Halloween is almost here!  Trinity loves the fall festivals, pumpkin patches, we even love dressing up for costume contests and the annual TLS Halloween Parade.  But it’s not just because we want to have a good time.  There’s something BIG to celebrate.

It’s called All Saints Day.  November 1st is the day we celebrate the victory Jesus has won for us over death.  We know that our bodies will die someday, but in our church services, when we remember the people who have died over the past year, it’s not gloom and doom.  We know that just like Jesus rose from the dead, we will rise, too.  Jesus promised, “Because I live, you will live also.”  So, remembering those who died trusting in Jesus always includes a note of joy.  We want to experience the joy of All Saints Worship, October 31 & November 1 (Sat. 6pm, Sun. 8, 9:30, and 11am).

Now, just like the Christmas Holiday actually begins for us the night before with Christmas Eve, All Saints Day begins with All Hallows Eve, or as we call it now, Halloween.   For Christians, it’s a time to remember “all the holy ones” — God’s people who have died and are tasting eternal life with Jesus.  Some people try to make Halloween scary by focusing on death, demons, and the devil!  For us Halloween and All Saints Day is a reminder that we have something BIG to celebrate – Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the devil.

Dressing up for a celebration can be a lot of fun.  We can help our kids have a great time wearing a costume that emphasizes good, positive characters.  We can talk with our kids about the roots of this holiday, perhaps while they’re getting dressed up, or on the excited ride home from school.  This will also help our young people understand and process all the scary ghosts and zombies that folks put up in our neighborhoods.

There’s a deep spiritual lesson in all of that.  Christians are to live “IN the world, but not OF the world.”  Our children need to understand how the world turns things upside down, and how Jesus turns things right side up.  Like every holiday in the church, All-Saint’s Eve (All Hallows Eve – Halloween) is about Jesus.  With Him by our sides and in our hearts we have nothing to fear.  Halloween should always be a celebration of this!

Jim & Eric

 

-Pastor Jim Martin
Jim.Martin@TrinityDowntown.com