Officially, I work from home. But for 5 years now, I have adopted a new office, in my local library. I go there for a few reasons; to get my steps in so I get that rewarding buzz from my watch as I walk home; to escape the piles of washing and dirty dishes in my house which aren’t so much a distraction – they are piled high because I find it all too easy to ignore them – but it’s a bit deflating to occasionally notice them if I go to refill my drink. The main reason though, is that I like the 20 minute walk to people-watch, see the familiar faces going about their familiar routines – it gets me thinking – about what people are thinking, what is their life like, what will the rest of their day hold. It was on one of my commutes home on an October afternoon, that a woman across the road caught my eye. She was dangling two toy skeletons in front of a toddler, lounging in a buggy. She made the skeletons dance as if they were part of the cast of funny bones. She was loving it, the toddler less so!
As I watched, it got me thinking; why do skeletons, ghosts, ghouls, zombies and anything else that is usually associated with death bring such entertainment at this time of year? Whilst I don’t think that anybody who I know is actively wanting to celebrate evil and encourage their children to do the same – I do make the decision to not allow my children to be involved in anything that might have a hint of darkness about it around halloween, because I want to hold out light in all things, because light always defeats darkness!
And so with that last sentence, it might be obvious that I have never been one to skirt around a subject or conversation. I’m not a fan of superficial, I want to get to the heart of things. When it comes to anything that might point to the big questions of life, I want to engage. So the way that October 31st brings flirtation with death and darkness and evil prompts me to consider how we actually deal with death, darkness and evil. We bury our heads by making light of it and reflecting what my mum always says to help us cope in tough times, ‘laughter is the best medicine’.
My closest exposure to the true sting of death came when my Gran died. It was close because I saw her shortly before she died, knowing that the inevitable was coming. Close also because I loved her so much. So the weight of her death has been and still is, significant. I remember her fondly; her gorgeous laugh which lit up her face and the room around her, but tears soon come as I also remember her fighting for breath. This is the last I heard and saw from that once laughing face, now overcast by the shadow of death. I read Psalm 23 to her in that moment, I didn’t plan to, it just seemed so apparent to me that she was walking in that valley of the shadow of death and that the only way that she would fear no evil, was if she knew that the Lord was her shepherd. I prayed this for her, with her, through tears, longing that God would in His great mercy, take her to dwell in His house forever.
We all know that death is devastating, it is painful beyond what we can bear sometimes. So maybe making light of something so dark is understandable. We are created by God, who did not create us for death. He created us for life, for all eternity with Him. So as His image bearers we subconsciously seek life. However as fractured image bearers, who don’t reflect Him as we should, we struggle to deal with the darkness of this world as we should. Rather than seeking life in Him, just like is so much of life, we seek it in other ways. Maybe ignoring death is one broken way of seeking life?
If we know Christ, we know that he and only he is the remedy to death and evil, it’s not ignoring it, it’s not putting it off, it’s not laughing in the face of it. It’s defeating evil – which Christ did on the cross, and putting death to death – which Christ did by rising to life.
There are lots of times where we seek out our friends and family to speak of this good news about Christ, Easter and Christmas being the obvious examples. But halloween is a unique opportunity, with death dancing before our eyes in the bones of a toy skeleton, with boldness maybe it’s not a huge leap to speak about life and death. And with people coming to us for once, knocking on our doors in our individualistic culture, will we hold out this same good news as we seek to at Christmas and Easter?
Philippians is a wonderful book of encouragement and challenge. Chapter 2 encourages the follower of Jesus to WORK OUT their salvation with fear and trembling. Followers of Jesus fall in different places when it comes to how they engage with halloween. Working out where we stand and being able to explain why we stand there in the light of our salvation, is vital.
Then the Christian is called to HOLD FIRMLY to the word of life so that we may shine like stars in the darkness. We can hold out the death and resurrection of Christ as the ultimate remedy to our greatest enemy, death. The saviour offering the light of life in a dark world.
Because we are transformed by our salvation and we cling on to God’s word, how will be distinctive in how we live but not detached from where we live. Like stars, obvious in the dark sky, but still very present in the darkness.
Here’s some practical pointers to consider this halloween, if you like…
- Decorate your house with light at halloween
- Be generous when people come knocking on your door, with your attention, the sweets that you offer and the good news of Jesus.
- Pray for opportunities with those who you speak to around halloween. Most of the people who come knocking you will probably know or at least recognise, so pray for opportunities to speak to them again.
Called by Name 