On my way to and from work I pass a cemetery. Usually there’s no activity there (no double meaning intended), but on this day there was a woman walking the asphalt path that surrounds the graveyard. I thought: “Isn’t that interesting; she’s circling death.”
I like these lines from the movie “Sole Survivor” by Richard Christian Matheson: “In this world, one day death is going to take the life from everything that you love. So while you're able, love what you have. Take the death from your life.”
Halloween is fast approaching. I’ve lived in communities in which some religious groups condemned Halloween, some ignored it and others participated fully. Others held “Harvest Festivals” filled with everything Halloween except the ghoulish costumes. Most towns in our nation observe Halloween with trick-or-treating and lighthearted decorations. Still some say this celebrates evil and refuse to take part.
Satanists may revel in the dark side of Halloween. Wiccans may hold holy ceremonies honoring the Earth. Christians can condemn the day, but why not see it as an opportunity to take the death from our lives?
Everyone dies. We know that. Our bodies are only temporary vessels in which our spirits are housed. Halloween could be a time for us to stick our tongues out at death and say, “We know we die, but while we live we will live abundantly! We’ll don masks and costumes and make fun of death, because we know death does not have the final word.”
Whatever your faith teaches you about an afterlife, there is nothing to be lost by celebrating the life you have. Embrace it. If it brings you joy to condemn things like trick-or-treating, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman and witches, then follow your bliss. That’s one way to look at things.
I prefer to see the vast majority of Halloween happenings as chances to circle death and take life from it.
The real goblins of our time are not children dressed as ghosts but rather diseases like cancer and AIDS. The real ghouls of our day are poverty and mental illness, prejudice and hate. The real bogeyman that goes “bump” in the night is violence and war, and especially killing in the name of God. The ghost in the attic is not a demon spirit but rather the injustices perpetrated on the powerless of the past and the present. Those are the things we should be condemning and protesting about. Those are the things we should be railing against and not laughing children in superhero costumes.
Yes, evil is real. It does exist. We read about it in the newspapers every day. But it’s not the wolf we should fear so much as the wolf in sheep’s clothing. We can see the wolf and deal with it. The wolf in sheep’s clothing is the one that causes the most harm.
Speaking of wolves, I’m going to be a werewolf this Halloween. I plan to enjoy every second of it. And while I’m at it I’m going to circle death and howl in its face. It’ll get my body one day, but never my soul!
Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now? (1 Corinthians 15:54-55, The Message)
- Randy Weeks is an ordained minister and a Licensed Professional Counselor. He lives in Oxford with his wife, Dr. Jeannie Falkner.
