growing up I wanted to be Superman. I wore my Superman costume under my clothes and made my grandma safety pin a towel around my neck. I would run around the house jumping off couches and fighting for truth, justice, and the American way. I wanted to be a hero.
I shared that as I have grown my idea of what a “hero” has changed. Instead of Superman I think of Christ as the hero that should be imitated. I then shared how my favorite saint, Francis, led a life that reflected the courageous love of Christ in both word and deed.

Remembering and retelling the lives of Christians like Francis encourage and convict us to follow the way of Jesus Christ. They inspire us to be who God desires us to be, to be our best in the midst of world that tempts us to our worst.

Of course the danger is to treat Francis like a superhero – someone who has powers that are beyond our merely human abilities. But the reality of Christian sainthood is that it is a call, a vocation, of all. All Christians are called to lives of holiness – to lives that are “set apart” and “set in the midst” for the purposes of God. All Christians are called to speak truth to power, to stand up for justice, to follow the way of Christ. We are all saints in the making – we are stories waiting to be told – we are heroes in search of adventure.

A simple but not an easy call … instead of putting on a cape it requires taking up a cross. In my best moments I hope to have the courage to be who God longs for me to be. Perhaps, in the end, this is all we can offer. After all, God alone is holy ... it is God who takes our fragile, ordinary lives and makes them extraordinary.