Halloween Dress Up

This past Sunday I shared some of the reactions of Carolyn Jabs to the gory garb that her two children wanted to wear this Halloween. She ultimately decided to let them wear the scary stuff (she did restrain them somewhat) because she felt that it was therapeutic. She wrote (in her Newsweek article):

Perhaps for one night, they want to make evil visible and vivid. Maybe these costumes are their way of getting inside what is monstrous and blunting its power by making it over the top and laughable. For one night, it seems, they want to be scary instead of scared.

As I said in the sermon, I agree with her. Halloween has many meanings, and Christians have often disagreed about the holiday. Some still view it as a day “to worship Satan.” I believe that, among other things, it is a day to make fun of Satan (something which Satan can’t stand).

Due to time constraints (I know many don’t think I recognize such during sermons), I didn’t have opportunity to reflect on Jabs’s concluding words: 

The most damaging legacy of terrorism is the fear that monsters lurk everywhere, disguised as neighbors and co-workers. I am determined to resist that paranoia, to take people at face value until there is reason to do otherwise. So, this Halloween, though I plan to censor any costume that resembles a wounded person, I will let my kids impersonate the scariest inhuman creatures they can imagine. For one night, I’ll indulge my children—and myself—in the fantasy that evil is obvious and monsters are readily recognized.

Of course, one of the lessons our children learn on Halloween is that appearances are deceiving. Evil does not readily reveal itself by outward appearance. Scripture reminds us that Satan does not come to us as one in a red suit with a pitch fork, horns, and a long tail, but as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). On Halloween our children also learn that often underneath a scary exterior is a true friend. Everyone of all ages needs to take this lesson to heart.

In an article widely circulated via the Internet, Catharine Butler tells of overhearing a young man make some disparaging remarks about Arab Americans in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks. Catharine writes:

I addressed the young guy. I said, "So are you a terrorist?"

"What??" he said  "F--k, no!"

"Oh," I said innocently. "Well, you kind of remind me of Tim McVeigh. You remember him, don't you? He was a white American terrorist who blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City a few years ago. He murdered several hundred people with one bomb. Since you look like him, I thought maybe you must be like him and be a murderer."

His eyes widened in disbelief and his mouth opened, but before he could speak, I said..."Well, I'm sure you are not a terrorist, just because you look like one, and either are millions of the people who live in this country and around the world who are Middle Eastern or Muslims. This act of hate came from the evil minds of very few people with lots of money and lots of time to plan. Just because you look like Tim McVeigh doesn't mean you are like him. So, don't assume anyone else is problematic because of their faith or their appearance."

Enough said.


©2001 C. David Hess