Halloween, Oct 31st, All Saints’ Day, Nov 1st, All Souls’ Day, Nov 2nd
Halloween gives us choices. Some use it as a time to experiment into the dark side of human existence. I don’t think that is what it was originally intended for and it would be wise for anyone to avoid bringing any negative thoughts and practices into their life. I have fond memories of Halloween from my childhood. It can be time of family, friends and fun. Others use it for property destruction and, well, even worse, more lasting things. Like everything else in life, we are given a choice of how to participate in Halloween. Let us pray that all those in our community chose joy, love and peace. It seems like Halloween comes earlier each year. Driving home from a meeting at church last month, I was surprised to see how many Halloween lights and decorations were already up in our neighborhood. I also see a rise in the number of harvest festivals going on at various churches. It seems Halloween is out; Harvest is the new thing, probably because of genuine concerns about evil worship and Halloween. Theologically and historically, the harvest festival was a pagan celebration. Churches cannot side-step difficult questions simply by replacing the name. We still must acknowledge the history of pagan celebrations and how they relate to our modern Church calendar. Syncretism is the key here, the merging or superseding of a previous religious meaning with a new or “correct” one. St. Patrick participated in syncretism when he brought Christianity to Ireland. He found particular religious (pagan) activities and supplanted them with Christian practices, symbols and beliefs. Syncretism is why we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th. Someone decided it would be fitting to remove the (Roman) celebration of new light and replace it with celebration for the birth of Christ – the Light of the Word. All Hallows’ Eve appears to be a Christian construction to celebrate a three day period with All Saints’ Day in the middle followed by All Souls’ Day. Bear in mind, historical records and facts are murky at best. Some believe All Hallows’ was purely a Christian invention, others say it was syncretistic for the pagan harvest festival. Here’s my take. Syncretism is a part of our history and practice to this day. We must give thanks for the harvest God has provided. We should remember those we love but see no longer, those who died defending our country, and for patriotic men and women who formed our great nation. It helps us to mourn their loss, celebrate the joys of heaven, and remember what they meant to us individually and collectively. In particular, remembering the lives of the saints and martyrs helps us in our walk with Jesus. Likewise, we can remember the lives of loved ones and try to live more like they did. We can also remember the forefathers and mothers of our country and participate in civic life like they did. Regardless of our take on Halloween, my 7 year old doesn’t get caught up on theological principles of syncretism. He likes to wear a costume, walk around the neighborhood, and eat candy – just like I did, like my father did, and, perhaps as George Washington did when he was a child. It’s hard to imagine St. Francis dressing up as a fireman and saying trick or treat, but maybe? Halloween costumes probably postdated them; nevertheless, Francis and George would want us to make family traditions and share ourselves with our neighbors. - Fr. Dave Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a wind
filled the entire house where they were sitting. Acts 2:2 A strange thing happened at Saint John’s this past Sunday morning. Fr. Al Stott gave a testimony about his heart valve surgery the Tuesday before last, and, here he was, only five days later, standing and serving the Lord. That is a miracle – both a medical science miracle and a healing miracle, which in my book is all the same. Al held the prayer blanket he received from Saint John’s. He had it with him in recovery and he testified that he felt the power of prayer from the congregation and the Holy Spirit. This is not the strange part. It’s an out and out blessing of huge proportions, thanks be to God. Here’s the strange part. I was holding the prayer blanket up so the congregation could see it, hands raised above my head and I remember my arms getting tired. Al was on my right, his right hand holding the microphone, his left touching the blanket. As he was talking, the bottom part of the blanket started to curl upwards like there was a breeze blowing it. I thought Al was doing it until I saw his left hand. I’ve been told by a couple of people that they saw the same thing – one behind me, the other to my right next to the piano. One person saw two hands pushing through the blanket. She then demonstrated with the hem of her shirt. She thought I was doing it until she saw my hands at the top of the prayer blanket. After Al’s testimony, I turned to see if a breeze was coming in through an open door; it wasn’t because the door was closed. The a/c was on, but it doesn’t blow in that direction. Nevertheless, something was blowing that blessed blanket. I’ve written about the Hebrew word, ruach, and how it can mean spirit, Holy Spirit, breath, breath of life, and wind. Ruach is what was blown into the nostrils of the mud-shaped human and made life. Ruach blew over the waters of the earth before God said, “Let there be light.” I think Ruach explains what happened to Al’s prayer blanket. In a larger sense, Ruach is also what happened to Al during his surgery and recovery. Visitors to Saint John’s have commented on the feeling of Spirit and peace in the church and the warmth of love from the congregants. That is all from the Holy Spirit. Ruach is a spirit (both upper case and lower case) of unity. There is love in unity. All this month, during our Stewardship drive, you are hearing stories of how the ministry and mission of Saint John’s has impacted people. Although we have not (yet) heard the sound of the rushing Wind, we have seen its presence in our midst. It even includes the playful Spirit of the Lord that will blow a prayer blanket. And, come to think of it, that is not strange at all. It is simply a blessing from God, -Fr. Dave |