Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....October 30, 2017
Halloween can be a troubling holiday. It is not my favorite holiday by a long shot. On this Halloween eve, I thought I would share with you all, especially those parents with children, a little about this day.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife, Terry, and I were walking through Ross store and she mentioned she had to plan a Halloween party at her office. We look at a couple of runners with skulls on them and I began to think of how this night of candy collecting by children has changed over the years.
Many of us carry fond memories of Halloweens long ago, back when we were growing up. Many of us remember it as innocent fun—a special day just for children.
I remember dressing up in silly costumes and going door to door begging for candy. When I was little, I carried a small, decorated bag. When I got a little older, I began to carry a pillowcase—the better to carry my loot home. My favorite house to visit was on my block, a few houses down and across the street. A little old lady lived there, and every Halloween she gave out homemade popcorn balls—mmmm, mmmm, good!
That was another time…before parents even thought to bring their children’s candy to the police station to be x-rayed…before it became common practice to throw away anything not in a sterile sealed commercial wrapper.
On the other hand, even more ominous than concerns for safety, many of us are growing more and more aware of the pagan origins of the holiday and the pagan, and even satanic, activities associated with Halloween.
In some places I have lived, it has been common practice for people who owned outdoor cats to bring them inside in October, especially if they were black cats. Experience showed that as Halloween approached, unwatched pets would begin to disappear, and it wasn’t just due to childish pranks.
What’s a Christian to do?
The short answer is found in 1 Corinthians 10:31. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
So how does a Christian deal with Halloween in a way that glorifies God?
First, become informed about Halloween’s pagan origins.
Long before the gospel of Jesus Christ came to northern Europe, the Celtic people of that region were pagan and the Druids were their intellectual or priestly class. The Celtic new year began on November 1, and so their new year’s eve was October 31.
The Celts believed that as winter approached, the sun god was growing weaker and the “lord of death” was growing stronger. October 31 was considered to be the day when the barriers between the world of the dead and the world of the living were most permeable. The “lord of death” (also known as the “grim reaper”) came at the new year to retrieve the souls of those who had died during the previous year. The evil spirits of those who had died were loosed for awhile to haunt the living.
By lighting bonfires on the hillsides on the eve of their new year, the Celts hoped to scare away the evil spirits. Also on October 31, all the cooking fires were extinguished in the kitchens around the land. New fires were then lit from the great bonfire to honor the coming of the new year. By waving burning wisps of plaited straw aloft on pitchforks, people tried to frighten off demons and witches. Sometimes they also put on grotesque costumes, in the hopes that the evil spirits would think they were evil spirits too and leave them alone.
The wandering evil spirits were believed to cause all sorts of mischief and disaster, from spoiled milk to sickness. Food left on the door step would convince the spirits to pass your house by. (The Druids would collect the food and burn it a sacrifice to their gods. They might burn the house down or castrate the males in the house if no offering was provided. The Druids are also thought to be the builders of England’s “Stonehenge”, to be used as a sun worshipping temple and site for human sacrifice. The special day for human sacrifice at Stonehenge was October 31.)
The jack-o-lantern was also a Druid symbol. People put a candle inside a hollowed-out gourd or pumpkin to show that they were supportive of the Druids and deserved mercy from them.
After Christianity spread across northern Europe, the Roman Catholic Church sought to overcome the pagan traditions of the people, in part by Christianizing the most important pagan holidays.
A lot of the traditions that we associate with Christmas and Easter actually have origins in Celtic pagan religion. The Church co-opted these traditions and symbols and gave them Christian meanings. For example: evergreen trees, wreathes of pine boughs, and holly all were involved in old Druid rites but now have Christian meanings. Some Christians do not celebrate Christmas precisely because of these pagan associations. On the other hand, many Christians feel that the Church’s co-opting of old pagan rituals has been successful, so that the birth of Christ is indeed celebrated at Christmas and the resurrection of Christ is indeed celebrated at Easter, even when some of the old symbols are used, and in both cases the glory goes to Jesus Christ.
Three related Church holidays were involved in seeking to co-opt the pagan new year’s rituals: All Hallow’s Eve on October 31 (from whence comes the name “Halloween”), All Hallows Day (or All Saints Day) on November 1 to honor dead martyrs of the faith (or those who have died during the previous year), and All Souls Day was on November 2 as a day of prayer to move people from purgatory.
Just like at Christmas and Easter, attempts were made to re-define the old pagan symbols. For example, a legend was established to explain the meaning and use of jack-o-lanterns in a way that was more “Christian”. The story goes that a man named Jack tricked the devil into chasing him up a tree. Jack then jumped out and mounted his crucifix so that the devil could not get to him. The devil threw embers at him. Jack put one of these embers from hell inside a hollowed-out pumpkin or gourd or turnip and used it as a lantern. Wahlah…jack-o-lanterns!
Dressing in costumes and going door-to-door relates to old Druid practices but also are shaped by a much later tradition in the British Isles, a practice not restricted to Halloween. Masked players would go from house-to-house, putting on a skit or playing music in return for food and drink. Often these performances had Christian themes.
The "trick-or-treat" custom we know today is mostly American in origin. In the nineteenth century, when Irish and Scotch immigrants brought their Halloween traditions to North America, the night became an occasion for pranks and mischief. Vandals would go through the night, soaping windows, overturning outhouses, and pulling gates from their hinges. The joke was that the pranks were said to be the work of witches and ghosts. As time went by, though, the pranks grew more outrageous and the joke wasn’t funny anymore.
To counteract Halloween vandalism, community clubs like the Boy Scouts began to organize alternatives that were safe and fun. Children were encouraged to go door-to-door and receive treats from homeowners and merchants, keeping the troublemakers away, and the modern practice of "trick or treat!" was born.
All three Christian holy days associated with October 31 to November 2 still exist in the Catholic Church, and Protestants recognize All Saints Day. It is clear, however, that at least in this country, any Christian connection to Halloween has been lost. It is at best a purely secular holiday.
It is equally clear that the pagan origins of Halloween have not faded into obscurity. They persist today. In fact, in many ways, the pagan origins of Halloween are experiencing a resurgence of popularity, belief, and practice.
Second...become informed about the ways that the pagan origins of Halloween are re-emerging.
Today, Wicca is one of the fastest growing cults in America. Wicca is a neopagan religion. It can be traced back to Gardnerian Witchcraft which was founded in the UK during the late 1940’s. Wicca is based on the symbols, seasonal days of celebration, beliefs and deities of ancient Celtic society. The Druids worshipped elements of creation, and not the creator himself. So, too, modern Wicca is a nature religion. In addition to ancient Druidic beliefs and practices, Wicca incorporates Masonic and ceremonial magical components from recent centuries.
Modern witches (wiccans) celebrate eight main holidays, the most important of these is the Druidic new year’s festival (in other words, Halloween). This is the most important holiday because this is the time when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is supposed to be its thinnest point in the year, making communication easier.
For the same reason, Halloween is also the most important holiday for modern Satanists. Satanists believe that Halloween is a night when demons and the devil have special powers. For Satanists, Halloween is a particularly important night for sacrificial rites.
There’s no getting around it. Check out any of the new specialty stores popping up that sell nothing but Halloween paraphernalia. Halloween, even in its secular and commercial form, glorifies death and honors symbols of evil.
Third...do not have anything to do with the pagan aspects of Halloween or those commercial aspects that glorify death and honor symbols of evil. At the same time, do not fear October 31 either.
The reality is that Christians in America live in an incredibly pluralistic society. On a daily basis we brush elbows with people of many different religions, including neopagans and even Satanists. The instruction that Moses gave the Israelites as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land applies equally well to American Christians today.
To the Israelites, Moses said: “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engage in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord…” (Deuteronomy 18:9-12)
It’s important that those who are seeking to witness to the life-giving love of Jesus Christ avoid glorifying death or giving honor to symbols of evil.
October 31 may be a special day to groups who oppose the one true and living God, but still our God reigns. Our God is a God of love, and there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
In the Letter to the Colossians, we are reassured: “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13)
Fourth...stake a claim on the fun and innocent aspects of this day, and feel free to mock the devil’s attempts to claim this day.
Just because we choose to disassociate ourselves from practices that glorify death and honor symbols of evil, doesn’t mean we can’t play on October 31.
This time of the year is a wonderful time for celebration. For those who have ties to agriculture, the harvest is in. For the rest of us, the kids are back in school! Wearing costumes can be fun. Playing games and sharing candy in a safe and loving environment can be joyful.
The Letter to the Colossians also notes that Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities” and “he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15) On the cross and by his resurrection, Jesus humiliated Satan. One aspect of Satan’s defeat was humiliation—shame—dishonor—disgrace.
Satan hates to be mocked. He counts on fear to underwrite his illusions of power. When we refuse to fear, but instead stand up to his ultimately futile attempts to claim October 31 or any other day as his own, then we—by the grace of God—join in undermining Satan and those who would follow him, knowingly or unknowingly. We can stand up to Satan by celebrating on October 31 in ways that let Satan know that we do not accept and do not fear his attempt to claim this day. We can stand up to Satan by celebrating on October 31 in ways that lift up Jesus Christ and share the light of Christ in the world.
Do not be overcome by evil, but instead overcome evil with good.
Celebrate if you will, but celebrate in a way that glorifies God and lifts up Jesus Christ.
Celebrate if you will, but celebrate as children of light. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Celebrate if you will, but celebrate in a way that shares the light of Christ.
Celebrate if you will, but celebrate in a way that does not seek your own good but the good of others.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)
May God Bless you all and stay safe tomorrow night
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
New things can be scary, but do not hold yourself back for selfish reasons. You never know what good things can come out of it
It was nearly time to go, and I had managed to work myself up into a state of high anxiety. I'd been to church before, but never for something that wasn't a baptism, wedding, or funeral, and definitely not to a church of this denomination. My boyfriend had asked me to go, and I wondered what it meant for our relationship.
The service was scheduled at 8 am, and I had been up since 6 am fretting. Was I dressed appropriately? What if I did something wrong? What would happen if I didn't show? I took a moment to pray, and knew what to do.
My nerves calmed on the drive to the church, but flared back up as I pulled into the parking lot to find three similar buildings in front of me. I stayed in the car for a moment and watched people go in until I was sure of which door would take me where I was supposed to go. When I walked through the front door, I was greeted with the loving smile of my boyfriend, all dressed in his altar boy garb. We hugged and he told me where to sit, and I was greeted with more kind smiles on my way in.
As I sat in the back watching the service and participating as respectfully as I could, I realized how calm I felt. It wasn't about me anymore. It was about Him. I felt the reverence of those around me. I watched my boyfriend perform his duties with a practice that alluded to his long relationship with God and the church. I found myself loving and respecting him all the more for it.
Later, my friend joked with me that being nervous about going to church is a sure sign that I shouldn't go, but I disagree. I was focusing on myself, and this experience called me on it. It shoved me out of my comfort zone in many ways, which I believe is when God does some of his best work. I think that day strengthened my relationship with God not because I went to church, but because it gave me a different perspective on the relationship we can have with Him.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
More from the Gospel of Matthew
JESUS HEALS A PERSON WHO IS PARALYZED
A paralyzed man is brought to Jesus by his friends (9:1–8). Jesus sees that the man’s real problem is not paralysis but guilt. He assures the invalid that his sins are forgiven—and then heals his paralysis.
Some teachers of the law are indignant that Jesus has presumed to forgive someone’s sins. This is something only God has the right and power to do. But the healing of the paralysis is proof that Jesus does indeed have God’s authority to act in this way.
THE CALLING OF MATTHEW
Matthew is a tax collector. He works for the local king, Herod Antipas. It seems likely that he is a customs official, sitting in a toll booth and checking goods as they cross the border.
Tax collectors are among the most hated people in society. They have power to stop, search and tax everyone and everything. They can take the clothes off your back or the wheels off your cart! But it’s not because of their power that the tax collectors are despised. It’s because they betray their own people to make themselves rich.
And Jesus calls Matthew to be his disciple (9:9–13)! In the Gospels of Mark and Luke he is called Levi—but he is clearly the same man. Simon Peter also has two names.
Matthew invites Jesus to dinner, where they are joined by other social outcasts known as ‘sinners’. These are people who, because of their work or morals (or both), can’t lead a religious life. They are ‘unclean’.
The Pharisees are offended that Jesus is keeping such company. Sharing a meal with them is a sign of fellowship. But Jesus tells them he must mix with sinners, just as a doctor must mix with the sick. The Pharisees prove their religion by keeping clean. Jesus proves his love by getting dirty.
TO FAST OR TO FEAST?
The disciples of John the Baptist come to Jesus with a question. Why don’t his followers fast as they and the Pharisees do (9:14–17)?
Jesus replies that they don’t fast because they aren’t sad. They’re enjoying the presence of Jesus—like a wedding party with the bridegroom there. One day he will be taken from them and they’ll be sad. Then will be the time for fasting.
The gospel is like new wine. The Jewish leaders are like shrivelled old wineskins. The gospel needs new and more flexible structures to contain it. Will the disciples of Jesus be the bottles?
LIFE, HEALTH AND PEACE
Matthew tells us about some people Jesus helps. Each one reaches out to Jesus from a hopeless situation, and experiences his extraordinary power to save (9:18–34).
A ruler comes to Jesus with the tragic news that his daughter has died. In Luke’s Gospel we know this man is Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum. He believes that if Jesus will only lay his hand on his daughter she will live. But, as the Pharisees see it, to touch the girl’s corpse will make Jesus ‘unclean’.
Jesus is on his way to the ruler’s house when a woman in the crowd touches his cloak. She wants healing for her continual menstrual bleeding, which has troubled her for twelve years. She is ‘unclean’ and should not be in a public place. She should certainly not be touching a rabbi. But she is healed immediately, and Jesus tells her that her faith has cured her.
Jesus continues to the ruler’s house, clears the funeral party from around the door and raises the girl to life.
Later, two blind men follow Jesus, calling on him as ‘Son of David’ to help them. The title has strong political meaning, and will make Jesus a focus of Jewish opposition to the Romans. Jesus heals them discreetly in the privacy of a house—responding to their faith, but asking them to be quiet about him in future. However, they are just as noisy afterwards!
A demonized man is brought to Jesus. He is dumb, but Jesus heals him by commanding the demon to leave. The crowd is amazed, but the Pharisees are not impressed. They explain Jesus’ power over demons by saying he is in league with them. This is an appalling slander and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit who is at work in these acts of rescue.
Engaging in mission
(9:35–12:50)
For a second time, Matthew sums up all that Jesus is doing—travelling, teaching, preaching and healing in the towns and villages of Galilee.
A HUGE TASK
Jesus is drawn by the needs of the people, which he feels as a pain in the pit of his stomach (9:35–38). They are like sheep, distressed and defenseless, without a shepherd to care for and protect them. In John’s Gospel Jesus actually describes himself as ‘the good shepherd’—the One who gives his life for the sheep (John 10:11).
The work is vast and the moment is urgent—like a harvest which must be gathered while the crop is ripe and the weather good. Jesus asks his disciples to pray for more workers. They will soon become the answer to their own prayers.
The Twelve Apostles
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Persecution Will Come
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
Have No Fear
26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Not Peace, but a Sword
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Rewards
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
JESUS SENDS OUT THE TWELVE
Jesus calls his disciples together. There are twelve of them—like a mini-Israel, with her twelve tribes. They are to be the nucleus of the new people of God.
Matthew lists the Twelve and calls them ‘apostles’—those who are ‘sent’. The learners are becoming missionaries. Jesus gives them his authority to do the very same work that he has been doing: driving out evil spirits, healing all kinds of illness and even raising the dead (10:1–16).
Jesus gives the apostles their instructions:
They are to concentrate on the people of Israel. Matthew is aware that the gospel is for the whole world, but the mission to the Gentiles is still in the future.
They are to travel without money or baggage—relying on God to provide for them. The people they visit will give them food and shelter.
They are not to charge for their work, nor accept any money. The gospel is to be free for all.
The apostles’ visit will be a judgment on each home and community. If they are welcomed, their peace will rest on the place. If they are rejected, they must leave—shaking the dust from their feet, and abandoning the people to their fate.
Those who reject the apostles are rejecting the gospel of God’s kingdom—a crime far worse than anything done in Sodom and Gomorrah. These were the wicked ‘cities of the plain’ which God destroyed in Abraham’s day (Genesis 19:24–25).
WARNINGS OF PERSECUTION
Jesus warns his disciples that they will be persecuted for their faith. He paints a dark picture of their suffering and trials in years to come (10:17–42).
The apostles will be persecuted at every level of government, from synagogues and local councils to Roman courts and royal palaces. They will be flogged and imprisoned. But their mission to Israel will open out to become a mission to Gentiles too. And God will never abandon them; his Spirit will always be with them and speak through them.
People will disagree about the gospel. It will split even the closest relationships. The apostles will be hated because of the message they bring. But they must proclaim the good news clearly and bravely. The only person they need to fear is God. This is a spiritual battle: evil is being challenged, secrets are being exposed and eternal choices are being made.
Jesus assures his apostles, in the strongest terms, of their ultimate safety and eternal life. God already knows every hair of their heads. Jesus looks forward to presenting them to his Father with great pride.
The apostles are to be Jesus’ faithful ambassadors in all kinds of difficult situations. When people meet them, they meet him. And there will be blessings in heaven for anyone who helps them—even if only by giving them a drink.
Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., p. 420). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., p. 420). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., pp. 419–420). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 10:40–42). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 10:26–39). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 10:16–25). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Mt 10:1–15). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., p. 419). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., p. 419). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
Knowles, A. (2001). The Bible guide (1st Augsburg books ed., pp. 418–419). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
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