|
Teaching Our Child To Say BOO!
By Rev. Kathleen Baskin-Ball, Sr. Pastor of Suncreek United Methodist Church
 Halloween is coming and with it, for me, some warm October memories. Dressing up as a ghost, princess, or gypsy; walking hand in hand with my younger sister; running to the corner house to retrieve our annual icee; lingering over a sticky caramel apple from the house up the street, stuffing candy into my trick or treat bag; and shouting BOO at the neighboring kids!
I am eager for our 8-month-old son, Skyler, to share in the unfolding drama of Halloween! We are, of course, already teaching him to say BOO! As a minister in the church I feel that is the only responsible thing to do. After all, Halloween, or All Hallow’s Eve, has its origin in a religious ritual whereby the faithful would dress up in costume and take to the streets of their town in an effort once a year to scare the evil spirits away. The following day, All Saint’s Day, they would rise to celebrate the victory over evil and give thanks to God for the holiness of those whose faith had been unwavering. In a time when evil seems all too present I look forward to banishing evil and celebrating the victory of God’s reigning goodness. I want our son to know that with God he need not be afraid of that which would seek his demise. He need only to learn that God is with him, to be faithful to God’s holy ways, and to know that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. He needs to learn to say BOO with the confidence of one whose God promises ultimate victory over sin.
There will be many alternative celebrations this Halloween, and for reasons of safety and fun, they are a wonderful opportunity to continue the tradition of this festive time. I do hope that your child and mine will also retain their ability to shout BOO at all that is wrong in our world. I hope that our children will grow in confidence that as faithful ones they can be assured that God is going to win. Unafraid of the dark powers that may lurk on such a night as All Hallow’s Eve, I pray that yours and mine will adorn themselves in costumes, scary ones are the best, and take to the streets of our town to scare the evil spirits away.
Let’s see, should Skyler be a fat pumpkin, a black bat, or a frightening scarecrow? Actually, he is a little angel. Probably doesn’t matter, so long as he learns to say BOO!
Happy Halloween!
|
