"Commemoration of the Saints?" We don't do that, we're Lutheran. A unique statement from someone who attended a church named, "St. John Lutheran." I have been amazed at how common this view is among baby boomers and older. Talk about saints? No way, we are saved by grace!! We will say with confidence as if our pietism should give us a medal. However, we should be looking at the saints before us (saints meaning those who passed away in the faith before us). For God used them in the past to be His vessels.
One of the great blessings of Treasury of Daily Prayer is the information presented on the saints we commemorate on certain days. Today we commemorate St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. We know John as the son of Zebedee, as the most beloved disciple, the one who took care of Mary after Jesus' death, and the one who wrote Revelation. John was unique among the disciples because he died a natural death, not from martyrdom. He lived a long life and he truly lived the faith. He didn't make the most money, he didn't have the biggest church, he didn't write the most books, he didn't mix words, he experienced the Christian faith. He was called by a lake, he saw miracles, he saw the crucifixion, he saw the resurrection, and he saw the revelation of what was to come in eternity. He lived the faith not in what he did, but by what he saw. May we see the faith and see salvation on the cross like John!
Lord have mercy...
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