Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 24
Revelation 21:1-6a
John 11:32-44
“Life and Death”
We cancelled the church choir practice this week because it fell on Halloween night, and a number of singers wanted to be home to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Once again this year, there weren’t a lot of kids out on my block, but I did hand out some candy and see some interesting costumes, and now I’ve got leftovers that you can share if you come down to the gym for lunch and the mission exercise we are going to do today.
It’s interesting to think about our society’s general celebration of Halloween in our time, and the ways that it has changed and been adapted over the centuries. There’s still a connection with ghosts and ghouls and scary things, but it’s mostly about kids (and sometimes adults too) dressing up as something else. You don’t have to put a sheet over your head and become a ghost, but you can dress up as Elsa from “Frozen”, as Ironman or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, as a cute little black cat, or a big orange pumpkin.
It’s difficult to sort out the long history of Halloween customs in various countries, understanding its original connection … Read more »