The angel was pointing out the mechanism for identifying those whom God touched. The word saint immediately conjures up images in our minds. On one hand, saints are the holy people who lived and died long ago and today are remembered with church buildings or feast days named for them. There s a better way to define a saint. During a children's sermon, a rector of a parish with wonderful stained glass windows in his church, once pointed to the people in the windows to express to the children who saints are.
Saints are people that the sun shines through.
The little boy made the connection between the light of God and the people who walk in that light. To some, their inspiring lives can be misused to keep expectations low. I could never be as brave, or faithful or giving as this or that saint, so why bother trying. But try we must. One of the things I am picking up in our current forum series as people share their spiritual journeys, is how important saintly, ordinary people are in our lives.