November 1, 2026 homily by Pastor Galen for All Saints/All Souls Sunday
“…they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
—Psalm 107:6
The Saints and Their Miracles
Growing up, I always loved the stories in the Bible about miracles, like when Moses stretched out his hand and God parted the Red Sea, or when Elijah prayed down fire out of the sky to light the altar on Mount Carmel (Exodus 14:21–22; 1 Kings 18:36–39). These stories always fascinated me, and I thought it would be amazing to witness someone perform miracles like this today.
Often, when we think about “saints,” this is what we think of: heroes of the faith through whom God was able to do miraculous things. In the Methodist tradition, though, we take a much broader view of “sainthood,” using the word in the way the authors of the New Testament used it: to refer to all Christians, since we are all called to be set apart or holy (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). Performing a miracle is not a requirement for sainthood. Rather, it’s more about exemplifying Christ’s love to those around us.
Still, I think our human tendency is to be fascinated by those people through whom God worked miraculously, whether their stories were recounted in the Bible or whether they lived in more modern times. But what we don’t always think about is the pain and suffering they endured before those miraculous events took place. We think about the glory, but we don’t really think about the challenging circumstances that preceded it.
God’s Steadfast Love in the Wilderness
Psalm 107, for example, recounts God’s deliverance of people who were wandering in desert wastes. They were hungry and thirsty, finding no way to a town where they could settle, and their souls fainted within them (Psalm 107:4–5). Then “they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress” (Psalm 107:6). God led them by a straight way to a place where they could make their home (Psalm 107:7).
These images bring to mind the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years, and how God miraculously fed them with manna from heaven and gave them water from a rock (Exodus 16:35; 17:1–7). We remember waters miraculously parting and the walls of Jericho miraculously falling, but we tend to forget how much the Israelites suffered along the way. Even before their wilderness journey, they had endured slavery in Egypt for generations upon generations (Exodus 1:8–14).
My point in highlighting all of this is that miracles are not the only things we should notice when we think about the saints. We should also notice the suffering they endured and the faith they practiced in the midst of it.
Suffering does not automatically make someone a saint. But suffering certainly does not mean that someone is outside of God’s love or that they have somehow failed in their faith. The psalm doesn’t tell us everything these wanderers had tried or how long they had been searching. What it does tell us is that they were lost, hungry, and thirsty, and that God heard them when they cried out. In our own lives, it is often when we reach the limits of what we can do that we cry out to God. We’ve tried everything we know to do, nothing has worked, and we don’t know where else to turn.
Of course, we don’t have to wait until we’ve exhausted every other possibility before we pray. We don’t have to work hard enough or become desperate enough to get God’s attention. God invites us to turn to God all along the way. But sometimes it is only when we reach our limits that we begin to recognize how much we need the Lord.
Our Work and God’s Provision
If we only look for God’s provision in moments of distress, though, we might miss the everyday gifts of God’s grace. The fact that we woke up this morning. The fact that we have food on our table and warm clothes to wear. The fact that we can gather for worship, whether in person or through a livestream, or participate from home through the materials we receive in the mail. The fact that our church is still here and that we are preparing to celebrate its 158th anniversary next week, these are all reasons to give thanks!
When someone does not have enough food or warm clothing or a safe place to live, that does not mean God cares for them any less. It means there is a need before us, and perhaps an opportunity to share what God has entrusted to us.
As I think about the eight and a half years that I’ve been your pastor here at Hampden UMC, I can think of more than a few ways that God has miraculously provided for or protected us as a congregation. But it doesn’t mean that things have always been easy. We’ve had to make sacrifices, take risks, and step out in faith. We’ve worked and prayed and tried to do what we could with what we had. Sometimes, when we reached a point where we didn’t know what else to do, we experienced provision that we could not have anticipated. But God has been present in the work and the praying, too, in the people who showed up to help, the wisdom someone shared, and the strength that enabled us to keep going.
Later in Psalm 107, God turns a desert into pools of water and dry land into flowing springs. Hungry people settle there, establish a town, sow fields, and plant vineyards that yield a fruitful harvest (Psalm 107:35–37). Notice that the people still have work to do. They build and plant and tend what has been entrusted to them. But the water, the land, and the opportunity to begin again are gifts from God. Their work and God’s provision are part of the same story.
In our reading from 1 Thessalonians, we see something similar. Paul describes how he and his fellow missionaries worked night and day to support themselves so they could proclaim the gospel without placing a financial burden on the people (1 Thessalonians 2:9). He reminds them how he had urged and encouraged and pleaded with the people to live lives worthy of God (1 Thessalonians 2:11–12).
But even in the midst of all that work, Paul gives thanks that the people received the message as God’s word, which was at work within them (1 Thessalonians 2:13). He recognizes that their efforts alone cannot account for what is happening. As he writes elsewhere, he planted and Apollos watered, but God gave the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6–7).
This doesn’t excuse us from doing our part. But when we think about people whom we long to see experience God’s love, we cannot force someone into faith. We can love them, pray for them, be a good example, and speak honestly and gently when given the opportunity. They have their own response to make, and we have to trust God to work in ways we cannot control.
Perhaps some of the saints we remember today did that very thing for us. They prayed for us when we were wandering. They loved us when we were difficult to love. They encouraged us and kept trusting that God was at work even when they could not see the results.
Faith in Every Season
And so, what does all of this mean for us today, as people called to be saints here in the twenty-first century? First, we can take comfort in the fact that just because we are going through difficulties or challenges, or even if it feels like we are in a desolate wasteland, it doesn’t mean that we are doing something wrong. As we look at the saints throughout history and in the Bible, we are in good company, since they experienced suffering and trials as well. In fact, the qualities we most admire about them were often developed or strengthened through those difficult times. Their suffering did not disqualify them from being saints. And our suffering does not mean that God has abandoned us.
Hebrews 11 tells of people whose faith was accompanied by remarkable deliverance, but it also tells of faithful people who endured suffering without receiving that same kind of rescue in this life (Hebrews 11:33–39). All of them are remembered for their faith.
Like the saints who have gone before us, we too can cry out to God in our distress, knowing that God hears and God sees, and that there is nothing too big for God to handle. That doesn’t mean every situation will turn out the way we hope or every prayer for healing will be answered in the way we ask. On a day when we remember loved ones who have died, we know that very well.
But it does mean we do not have to face these things alone. Even when we cannot see a way through, we can bring our distress to God. And even when death comes, we trust that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38–39).
Secondly, when we recognize that everything we have is a gift from God, we begin to see God’s grace and provision all around us, each and every day (James 1:17). It is not only when we are in distress that God works. If we are in a season of abundance and things are going well, that is just as much a reason to recognize God’s provision. We may want to attribute those things to our own effort or ingenuity. But part of what it means to be a saint is to recognize that even our ability to work and the opportunities before us are gifts we could not provide entirely for ourselves. And when we recognize what we have received as a gift, it changes the way we hold it. We can give thanks for it. We can share it. We can use it to exemplify Christ’s love to those around us.
Perhaps God will use the food on our table to answer someone else’s prayer for a meal. Perhaps God will use our willingness to listen to answer someone’s prayer for companionship. Perhaps God will use this church to welcome someone who has been wandering and longing for a place to belong.
Carrying Their Love Forward
Today, as we remember the saints who have gone before us, we give thanks for all the ways God worked through their lives. Some of their stories included remarkable answers to prayer. Some included long seasons of waiting, suffering, and uncertainty. Most likely, their lives included some of both. But we don’t remember them only because of the extraordinary things that happened to them. We remember the ways they loved us, their prayers, encouragement, generosity, and willingness to keep showing up.
Earlier in our service, we asked: What is something a loved one taught you that you still carry with you? Perhaps they taught you how to pray, welcome someone, work hard, share what you have, or keep going when life is difficult. Perhaps they helped you recognize God’s goodness in ordinary things.
Whatever it is, you are still carrying something they gave you. Their life continues to bear fruit in yours. And now we have the opportunity to do the same for others. We can pray for someone who is wandering, encourage someone who is weary, and share what God has entrusted to us.
We don’t have to wait until we can do something spectacular to live as saints. We can exemplify Christ’s love in the circumstances we find ourselves in today.
So if you are in a wilderness season this morning, cry out to God. If you are in a season of abundance, give thanks to God. And whatever season you find yourself in, look for the ways God is at work, and the ways God might be calling you to share that love with someone else.
The God who sustained the saints before us is the same God who will sustain us as we continue on this journey of faith. And so, with all the saints who have gone before us, and with all those who will come after us, let us give thanks to the Lord, for God is good, and God’s steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 107:1). Amen!
Questions for Personal Reflection
- Where in your life do you feel weary, uncertain, or as though you are wandering in a wilderness? What would you like to bring to God in prayer today?
- When have you experienced God’s care through someone who showed up, offered encouragement, or helped you keep going?
- What everyday gifts of God’s grace might you be overlooking? Take a moment to name a few and give thanks.
- Is there someone you are praying for whose choices you cannot control? How might you continue to love and encourage them while trusting God to work?
- You don’t have to do something spectacular to live as a saint. What is one practical way you can share Christ’s love with someone this week?
