Sunday’s Recap Monday’s Call

October 12th, 2026

Sunday’s Recap: Witness

Guiding Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

Yesterday was All Saints Day. It was a joy to be able to celebrate this special day together on a Sunday this year. It is a time to remember the Christians who have come before us and celebrate the faithful lives they led. We consider all faithful Christians to be among the saints. Saints are all people who strive to be Christ-like, even when being human gets in our way.

Part of faithful Christian living is the spiritual practice of witnessing and being witnesses. Witness is our identity. Witnessing is what we do. There are two aspects to bearing witness.

The first is the willingness to see. It is easy to avert our eyes and not see certain parts of the world. We would rather not see the suffering of our neighbors. But when we fail to see these places, we also miss seeing the glory of God at work around us in surprising places and through surprising people.

The other half is action: telling others what we have seen. In our guiding Scripture, Paul makes a rather bold claim that the Thessalonian church accepted his witness not as a human message, but as God’s message. How can Paul make such a bold claim about his own witness, and do we dare to be so bold about ours?

Perhaps Paul is claiming not so much that he speaks for God, but that the Thessalonian church must have recognized God at work in the words he spoke. These were words that motivated and empowered them to live as disciples in their community and beyond, allowing the gospel to be seen in their lives.

Paul understands that God works through our words, not in place of them or in spite of them. This is an important understanding for all who speak about faith. It doesn’t remove the responsibility we have to ensure our words are truthful and congruent with the gospel, but it adds a deeper dimension to our witness.

We cannot determine whether something is faithful simply because someone claims divine authority or sincerely believes they are doing good. We must continually examine our witness in light of the gospel and its fruits.

And so, let us bear witness to the lives of those who came before us. Let us proclaim God’s word through those sometimes all-too-human lives. And just as we recognize God’s grace at work in the saints who came before us, may we live with the humility to recognize that God might work through us, too.

Monday’s Call

This week, our invitation is to be inspired by the Christians who have come before us and to live into the twofold calling of witnessing: seeing what is happening around us and responding to what we see. Who or what needs to be seen? What are we going to do or say about it?

As you move through your week, consider trying one or more of these spiritual practices:

• 🕯️Remember Your Saints: Who are the witnesses of faith who have influenced your life but are no longer with us in the physical world? Remember their stories, both the holy and the all-too-human ones. Find a quiet, dimly lit place to meditate and/or pray about their witness. Take time to mourn their loss, if needed, but especially to celebrate the lives they lived and the witness they offered. Light a candle in the darkness as you hold these saints in your heart.
• 👁️Witness: What kinds of joy or need are easiest for you to notice? Where might you need to pay more attention? As you go through your week, notice when you are tempted to avert your eyes, and intentionally take time to see someone or something in a new light. How might God be speaking or working through what you see? What do you feel inspired to say or do in response?
• ✍️Reflect and Journal:
  • Who are the people you find it easiest to see and connect with? Who might you be overlooking, and what could help you see them more fully?
  • How can you share your faith and experiences while remaining humble about the difference between your own beliefs and God’s word?
  • As you remember the saints who have shaped your life, how might you continue their legacy by bearing witness to God’s love in your own community?

As God’s living saints, may we be witnesses to God’s love in the world around us.