Halloween - behind the mask

Earlier this week, Sue's Aunt Joan celebrated her 90th birthday.  She currently lives in a village in East Yorkshire, but is hoping to move down to Leicester to be near us.  Sue and I spent Aunt Joan's birthday with her; at lunchtime we took her to a pub in a nearby village.  The lady behind the bar didn't seem particularly pleased to see us (despite the fact that we were the only customers present!)  However, the meal she eventually produced was worth waiting for.  The pub was a typical old village pub; there was a blazing fire in the hearth which we greatly appreciated on a cold day.  What wasn't quite so traditional, however, was the fact that the whole place was absolutely festooned with Halloween figures; the owners really had gone to town.  Aunt Joan commented on how well they had decorated the pub; Sue and I weren't so sure.

It is clear that the UK has embraced the idea of Halloween.  Many shop windows reflect this fact.  A few days ago I was visiting my bank and noticed a shop window, decorated for Halloween, with the message: "Happy Halloween".  Perhaps many people wouldn't think anything of the greeting, but to me it seems a rather strange and mixed up message.

I guess that to most people Halloween seems to be just harmless fun.  Dig below the surface, however, and one discovers elements which are not so "happy".  A couple of weeks ago I was taking a school assembly in a local infant school.  The school theme for the week was "Overcoming Fears".  I began by asking the children what kind of things make people afraid.  A few suggestions were made, and interestingly one little boy said, "Halloween".  A slightly nervous laughter came from many of his fellow pupils, almost as if they agreed with him but weren't really sure whether it was ok to admit that they were fearful of aspects of Halloween.  It is significant that my daughter Caz, who is a teacher in South Wales, had told me earlier that a pupil in her school had become very upset by a Halloween advert.

The reality is that Halloween does tend to stress some things which aren't altogether wholesome, such as ghosts, witches and devils etc.  The masks/costumes which are worn can be really frightening to some impressionable children; and not only children, of course.  In some areas of the country, in police-supported initiatives, leaflets are handed out to the elderly to put on their front doors to deter Halloween callers.  Opening one's front door at night to be greeted by people in hideous masks can be an extremely frightening experience.  Children themselves can be vulnerable when out in the dark calling at houses.

Most people don't realise that the origins of Halloween go back to a time when fear and superstition ruled.  Apparently it was believed that the souls of the dead were called back on 31 October and if families didn't welcome them, they were cursed (trick or treat!)  I am all for having fun, but I really think that in commemorating Halloween we do need to think seriously about all those who might find the whole thing rather frightening and upsetting.  Behind the mask of Halloween lie elements which are far from happy.  How much better to focus on things of light and love, rather than things of darkness and fear.

Where does my help come from?

'I lift up my eyes to the mountains –    where does my help come from?' (Psalm 121:1)

There is probably not a person alive who has not, at some time in their life, found themselves in a really difficult situation and asked a question like the one written by the writer of Psalm 121 (the psalm was one of the set Bible readings for yesterday's church services).  We human beings were not created to live our lives in isolation from one another, and it is often in times of struggle or crisis that this reality really hits home.  There are some situations which we can face with far greater confidence when we have the support of others.  At times we need the comfort of good friends.

Into my mind has come a memory from my childhood.  I was playing cricket with some friends in the garden of our next door neighbours; perhaps I was 6 or 7 years of age at the time.  For some reason which escapes me, one of my friends decided to throw one of the wooden wickets with some force.  Unfortunately his aim was rather poor (I think!) and the said wicket crashed against my head.  Needless to say I was soon in tears and nursing a very sore head.  In that moment I was desperately in need of comfort, and knew that the the best source of comfort was my mum.  I ran home and into her arms.  It didn't make the pain go away but I definitely felt an awful lot better!

One day last week I was leading an assembly at the local primary school.  The school theme for the week was "Overcoming Your Fears".  I decided to tell the story of Jesus and the disciples in a boat in a storm.   The disciples feared for their lives as the storm grew very fierce and the waves swept over their boat, while Jesus lay sound asleep!  In their desperation they turned to Jesus, who, to their amazement, calmed the storm with a word.  As I told the story, I encouraged the children to join in by doing actions and making noises (wind, waves etc.); they seemed to enjoy doing so.  The disciples overcame their fears by turning to the only One who could help them.

There can be few things more precious in life than to have good friends and/or family to whom we can turn in times of need.  But sometimes even our friends let us down, or maybe there are some things which we face that we feel unable to share with those close to us.  In times like that we need to remember how the writer of Psalm 121 answers his own question:


'I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.'

I love the definition of a true friend as “one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.”  Not a bad description of the friendship we can find in Jesus.

Ben makes his entrance!

Last week was a very special time for me and Sue, as we celebrated the birth of our third grandchild Benjamin (Ben).   It seems that we have been looking forward to his birth for a long time (about 9 months, actually!), and we give thanks to God for his safe arrival.  I am sure that he will be a great blessing to his parents Chris & Megan, and to his big brother, Max.  It was one of those strange co-incidences that Ben was born on 10 October, which is the same date on which my dad died back in 1991.  It is a powerful reminder of the rhythm and pattern of human existence.

Max and Ben have a cousin, Beth, who lives in Doncaster.  Beth and her parents, Matt and Steph, came down over the weekend to see Ben, and it was wonderful to have our 3 grandchildren together in our house for the first time.  I thought that I would take the opportunity to have a photo taken with them.  There is an old saying, "never work with children or animals", and I knew that it wasn't going to be easy getting a good shot.  We did manage very briefly to get all four of us on the settee together, but then Ben started crying, and Beth and Max decided that they didn't really want to sit for a photo-shoot!  We managed to get one brief shot; it isn't a great photo but it will be a very precious reminder in the years to come.

I suppose that every grandparent thinks that their grandkids are wonderful, and mine certainly are!  It has been fascinating to see how Max and Beth have developed in so many ways since they were born last year.  They are clearly very different in both nature and character, yet both so lovable and lots of fun to be with.  I am sure that in due course Ben will begin to reveal and develop his own personal characteristics.  Three very special young children!

Of course, every human being is precious in God's eyes.  The Bible tells us that when God decided to create human beings he made a decision that every human being would be created to bear something of the "image" of God.  A better translation of that word might be "imprint" or "impression".  That can be a little difficult to understand, but at heart what it means is that God leaves the imprint of his hand on every human life, and no-one can be fully complete or whole unless they come to know God in a personal way and enter into a love relationship with him (Jesus came into the world to show us the way).  We are created to walk with God.

Max, Beth and Ben are very blessed in that they have parents who will love and nurture them.  Their parents know that it is far more important to give to a child things like love, encouragement, time, good example, than to give them expensive gifts etc.

I pray every day for my family.  I thank God for each one of them.  Top of my prayer list for my grandchildren (including number 4 who is due next year!) is that they will one day come to know personally the God who created them, who has loved them from before the dawn of time, and who has an eternal plan and purpose for their lives.

The source of true security

Two of the churches of which I am minister suffered from break-ins within the last week.  It's something which I have had to deal with several times over the years in various churches.  The strangest occurrence came when someone actually broke OUT of one of my churches in Sheffield (we never quite got to the bottom of that one, but despite the damage done, it did create a little humour!)

I'm never quite sure why people think that it will be worth breaking into Methodist churches.  In my experience, the most someone has found worth taking has been a few food items from the kitchen or the odd small items of petty cash.  In one of the recent break-ins, the intruders managed to prise the back off the church safe.  I'm sure that they were disappointed to discover that the safe only contained old record books etc. and nothing of any value.  Perhaps it might have saved them time and effort if we had put a note on the front of the safe to that effect!

It is sad, of course, that the respect given to places of worship, which was the norm in days gone by, hardly seems to be the case these days.  Churches and other places of worship appear to be as regular a target as any other properties.  In the recent cases with my two churches, the main problem caused was the mess which the intruders created and the disruption to the ongoing programmes in the churches.  For example, a playgroup session had to be cancelled.  I don't suppose that those who were responsible for the damage to the property gave a second thought to all the children and families who were affected as a consequence.

I happened to be reading the local village newsletter yesterday, which included a report from a local police officer.  The report contained guidance on steps to be taken to help prevent burglary.  The advice included instructions to close all windows and doors at night: difficult instructions to follow during the hot summer weather which we have experienced this year!   

I have found myself reflecting on some words of Jesus:

'Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are.'  (Matthew 6:19-21)

There is the potential for every earthly possession to be taken from us.  What can never be taken from us is the love we find in a relationship with the living God.  If we try to find security in possessions (a big car, house, bank balance etc.), then we will probably be constantly concerned for their security.  If, on the other hand, our security is on our relationship with God, then we need have no concern, for God's love lasts for all eternity.  That's true security!