For this week's sermon, I started with an object in hand: Half a glass of water. My question to the congregation was simply, "Is it half-full or half-empty?"
The answer of course, depends on your perspective... the way you choose to view the glass.
Are you an optimist? Then it looks half-full to you, doesn't it?
Are you a pessimist? Then it looks half-empty, doesn't it?
It all depends on your perspective!
There is only one glass, only one quantity of water, yet there are two different views you could have regarding that glass and that water. You could believe it to be half-full or you could believe it to be half-empty. And both answers seem to be acceptable answers and both seem to be right. It all depends on your perspective.
During this next couple of weeks, everyone around us will be focusing on the fun and festivities of Halloween, and many of us here in this sanctuary right now have already made plans for what our family will be doing that evening.
Halloween can be a lot of fun. If you are allowing your children to go trick or treating or to a Halloween party or whatever, I hope it is a fun event. It ought to be.
Throughout my adult life I have run the gammet on what I believe with Halloween as a Christian. When I worked at the Olean General Hospital as an orderly, I guess I still didn't think about it too much. Somehow I would always end up working on October 31st, and the tradition was to dress up as a character of some sort. The only one I remember was that I spent one Halloween night (3:00 to 11:00) dressed as a modern prince. You know, three piece suit, cape, sash, crown, rings, dress shoes. Trying to do my job in that get up was a royal pain, to say the least. Especially when a patient died and, as the orderly, I had to take her to the morgue... dressed up in a suit... on Halloween night… and there was a full moon to boot.
Other years, as I've come to understand some of the realities of what all happens on Halloween night, like the razor blades, the drugs, the occult practices, I've refused to participate in the day at all. I had more of a fear of all the occultic stuff I guess.
Bit by bit, though, I have come to understand that it's my perspective that makes the difference. Just like that glass of water... half-full or half-empty... it depends on your perspective.
I COULD look at Halloween as an evil holiday, originally instituted as a druid festival with heavy emphasis on the occult. I COULD focus on the druid "Lord Of Death" that supposedly sent evil spirits out on the night before ALL HALLOW'S DAY to roam the earth in search of food which, if not given, would cast an evil spell on the person who would not help. I COULD focus on the masks and costumes the Celts wore to try and convince the Lord of Death that they were just one of his spirits, so he should leave them alone.
And all of those things are true. They are the reason behind our "give us a treat or we'll play a trick on you" attitude of trick or treat and our dressing up in costumes. But I think that just might be the wrong perspective. That's fear speaking.
We have been taught as Christians that we are in the world but not of it. We have to be a part of the world. We've been called to be in the world... rubbing shoulders with the everyday people, with sinners, with mean people, and yes, even with those who don't understand us or our Lord. We, as Christians, will continue to encounter those people every day, because we are IN the world. But we don't have to be LIKE the world. Because we're the ones who know the HOPE that there is through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said in his sermon on the mount, that we are to be salt. (Matthew 5:13) Salt is never very good on its own, but it always changes the taste of the food it is put on. And the salt itself never gets to really choose what food it will affect...it has the same effect on every piece of food it touches... it makes it more salty. It gives it a new taste.
I guess that's where I am now with my understanding of my responsibility as a Christian when it comes to Halloween. I must be salt and help change its flavor. I need to help redeem this holiday like Christians in the past helped to redeem midwinter pagan rituals and gave rise to our current birthday celebration for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
What does that mean, in practical terms, for me as a Christian then? I have discovered two practical ways that I can help redeem this holiday as a salty Christian. I'll take the good of this holiday and focus on that and draw people's attention to the truth.
First of all, I can emphasize the good things, while taking a stand against the evil. As our children have grown, we have deliberately allowed them to dress up for the Halloween parties at school, and let them go to select neighbors’ houses for trick or treat… but never were they allowed to hide their faces behind a Freddy mask or dress as a goblin, a witch, or a vampire. We reject that part of the ancient traditions of Halloween of trying to convince the evil one that we are just another demon spirit so that hopefully he'll leave us alone. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is greater than any other spirit. And followers of Christ have nothing to fear.
So we could allow our girls to play dressup, and still take a stand against the false belief that we must fear the evil spirit lord. In fact, for this next weekend’s costume party out at the church camp, thrown by the youth group for ALL of the church, my kids will have the option to be dressed up if they want, without a mask, without the evil disguises. And without the fear.
One year one of the girls decided to be an angel and the other was Sleeping Beauty. One time Michele was Pocahontas and Sarah was a skunk. They dressed up and had fun. And they can again this year as well.
And yes, if kids come to our door this year for trick or treating, we'll have a treat for them... not because we're scared of the repercussions if we don't, but because my Bible speaks of generosity, and "suffering the little children."
The other aspect of what I need to be doing as a Christian when it comes to Halloween is to recognize the underlying spiritual message of this holiday.
The message of today's modern Halloween is still spiritual, and I don't just mean the occultic influences.... it is a pre-occupation with death... and what comes after we die. Just take a look at the decorations in the stores, on homes, and on the TV… We have ghosts and skeletons and gravestones and the un-dead (whatever that's supposed to be). We hear of evil spirits and witches and "bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble." And Hollywood always seems to have a new thriller/horror movie out that packs the movie theatres.
Halloween, and the time leading up to it, is the one time of year that our society says it's OK to deal with death. And seemingly everyone becomes fascinated with it. My responsibility as a Christian, trying to be salt and redeem some of this holiday, is to recognize the spiritual hunger that I see during this Halloween season.
Because we all hunger for a reality in the spiritual world. We long for there to be forces at work on our behalf in the spiritual dimension. We have a society that literally cries out in abandon at Halloween for there to be an answer to death... to spiritual life. And they fall back on "ancient wisdoms". They try to control the spirit world on demand, they try to conjur and channel and image. They look for spiritual truth.
And so often, we Christians deny there's any spiritual dimension to the day (or we go the other extreme and refuse to even acknowledge it). I believe we have a responsibility to acknowledge the spiritual hunger... because we are the ones who have the bread of life... Jesus Christ as our Lord and our Savior.
And we are the ones who know the most about death... because Jesus came back from there and said,
We have nothing to fear from death, because Jesus defeated death. All death has left, is fear.
Knowing that we would have trouble understanding this, Jesus, just before he went to Calvary, took the disciples aside and spent some time with them explaining what was on the other side of death and how to face it on this side during our lives. He didn't say we had to wear evil disguises and hide our faces. No treats or offerings to demon spirits were needed. He simply said that we shouldn't be afraid… and then went on to tell us about the other side of death, for those who allow Jesus to be both their Lord and their Savior. He simply said:
When Jesus spoke of us as salt, he never expected us Christians to just act like Christians when we are at church. He spoke of us as salt so that we would get a clear picture of our role in this world. We help even the bad stuff seem better. Not by sugar coating evil nor by compromising our standards, but by recognizing spiritual hunger and offering spiritual bread... a life with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Because, when all is said and done, and the final analysis is in, it is JESUS that this Halloween minded society is looking for. The questions concerning spiritual forces are answered when Jesus proclaims I AM THE WAY. And in all our uncertainty, Jesus answers even our unspoken, unuttered questions, by declaring I AM THE TRUTH. And our questions concerning death and the afterlife are answered when Jesus reveals: I AM THE LIFE.
I have a mission this Halloween... to redeem what I can of the good, take a stand against that which is evil, and to lift up the truth of Jesus Christ.
Because you see... the glass really is... half-full.
The answer of course, depends on your perspective... the way you choose to view the glass.
Are you an optimist? Then it looks half-full to you, doesn't it?
Are you a pessimist? Then it looks half-empty, doesn't it?
It all depends on your perspective!
There is only one glass, only one quantity of water, yet there are two different views you could have regarding that glass and that water. You could believe it to be half-full or you could believe it to be half-empty. And both answers seem to be acceptable answers and both seem to be right. It all depends on your perspective.
During this next couple of weeks, everyone around us will be focusing on the fun and festivities of Halloween, and many of us here in this sanctuary right now have already made plans for what our family will be doing that evening.
Halloween can be a lot of fun. If you are allowing your children to go trick or treating or to a Halloween party or whatever, I hope it is a fun event. It ought to be.
Throughout my adult life I have run the gammet on what I believe with Halloween as a Christian. When I worked at the Olean General Hospital as an orderly, I guess I still didn't think about it too much. Somehow I would always end up working on October 31st, and the tradition was to dress up as a character of some sort. The only one I remember was that I spent one Halloween night (3:00 to 11:00) dressed as a modern prince. You know, three piece suit, cape, sash, crown, rings, dress shoes. Trying to do my job in that get up was a royal pain, to say the least. Especially when a patient died and, as the orderly, I had to take her to the morgue... dressed up in a suit... on Halloween night… and there was a full moon to boot.
Other years, as I've come to understand some of the realities of what all happens on Halloween night, like the razor blades, the drugs, the occult practices, I've refused to participate in the day at all. I had more of a fear of all the occultic stuff I guess.
Bit by bit, though, I have come to understand that it's my perspective that makes the difference. Just like that glass of water... half-full or half-empty... it depends on your perspective.
I COULD look at Halloween as an evil holiday, originally instituted as a druid festival with heavy emphasis on the occult. I COULD focus on the druid "Lord Of Death" that supposedly sent evil spirits out on the night before ALL HALLOW'S DAY to roam the earth in search of food which, if not given, would cast an evil spell on the person who would not help. I COULD focus on the masks and costumes the Celts wore to try and convince the Lord of Death that they were just one of his spirits, so he should leave them alone.
And all of those things are true. They are the reason behind our "give us a treat or we'll play a trick on you" attitude of trick or treat and our dressing up in costumes. But I think that just might be the wrong perspective. That's fear speaking.
We have been taught as Christians that we are in the world but not of it. We have to be a part of the world. We've been called to be in the world... rubbing shoulders with the everyday people, with sinners, with mean people, and yes, even with those who don't understand us or our Lord. We, as Christians, will continue to encounter those people every day, because we are IN the world. But we don't have to be LIKE the world. Because we're the ones who know the HOPE that there is through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said in his sermon on the mount, that we are to be salt. (Matthew 5:13) Salt is never very good on its own, but it always changes the taste of the food it is put on. And the salt itself never gets to really choose what food it will affect...it has the same effect on every piece of food it touches... it makes it more salty. It gives it a new taste.
I guess that's where I am now with my understanding of my responsibility as a Christian when it comes to Halloween. I must be salt and help change its flavor. I need to help redeem this holiday like Christians in the past helped to redeem midwinter pagan rituals and gave rise to our current birthday celebration for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
What does that mean, in practical terms, for me as a Christian then? I have discovered two practical ways that I can help redeem this holiday as a salty Christian. I'll take the good of this holiday and focus on that and draw people's attention to the truth.
First of all, I can emphasize the good things, while taking a stand against the evil. As our children have grown, we have deliberately allowed them to dress up for the Halloween parties at school, and let them go to select neighbors’ houses for trick or treat… but never were they allowed to hide their faces behind a Freddy mask or dress as a goblin, a witch, or a vampire. We reject that part of the ancient traditions of Halloween of trying to convince the evil one that we are just another demon spirit so that hopefully he'll leave us alone. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is greater than any other spirit. And followers of Christ have nothing to fear.
So we could allow our girls to play dressup, and still take a stand against the false belief that we must fear the evil spirit lord. In fact, for this next weekend’s costume party out at the church camp, thrown by the youth group for ALL of the church, my kids will have the option to be dressed up if they want, without a mask, without the evil disguises. And without the fear.
One year one of the girls decided to be an angel and the other was Sleeping Beauty. One time Michele was Pocahontas and Sarah was a skunk. They dressed up and had fun. And they can again this year as well.
And yes, if kids come to our door this year for trick or treating, we'll have a treat for them... not because we're scared of the repercussions if we don't, but because my Bible speaks of generosity, and "suffering the little children."
The other aspect of what I need to be doing as a Christian when it comes to Halloween is to recognize the underlying spiritual message of this holiday.
The message of today's modern Halloween is still spiritual, and I don't just mean the occultic influences.... it is a pre-occupation with death... and what comes after we die. Just take a look at the decorations in the stores, on homes, and on the TV… We have ghosts and skeletons and gravestones and the un-dead (whatever that's supposed to be). We hear of evil spirits and witches and "bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble." And Hollywood always seems to have a new thriller/horror movie out that packs the movie theatres.
Halloween, and the time leading up to it, is the one time of year that our society says it's OK to deal with death. And seemingly everyone becomes fascinated with it. My responsibility as a Christian, trying to be salt and redeem some of this holiday, is to recognize the spiritual hunger that I see during this Halloween season.
Because we all hunger for a reality in the spiritual world. We long for there to be forces at work on our behalf in the spiritual dimension. We have a society that literally cries out in abandon at Halloween for there to be an answer to death... to spiritual life. And they fall back on "ancient wisdoms". They try to control the spirit world on demand, they try to conjur and channel and image. They look for spiritual truth.
And so often, we Christians deny there's any spiritual dimension to the day (or we go the other extreme and refuse to even acknowledge it). I believe we have a responsibility to acknowledge the spiritual hunger... because we are the ones who have the bread of life... Jesus Christ as our Lord and our Savior.
And we are the ones who know the most about death... because Jesus came back from there and said,
I am the resurrection and I am life.
Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, and I hold the keys of hell and death.
Because I live, you shall live also.
We have nothing to fear from death, because Jesus defeated death. All death has left, is fear.
Knowing that we would have trouble understanding this, Jesus, just before he went to Calvary, took the disciples aside and spent some time with them explaining what was on the other side of death and how to face it on this side during our lives. He didn't say we had to wear evil disguises and hide our faces. No treats or offerings to demon spirits were needed. He simply said that we shouldn't be afraid… and then went on to tell us about the other side of death, for those who allow Jesus to be both their Lord and their Savior. He simply said:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house, there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.
Because I live, you also will live.
Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."
When Jesus spoke of us as salt, he never expected us Christians to just act like Christians when we are at church. He spoke of us as salt so that we would get a clear picture of our role in this world. We help even the bad stuff seem better. Not by sugar coating evil nor by compromising our standards, but by recognizing spiritual hunger and offering spiritual bread... a life with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Because, when all is said and done, and the final analysis is in, it is JESUS that this Halloween minded society is looking for. The questions concerning spiritual forces are answered when Jesus proclaims I AM THE WAY. And in all our uncertainty, Jesus answers even our unspoken, unuttered questions, by declaring I AM THE TRUTH. And our questions concerning death and the afterlife are answered when Jesus reveals: I AM THE LIFE.
I have a mission this Halloween... to redeem what I can of the good, take a stand against that which is evil, and to lift up the truth of Jesus Christ.
Because you see... the glass really is... half-full.
4 comments:
I'm preaching about Halloween on 10/29; I'll fill you in at some point. The sermon is based on Colossians 2:6-15 and is entitled "Why Christians NEED to Celebrate Halloween".
Keith,
You preached that last year. Be fresh with the word of God, my brother! Bring the Word to the people!
I preached a similar message in Dawson. New church, same gospel truth...different ministry context, so the message itself will diverge from the one preached in Dawson.
Don't you ever update this blog?
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