Understanding the Gospel

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet
Frederick Buechner

Halloween is "celebrated" this Sunday night. Halloween has become a strange mixture. Our consumer culture now exploits anything that resembles a holiday by marketing goodies, gadgets and anything that can be bought and sold. Halloween is a perfect example. Stores begin early with costumes and candy. Not surprisingly, the darkside of Halloween has grown much much darker. Horror movies that were once extreme now appear comparatively mild with the latest releases. Now the paranormal extremes are the norm for "entertainment". I can't help but recognize a strange hunger. Our fixation with candy provides a good illustration. We hunger for pounds of sugar, even thought deep inside we know it's not healthy. I see much of what occurs on Halloween as a hunger for something spiritual. Spiritual hunger attracts many to the "candy" that the world offers. It is a poor substitute for a relationship with the supernatural holy God. This dilemna is a great place for the Gospel to shine. We are called to bring the Gospel to the dark places. We are light.