Pastor's message 23rd October 2011

Do you like a good ghost story? There’s something wonderful about this time of year and the Halloween celebrations. Yes, I miss my usual Sci-Fi programs as the channel shows horror movies instead. Yes, It’s getting colder as winter closes on us. Yes, the mummers parade is next Saturday and we desperately need volunteers!  But besides all of this, there really is something special about all hallows eve – the evening before all saints day. It really is a ‘thin’ part of the year, a time when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest and you’re more likely than at any other time to glimpse something ‘supernatural’.

I suppose the most common questions is  – Is it real? Are there really such things as ghosts?  The answer is an emphatic ‘yes’. In 1 Samuel 28  King Saul visits a medium so that he can consult spirits, and indeed talks with the spirit of the prophet Samuel. When Jesus is transfigured in Matthew 17 he is seen talking with the spirits of Moses and Elijah.

However, just because spirits are real and we know that life continues after death, I don’t recommend meddling with them.

First off, we don’t understand what mechanisms are in play. Meddling with the spirit world is like meddling with electricity. Unless you’ve been well trained then it’s not a clever thing to do.

Secondly, not all spirits are benign, just as not all people are good. Occasionally someone will come to New Light and bring what I call a ‘shadow’ with them. It’s a spirit of some kind that has attached itself to the person. In my experience, if a person has locked a part of themselves away, they have unwittingly created a space in which ‘not so pleasant’ things can make a home. The person comes to church and feels able to ‘open’ that space up to God, who effectively evicts the shadow. This spirit then tries to make a home in the church building. When it happens I call the Deacons and we go through the entire building, blessing and sanctifying all of it in Jesus name, and the shadow has no choice but to leave. I can’t say that I understand all of this, but I’ve experienced it enough not to doubt that it happens.

Contacting the spirit world can bring us great comfort if we’ve lost someone we love, or can bring us excitement as we experience the paranormal. Either way, I’m not so sure they serve us well.  Charlatans can rip off the grieving, and messing with the paranormal can place us in situations where we invite very unwelcome and frightening guests into our homes and lives.

Of course I may be wrong, and you may know more about this than I. But the world has a dark side to it, a side that includes a spiritual element that can be very frightening and dangerous. It’s fun to parody this when we go trick-a-treating, and scary movies can be entertaining, but I can say that I’ve never enjoyed experiencing the real thing.

So, enjoy Halloween! Have fun!  And remember to have a little respect for those things that go ‘bump in the night’. The really scary stuff isn’t fun – believe me.  

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