Victory Over Death
As a kid, I came up with the big idea of being a trash can for Halloween. To make the costume, I cut out the bottom of a brand-new Rubbermaid trash can (sorry, Dad, if you are reading this) and made a hat out of the lid. You might think it was cute, but it proved to be pretty dumb, because as people threw precious candy into my trash can it just fell on snowy, wet ground. I don’t recall ever feeling more like Charlie Brown than I did at that moment…I can hear myself grumbling, ”Good grief!” At least I gave some people a good laugh that night, even if it was at my expense.
I know there are a variety of opinions and approaches in the church to the holiday that falls on October 31. Some ignore it, and some embrace it. Regardless of how you handle it, our neighbors in America sure take Halloween seriously. According to the National Retail Federation, as a country we spent over $12.2 billion on Halloween-related purchases in 2023, second only to Christmas spending. (I can only imagine how hard it is to store those two-story-tall skeletons.) So what inspires us to spend so much money on a holiday that celebrates fear and death? One expert described it as a “controlled exploration of fear.” In other words, the holiday can provide a ritualistic way to collectively confront and process anxieties about things like death and the unknown.
As Christians, one thing I can say for sure is that we have a far better way of addressing this fear of death and dying. Paul put it powerfully when, after describing the anticipation of our resurrection, he declared, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory, O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1Cor 15:54-57 ESV) That sounds like a far better antidote to me than mocking death. In this season where many of our neighbors attempt to make light of death, let’s boldly remember that we can proclaim victory over it.
October 31 is a special day in the history of the church – it is known as “Reformation Day,” a protestant Christian holiday recognizing the day in 1517 when German monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. This act is commemorated as the official starting point of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther famously said he once had a dream in which he found himself being attacked by Satan. The devil unrolled a long scroll containing a list of Luther’s sins and held it before him. On reaching the end of the scroll, Luther asked the devil, “Is that all?” “No,” came the reply, and a second scroll was thrust in front of him. Then, after the second came a third. But now the devil had no more. “You’ve forgotten something,” Luther exclaimed triumphantly. “Quickly write on each of them, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s son cleanses us from all sins.’” Now that is the right way to silence fear!
Happy Reformation Day!
Expectantly,
Shawn
