Coach’s Contemplations,
Can you believe it is November? Everything from the weather to the clocks is changing. We close out October with the ritual of Halloween and begin November with the celebration of All The Saints. Thanksgiving morphs into Christmas. In church we move from All Saints Day to the End Times and Judgment Day to Thanks Giving and Christ the King Sunday and then we reboot to Advent.
In many ways the whole month is an illustration of Halloween/All Saints Day.
On Halloween we mock death. We decorate with all the scary stuff; grave stones, fake decaying bodies, skulls, whole skeletons, ghosts spirits and evil things, creepy bugs and witches. It is a recognition of all the scary stuff in our world. We do so with the attitude of laughing it off, but the reality is this world is scary and death is always lurking in the shadows. Then morning comes and it is All Saints Day and we are reminded that Jesus has conquered all the scary stuff and promises to be with us always.
Satan wants us to forget All Saints Day and to be stuck pretending the scary stuff will not get us or even to let us believe it will get us and there is no hope of escaping it. As I have been contemplating this the verses of the hymns for this duel two sided day keep running through my head.
Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress” and “For All The Saints”
Though hordes of Devils fill the land, All threatening to devour us,
They cannot overpower us. … Were they to take our house, honor child or spouse, though life be wrenched away, They cannot win the day.
The Kingdoms our forever.
But then there breaks a yet more glorious day,
The Saints, Triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia!
So, November takes us from Halloween to Christ the King and our home with Him in the New Heaven and Earth and we gather with our savior Jesus at the Great Feast of Thanks Giving (The Eucharist) together forever, Amen!
Can you believe it is November? Everything from the weather to the clocks is changing. We close out October with the ritual of Halloween and begin November with the celebration of All The Saints. Thanksgiving morphs into Christmas. In church we move from All Saints Day to the End Times and Judgment Day to Thanks Giving and Christ the King Sunday and then we reboot to Advent.
In many ways the whole month is an illustration of Halloween/All Saints Day.
On Halloween we mock death. We decorate with all the scary stuff; grave stones, fake decaying bodies, skulls, whole skeletons, ghosts spirits and evil things, creepy bugs and witches. It is a recognition of all the scary stuff in our world. We do so with the attitude of laughing it off, but the reality is this world is scary and death is always lurking in the shadows. Then morning comes and it is All Saints Day and we are reminded that Jesus has conquered all the scary stuff and promises to be with us always.
Satan wants us to forget All Saints Day and to be stuck pretending the scary stuff will not get us or even to let us believe it will get us and there is no hope of escaping it. As I have been contemplating this the verses of the hymns for this duel two sided day keep running through my head.
Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress” and “For All The Saints”
Though hordes of Devils fill the land, All threatening to devour us,
They cannot overpower us. … Were they to take our house, honor child or spouse, though life be wrenched away, They cannot win the day.
The Kingdoms our forever.
But then there breaks a yet more glorious day,
The Saints, Triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way. Alleluia! Alleluia!
So, November takes us from Halloween to Christ the King and our home with Him in the New Heaven and Earth and we gather with our savior Jesus at the Great Feast of Thanks Giving (The Eucharist) together forever, Amen!
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