Sunday November 2, 2025 (All Saints Sunday)

All Saints Sunday

On All Saints Sunday we hold gratitude and ache in the same hands—remembering those whose ordinary faith made Christ visible in our lives. Luke 19:1–10 gives us a picture of how that faith begins: through a personal encounter with grace. Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector, climbs a tree to see Jesus. Curiosity opens the door to transformation. Jesus stops, looks up, and calls him by name: “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
Grace goes first. Zacchaeus did not earn the visit or bargain for mercy. Jesus enters his home, crosses the lines others drew, and begins the work of restoration. At that table, the change becomes visible. Zacchaeus stands and pledges half his possessions to the poor and fourfold restitution to those he defrauded. His faith expresses itself through justice and generosity. Jesus declares, “Today salvation has come to this house,” not because of perfection, but because repentance has taken form in real life.
This story mirrors the journey of John Newton—the former slave ship captain who was transformed by grace and later wrote Amazing Grace. Both stories remind us that no past is too heavy and no life too far gone for the mercy of Christ. Grace does not stop at forgiveness; it grows into restoration, repair, and reconciliation.
Wesleyan theology helps us name the movement. Prevenient grace awakens curiosity. Justifying grace meets the sinner in mercy. Sanctifying grace matures that mercy into generosity and justice. Saints are not perfect people; they are people who keep saying yes to this grace until Christ’s life becomes visible through theirs.
The message ends with a charge: take one step that shows grace has reached your house. Make the call that repairs a relationship. Share with someone who is struggling. Write a note naming the good you received from a saint and send it to their family. Keep your act small enough to do and real enough to cost something.
All Saints Sunday celebrates this pattern: grace enters, hearts turn, lives open, and neighbors see Christ through ordinary people. Salvation is not just a verdict; it is a way of life that bears fruit in homes, friendships, and communities. Grace at the table becomes grace in the world.