A few weeks ago in the parlor after worship, one of the little girls in church came up to me with a very quizzical look on her face. “I know that Easter is when Jesus rose and I know that Christmas is when he was born but what is Halloween?” I loved her question for so many reasons.
First of all I love that children and adults come to the church where they can safely state their questions out loud. Jumping into the life of faith does not mean that we suddenly know all of the answers to life’s important questions. Rather it means that we share in a community of friends who dare to learn what it means to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Who wouldn’t have big questions about this God who challenges us while also lavishing us with incredibly vast love?
Second, it reminded me that all of us live in world where the sacred and the secular get all mushed together. Halloween and Thanksgiving shape our life rhythms as much as Easter and Christmas. The cool and shortened days of Fall awaken our spirits just as the prayers and sermons of worship awaken our souls. We listen for God everywhere, not just inside the sanctuary. And sometimes the forces of life and faith are difficult to reconcile and practice.
And the little girl’s question nudged me to remember that Halloween really does have both Christian and cultural components. The ancient history of Halloween includes remembering the lives of those no longer with us but who shaped us forever. Halloween was first the ‘hallowed eve” before All Saints Day or some called it “All Saints Eve” So many times our lives are really at that in between place. Our lives are often lived on a bridge, between God’s holy presence and God’s absence.
As Psalm 139 says, “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?”
Grace and Peace,
Carla
