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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost

October 31, 2022

All Hallows Eve

Invitatory

“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,’ darkness is not dark to you, O Lord; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-7

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I had been commanded, and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.



Meditation – Peter Vanderveen

I used to lead an All Hallow’s Eve service on or around Halloween. It was held in the church, mostly in the dark. We asked everyone to come in costume. As the service started I would look out across the nave, and, even in the deep shadows, one couldn’t help but be impressed by the utter strangeness of the moment. The pews were filled with all sorts of characters, but no one knew who any of the others were behind the masks and make-up and props and dress. And this not-knowing, because it was shared by everyone, set a mood of restless intrigue.

Some figures were a bit frightening. Others were whimsical. Some – and I remember them well – were unnerving because they were absolutely inscrutable and mysterious. One could stare at them at length and still have no clue who they were or why they were present or what their intentions might be. These are all identifications that help us navigate social situations. They are common to every gathering of which we are a part, however partially. And they are particularly assumed in church contexts. It’s why churches can so easily feel like home. But when these identifications are suddenly wholly absent, especially in a church in the dark, we are left comfortless, because there are no reliable clues that let us know what we should expect. It was haunting.

As part of the service, I would often describe All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween) as the one day when we are collectively encouraged to tell the truth about ourselves. We are all masked and disguised, not just for a night but all the time. We just don’t admit it. Yet, in general, we let others see only the character we want them to see. We hide away essential parts of ourselves. We feign emotions and responses. We pass ourselves off as different than we are. All this happens daily, but under the guise of normalcy. Halloween is our opportunity – and maybe its immense popularity suggests that it’s even more of a pressure release – to fess up with one another. We’re far less recognizable than we assume.

All Hallow’s Eve, however, is not meant to stand alone. It serves mostly as a preface to All Saints Day – a holiday that, in comparison, very few intentionally observe and for which little or no preparations are made (no costumes, no candy, no parties). Nonetheless, it remains the one day of the year when we explicitly acknowledge not our truth about ourselves but God’s truth regarding us. Before God, we are not hidden and we cannot maintain a convenient masquerade. We are known. We are utterly ourselves, without recourse to deceptions. And, exactly as such, we are loved and embraced and redeemed and given an integrity that is not solely ours but is bestowed by God. We are saints not by what we have done or who we are but strictly according to God’s decision to be God for us. Paul described this as our standing “face to face.”

The All Hallow’s Eve service ended each year with everyone making a procession to the front of the church and removing their masks. The revelations that ensued provided more than surprise; they often resulted in creating a mood of affection, which comes from recognition. It felt like dry bones coming together and coming to life.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

    hallowed be thy Name,

    thy kingdom come,

    thy will be done,

        on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

    as we forgive those

        who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

    and the power, and the glory

   for ever and ever. Amen.