Let’s have a special day for sinners

This past Sunday on the liturgical calendar was All Saints Day. I confess that as a Baptist minister I never once in 50 years led a congregation in a celebration of All Saints Day.

The biggest problem with a special day for saints is that the Christian churches have never been able to agree to what a saint might be. From church to church, not much agreement is found except that somehow a saint is a very special person for some special reason.

As a Baptist I always turn first to the Bible for my best understandings. The very first thing that jumps out is that there apparently was no word that can be translated “saint” in the vocabulary of Jesus, the humble rabbi from Nazareth. One of the charges that were brought against Jesus was that he hung out with sinners and prostitutes. There is no record that Jesus hung out with the upper crust of his society.

One of my common experiences as a pastor was the tattler who wanted to tell me some dirt about a member of the congregation. Is “Joe Smith” or “Susie Jones” a member of my congregation? Did you know that he/she was seen having drunk too much booze? Did you know that “Deacon Blazier” was having an affair with his secretary? In one congregation, which I dearly loved, there were not enough “good” people in the body of believers to have a Board of Deacons that met church standards.

I appreciated my role as a pastor. My role was to be the friend and advocate for my “sinner” congregation. When the tattler came my way, I always knew that I knew more dirt about the members of my congregation than did the tattler. Typically, I knew that the tattler did not have the credentials to be an accuser.

When Jesus was asked by his disciples to teach them to pray, he included the words “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” My reading of the Gospels is that Jesus kept trying to turn his followers into forgivers rather than accusers.

When I do theology, I give priority to Jesus rather than Paul. Paul was well intended, but at times he missed the mark. I confess that I enjoy arguing with the theology that Paul generated for the early church. Paul also hit some nails on the head. I especially appreciate Paul when he calls himself the “chief of sinners” and a “wretched man.” He found himself doing what he knew he should not be doing and failing to do what he knew he should be doing. When he found himself as a failure he knew only one remedy. He threw himself on the mercy of God that he had found for himself in Jesus from Nazareth.

I have a special problem talking to people who have left their churches because of the sinners they found in the church. Just what did they expect when they joined the church? Confession of our sins is the front door to church membership. Having confessed our sin as we enter, we dare not promise ever to sin again. That would be the lie of all lies. I can understand people leaving churches because they have decided they no longer believe the creeds that Christians dutifully recite each Sunday. I doubt that Jesus himself would recite the churches’ creeds with a clear conscience and a straight face. But leaving a church because sinners are found there is true absurdity.

I am especially proud of the good that Christ’s sinners do in our society.

When I hear the complainers about the churches’ sinners, I am quick to point out the good that flawed Christian believers do. Christian churches of all kinds are the first responders to disasters that do terrible harm to our fellow human beings. I can assure you that Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Pentecostals, Mennonites, Methodists and Presbyterians are still doing their good in New Orleans, Haiti and Japan. They are now first responders in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. They build schools, hospitals and homes. They cook meals and furnish clothing.

Churches have made a huge mistake getting into the saint business. The model for churches is ancient. We are to love mercy, do kindness and walk humbly. The words of an old hymn should ring in our ears:

Naught have I gotten but what I received.

Grace has bestowed it since I have believed.

Boasting excluded, pride I abase.

I’m only a sinner saved by grace.

This saint business is not a good fit for followers of Jesus.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

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