November Epistle: The Communion of Saints

I always find such joy in the celebration of the Reformation on the  last Sunday in October. The Holy Spirit bringing the Gospel to light through the Word and through Martin Luther and the  reformers is a cause for great celebration. But I also look forward  with much anticipation to the next Sunday, the first Sunday in November, All Saints’  Day. 

In the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, we confess: 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,  and the life everlasting. Amen. 

As we celebrate All Saints’ Day, we might ask what we mean when we confess a belief  in “the communion of saints.” Does this refer to the saints who have gone before us?  Do we confess a belief that we can pray for help to the saints in heaven, as the Church  professed in Luther’s day? 

In Luther’s Small Catechism, he writes in his explanation to the Third Article of the  Creed, "I believe that I cannot by my own  reason or strength believe in Jesus  Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the  Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel,  enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified  and kept me in the true faith."

The communion of saints is the fellowship of those who are in the true faith, the  fellowship of those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This is not  something we create through an organizational membership. Rather, it is the work of  the Holy Spirit, who creates faith in Christ, and gathers believers into His Church. 

The ‘communion of saints’, then, consists  of all who have been brought to faith in  Jesus Christ. It means also, then, that this  communion, this community, is made up  of both those who are living and those  who have died in the faith. Those who  have gone on before are not “gone,” but  are with Christ in heaven, awaiting the  Resurrection on the Last Day. 

Luther explains in his Large Catechism that ‘the holy Christian Church’ and the  ‘communion of saints’ are identical expressions. The Church (with a capital ‘C’) is the  communion of saints. He points out that the  communion of saints is not a side benefit or activity  of the Church, but that it describes the Church itself. The communion of saints share in the same Gospel  and Christian doctrine. Luther says that this  

communion, this fellowship, has outward identifying marks, namely the pure doctrine  of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments in accordance with the  Gospel of Christ. 

Luther's Small Catechism explains that within this  Christian Church, the Holy Spirit daily and richly forgives  the sins of all believers. The ‘holy Christian Church’ and  the ‘communion of saints’ and ‘the forgiveness of sins’  are all linked one after the other in the Creed. This is  indicative of the fact that the Church is the communion of  sinners whose sins are forgiven by the blood of Christ. 

This, again, means that we are united with the forgiven  saints who have gone before us. Physical death does not  separate them from Jesus. Those who have died in the  faith are still members of His Church and await the  resurrection of the body. In that way, they are not  separated from the Church on earth, either. We are all part of the communion of  saints, even though they are no longer physically present with us here in this life. 

On All Saints’ Day we remember those who have gone before us in the faith, and give  thanks for their faithful example. It is a time when we remember dearly departed  loved ones, and also a time to remember that we are not alone in Christ. We belong  to His Church, the communion of His saints. All the promises and blessings that He  gives to His Church are ours as well. 

God’s richest blessings be yours in Christ Jesus our Lord as you celebrate All Saints’  Day and the blessed communion of His saints now, and for eternity. 

- Pastor