The readings for All Saints’ Day are taken from Revelation 7:2-17; 1 John 3:1-3; and Matthew 5:1-12. Today’s lessons concentrate on our identity as “saints.”
God’s Revelation to John records a vision of the saints, first described in the indicative language of the tribes of Israel, then in plain language referring to all believers of every time and place. We have the seal of God on our foreheads (the sacrament of Holy Baptism), we are robed in the righteousness of Christ, and we call out in joy the truth of God’s redeeming work in our lives.
The verses from 1 John are referring to our souls, regenerated in the image of Christ by His Word and Spirit. These words are assumed to be figurative or exaggerations because people forget that we are not just a physical body in time in this world. On the contrary, the essence of our person is the soul, and by God’s grace, our soul is already living in perfection eternally—though we are still in our body infected by the corruption of Adam. Consider the many aspects of God’s work that makes us saints in the page attached.
Matthew records another way of thinking about the saints. The word “blessed” here means “to be happy in spite of your circumstances because of what lies ahead.” First, God blesses us (this is the other word translated “bless,” which means “to become what God intends”) with His redeeming good message. Then, as souls regenerated in the image of Christ, we walk the course of life God has prepared for us in this world until He relieves us of the challenges of our corrupt bodies in this corrupt world by taking us to Himself.