What's the point in getting all spooked out?

---

“Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice." — Dave Barry

---

 

Dear friends, faithful prayer and financial partners,

While on my morning walk I strolled past a neighbor house that was all Halloweened-up. Funny thing, I don’t remember any other time of the year that this couple has decorated their home. Not at Christmas, or Yom Kippur and I know they are not Muslims (at least not practicing Muslims—no head scarves, or other tell-tale signs). So, what’s up with this, I thought? Why the fascination with Halloween?

Well, being the amateur psychologist that I am I began to think of plausible answers before finally settling on the fact that it has been my observation that most people are puzzled by the hereafter, the shadowy world of the dead. This must be a coping mechanism, I guessed. Spooking yourself and others must bring a kind of comic relief to an inquisitive soul. Joke about death or the afterlife and it kind of brings it down to the right size, one that we can deal with without any extra help from above.

Now, I know that I am kind of odd when it comes to religious things—at least, I have been told that. However, I don’t think in this case that I am. (What else do you expect for me to say?) So, I would like to make a couple of points about Halloween. 

First of all, it is not my favorite holiday because it commercializes weirdness and degrades the dignity of the hereafter—but, again, that’s just me. Now, before you get all tied up and think that I am a bad father or grandfather, I must tell you that I hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters and enjoy the excitement of the fright.

So, what’s the point? The point is that an Easter bunny has replaced the risen Savior for some, and Halloween is no longer a time to respectfully reflect on the saints of yesteryear, and further Christmas has been reduced to a jolly old man in a red suit that rubs his tummy and laughs with a big “Ho-ho” as he flies away on an imaginary sled drawn by reindeers lead by one with a big red nose.

As for me, I think it is about time that we Christians take back our holidays and make them our own. There can be no substitute for the real thing. “Ho-ho-ho” if you want to, but let’s not forget what Christmas is all about. Nor should we allow a few dyed eggs and an anatomically gifted bunny replace the solemnity of Easter, either. These are sacred days for which — whether or not most people realize it — men and women have suffered martyrdom to celebrate. So, let us not let the triviality of a little fun blur the memory of such sacrifice or the significance of these events.

In closing, if I leave the impression that I am a grouchy old man, well, I probably am but that really has nothing to do with the truth of these matters. So, I say, let's have our fun, but let's double up on our effort to keep the spirit of the holidays, truly in the Spirit for the Holidays.

I am yours for the journey,

Jim R/~ 

P.S. You are a vital part of this ministry and in all honestly we could not—nor would we want to continue—without you. Please continue to pray for and support our ministry in the former Soviet Union and in Southern Asia. 

---