Common saints live higher, holier lives

As I once again turned off the television, chagrined at the nonstop coverage of “breaking news” about Paris Hilton, I pondered why our society gives so much attention to celebrities. Don’t we know (or care) about the thousands of common hard-working citizens who struggle to make ends meet in providing emotional and physical support for their families and in giving back to the governmental and volunteer groups that form
their social network?
Particularly, I am saddened that the church has so little impact upon our society that we see more news about movie stars than we do about community servants, more excitement about celebrity relationships than family disintegration.
So I was inspired (and informed) to read the following comments of James C. Howell’s Servants, Misfits and Martyrs (Upper Room Books, 1999). He writes:
“Christopher Lasch suggested that there is a profound difference between celebrities and saints. In a narcissistic, self-pleasing culture, we welcome celebrities because we lack imagination and courage. Traditional heroes make demands on us, but celebrities make no moral claim on us. Glittering stars in our culture merely feed our narcissism, our love of self, our addiction to everything society finds pleasurable. No one ever asks how our constant exposure to the rich and famous is supposed to make us good or wise or faithful. But heroes—saints—stretch our imaginations and stand as imperatives, calling, wooing us into a higher, holier life.”
Why does our society give so much attention to celebrity? I think James Howell has an answer that makes sense: Celebrities make no moral claim on us, but heroes and saints call us into a higher, holier life.
Numerous people in our society today resist being called to a higher purpose, to anything beyond the pursuit of their own pleasure. Even the church is infected with this disease. Too often in our congregations we would rather go for the good feeling rather than the grand plan, what is easy rather than what is challenging.
So, what does the faithful disciple of Jesus seek to do about this situation? It seems to me that we need more saints than celebrities. We must have more people who are willing to live up to “a higher, holier life.”
Yes, such saints may not receive the publicity they deserve, but they can transform the space around them. In time that transformation can change the attitudes of an entire society. That’s exactly what happened during the first four centuries of Christianity. That’s what God wants to inspire again.
Are you ready to take on the challenge of being a saint? Too much for you, you say. Sainthood is for the really holy, uncommon people in our world. Again, James Howell from the same book informs us by writing:
“Saints do not possess an extra layer of muscle. They are not taller, and they do not sport superior IQs. They are flesh and blood, just like you and me, no stronger, no more intelligent. And that is the point. They simply offer themselves to God, knowing they are not elite, fully cognizant that they are inadequate to the task, that their abilities are limited and fallible.”
If you are pondering why our society gives so much attention to the less important, then join me in accepting Christ’s challenge to offer ourselves fully to God, depending upon his love and power to live the higher, holier life of a common saint.