Here is a quick thought for you. We love to read about the lives of saints. They are wonderful stories that show us what a person who is totally submitted to the Lord can do. Often, they also show us how a person can overcome terrible sin in their lives.
But, here is the thing about saints. If we misuse them, they can become an awful burden. Why do I say that? We tend to forget that the reason that we like saint stories and hero stories is precisely because what they do is far away from what is typical. We tell the stories because heroes and saints are so beyond what is typical. However, what happens when we make the saints the measure against which we measure everyone?
Well, provided we use them as a measure for a Lenten reflection for ourselves, that is not a bad thing to do. As we measure ourselves by the saints, it keeps us humble and keeps us from overvaluing what we do and keeps our egoes from becoming excessively large. It is when we use them as a measue against which we measure others that they can become an awful burden, and can also become a way in which one can damage others or a way in which one can court disappointment. What do I mean?
As a pastor, I have been at the receiving end of being measured against the saints, and it is not pretty. Frankly, all Christian groups do it. Are you Baptist? Have you ever been disappointed that your pastor is not as evangelistically prolific as Billy Graham? Why is he not? Is he maybe not trying hard enough? Are you Pentecostal? Have you ever been disappointed that your pastor is not as full of the Holy Ghost as Benny Hin? Could your pastor not really be filled with the Holy Spirit, like he ought, because there are not regular healings in your congregation? Are you Orthodox? Why is your priest not like SS. Cyril and Methodius, who brought an entire nation to Christ? Why do pearls of wisdom not drop from his lips like they did from the Desert Fathers?
Yes, being at the receiving end of the saints is particularly painful, because it is not often said to a pastor as a loving challenge to grow more into union with God. No, all too often it is the barbed end of a spear, which carries behind it the weight of the disappointments of your congregation, and is meant to strike at the one who is viewed as being responsible for the perceived failures. That is certainly not the way in which the communion of saints is meant to be used!
Even more, using the saints in that manner is a sure way to court disappointment. Unless you have either an incredibly dynamic and growing parish, or unless your parish has an incredible ministry of mercy to those around you, then comparing yourself to the saints, with the expectation that we are all supposed to have that type of ministry right now, is bound to lead to the disappointing conclusion that your group just does not have “it,” whatever “it” might be. That also is certainly not the way in which the communion of saints is meant to be used!
No, the saints are to be a loving challenge to us not a reason for condemnation. They show us what may happen, but not what must happen. Many of them are the result of a special response of God to a particular situation, but not really the typical response of God to our world in general. Yes, God is at work in the world to reach all humans. But, most often that is the work, as the parable said, of leaven working its way in rather than of an explosion blowing the whole thing to Kingdom Come — yes pun, intended.
So, let’s quit using the saints as a club against the pastor and against the local group.
I think, Fr. Ernesto, that you’ve hit on an important topic here. I know I’ve done it: Comparing my pastor to some nationally known guy in preaching style, teaching clarity, whatever. Totally unfair.
The problem with saints or any men and women of history is that the story we have received has probably been framed by someone with an agenda. Parson Weems with G. Washington. Carl Sandburg with Lincoln (200th Birthday today). Douglas Freeman with RE Lee. The list goes on. There is no way that a real person could compare with these mythical figures that have been created out of legend, half-truths and pure fantasy.
Most of the time, we don’t want to learn about the warts of our favorite heroes, even when they are there for the viewing. But, we do ourselves a disservice by ignoring or wallpapering over their humanity.
The scary part for me is that these exceptional people (warts and all) were real people, they made real decisions in real time, suffered real depression and doubt, and still managed to do what they did. Can I put myself in the position of a martyr? What would I do? How would I react? Would I recant? I don’t know. They probably didn’t know either until they had to make the decision, in real-time, with no reflection. Pretty amazing to me. The truth is more amazing, perhaps, than the myth that has grown up around them. They were just like us!