Jesus’ words in Luke 6:20–31 turn the world on its head. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. They’re part of what we call the Beatitudes, and they paint a picture of a kingdom that honours humility, mercy, and love over wealth, power, and pride. On All Saints’ Day, we remember the holy ones who’ve lived out this upside-down way of life, those who’ve loved in ways the world rarely notices, and who’ve trusted God’s promises even when life was hard.

Jesus blesses those who hunger, who weep, who are excluded and insulted because of him. It’s not that pain or poverty are good in themselves, but that God’s presence transforms them. The saints remind us that faith doesn’t shield us from suffering, it gives us eyes to see beyond it. They knew that joy doesn’t come from having everything, but from belonging to God. They believed that kindness and forgiveness weren’t optional extras, they were the shape of holiness itself.

When Jesus says, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you, he’s not offering pious advice; he’s describing how heaven looks when it breaks into earth. The saints, both famous and forgotten, have taken those words seriously. They’ve broken cycles of vengeance with compassion. They’ve turned the other cheek not in weakness, but in strength. They’ve lived the Golden Rule – Do to others as you would have them do to you.

All Saints’ Day isn’t just about remembering those who’ve gone before, it’s about hearing the call to join them. Holiness isn’t reserved for the perfect, it’s the daily choice to live with grace in a graceless world. As we give thanks for the communion of saints, we’re reminded that we, too, are part of that communion: ordinary people, blessed and broken, learning to love as Jesus loves.

Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. May those words lift us, inspire us, and remind us that the Kingdom of God is already among us, hidden in mercy, revealed in love, and alive in every saint who dares to follow Christ’s way.