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All Hallow’s Eve
“But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them … In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble.”
Wisdom 3:1, 7
This little passage from the Wisdom of Solomon is appointed for Evening Prayer on the eve of All Saints’ Day, perhaps better known as All Hallow’s Eve or Hallowe’en. I daresay that most of the trick or treaters out tonight won’t know that they are actually observing a medieval Christian festival. You could try thanking them, perhaps, for coming by your house for Evening Prayer on All Hallows’ Eve and seeing what happens!
We really do celebrate All Saints’ Sunday here at St. Martin’s, of course, often with baptisms to celebrate God’s newest saints. And we celebrate All Saints’ with gusto: it’s the Sunday that we love to sing “For All the Saints” with the choir and “I Sing and Song of the Saints of God,” which never fails to put a grin on my face.
I rather love Halloween with my kids. Even my 3-year-old has been demanding that we put up spooky decorations in our front yard, so I suppose we shall (but not too spooky). Though I can’t say I am a great fan of the more gruesome styles of decoration and costume, I do love the great parades of costumed kids, the incredibly elaborate front yard displays, the sense of fun and wonder that pervades it all.
It makes me wonder: what would it be like if “the souls of the righteous” shone forth just as powerfully in our neighborhoods, on our streets, running like sparks through the stubble?
It wouldn’t be quite as showy as the whole world putting on costumes, knocking on doors and asking for candy, I suppose. But that’s why we go on telling the stories of the saints, is it not? Not to glorify ourselves, but to point to the compelling beauty of lives lived for God, people fully alive as God made them to be, showing forth Christ’s faithfulness, hope and love in an all-too-broken world.
Hearing once again the story of St. Francis, who left everything behind to preach the Gospel, makes me remember that, yes, it’s true, another way to live really is possible.
Hearing the story of Mother Theresa reminds me that, yes, the Gospel of Jesus Christ really does turn the world upside down.
We all have people in our lives who modeled faith for us, like my dear grandfather who showed me how to live as a disciple of Jesus. You and I can be that person for someone we know. Even in dark and difficult times — shall we say, in scary times — the lives of the saints shine a light in this world. By God’s grace, may it be so for us.
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