Trick or Treat

Jim Noble

None • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Matthew 16:13–19

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Jesus is all treat and no trick

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Children’s Sermon

Years ago, my sick friend Jerod and making face at the baby…still horrified by that! Take tonight as an opportunity to spread kindness and not just hoard candy. Spread faith, not fear! What kinds of opportunities might God present to you if you’re open to them? This is a night when pretty much everyone expects kids to be hoarders…what if you weren’t? People might remember!

Scripture

Matthew 16:13-19 - When Jesus arrived in the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the son of man is?” The disciples answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Jesus then asked them, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because God himself has given you that answer. And, I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I’ll build my church, and the gates of Hell won’t stand against it. And, I’ll give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”

Engage

Some years ago, on Halloween, I got word that some area young folks were planning to decorate our trees with toilet paper. So, I got my chainsaw ready and waited in a dark corner for them to get close…which they never did. They were going to trick me, and I was ready to treat them to a startling sound of terror, lol. Halloween is a funny thing. Where did it come from? Should we celebrate it? Should we be afraid of it? What on earth should we, as disciples of Christ, think of it?

Encounter

Some Christians won’t approach Halloween with a ten foot pole. I heard someone say once, about a friend of theirs, sarcastically, “They’re so close to God they don’t do Halloween.” You might have learned already that I have a different take. In my view, we’re called as Christians to confront evil, to overcome it, without engaging in it. As I see it, one of the best ways to illustrate the supremacy of Christ is to take worldly things and transform them into things that point to Jesus. Jesus, friends, is all treat and no trick!

Let’s take a look at the background of what we now call Halloween. Most historians believe Halloween dates back to the Celtic festival of Samhain (Sow-in). Celts were tribes of ancient (BC into AD) people who inhabited modern day Europe. Galatians, for example, originated as Celts as did Britons, or British. I’d venture that many of us have Celtic ancestry many generations ago. The Celtic festival of Samhain marked the end of summer and harvest time. Celts believed that at this time on the calendar, the boundary between this world and the afterworld became blurred on the last night of their year (Oct 31). They believed ghosts of the dead returned to the earth. They also believed in heightened abilities to give fortunes, predictions, and such during this festival. So, they lit bonfires, dressed in costumes, and told fortunes. They thought that dressing in costumes would confuse the spirits returning to earth....as in, a dead spirit returns and sees you dressed in a costume and thinks…oh, that’s another dead spirit like me, move along, lol. Food was also placed out to help appease the spirits allegedly returning to the earth.

Once the Romans conquered large parts of the Celts, they began to transform this timeframe as a way to honor the dead. They also honored their goddess Pomona, whose symbol was an apple. That’s where the tradition of bobbing for apples started, historians believe! In 609 AD, the Pope created what we now know as All Saints Day. It is actually November 1 but we celebrate it today in worship. The Pope, I believe rightly, created All Saints Day as a way of saying; evil has no power over Jesus or his disciples! Look at all these Saints who have overcome!

And so, you can already see the origin of what we know as “trick or treat.” More recently, the thought has been that providing a treat to those who knock on your door prevents them from performing a trick on you (say, perhaps, toilet papering your trees). The treat APPEASES them. Encourages them to move along without doing any damage. Well, again, friends, Jesus is all treat and no trick! Further, Jesus actually comes to OUR door and knocks, we don’t have to go to his. And when he knocks, we don’t have to give him anything but our consent…that he is Lord, and he’ll come in and dine with us. It costs us nothing, his love is not coerced or earned. And those who know Jesus know there is no trick at all with him. Following him is not always easy but we KNOW and TRUST and have ASSURANCE that the end of our discipleship is a blissful eternity. Temporary afflictions are replaced with eternal glory, as Paul writes to the Corinthians.

There’s Biblical precedent for Jesus traveling to the door, even the door of evil. Let’s look back at today’s Scripture. As Jesus (and the disciples) entered the region of Caesarea Philippi. Hmm. Many scholars will tell you, there’s really no reason for Jesus to go here. It’s not a Jewish stronghold and there’s not much other reason for them to go there…EXCEPT. As I’ve discussed with the Disciple class I led and with some of you, one of the gates of hell was in Caesarea Philippi. People truly believed this and they may have been right. It looks like this (PICTURE, DISCUSS). People in ancient times gathered here to worship pagan deities, like the god Pan and others, and to engage in all kinds of debauchery.

So, they travel, I believe, to this very spot. And Jesus asks this question, who do people say I am…and who do you say I am. AT THIS SPOT. This is one of the climactic moments in the book of Matthew and in Jesus’ ministry. Peter, on behalf of the other disciples, answers correctly. And, Jesus points, I’d imagine, and says, “and on this rock, I’ll build my church…and the gates of Hades will not stand against it!”

Jesus took his disciples, friends, to the very spot where a horrific Halloween, of sorts, was practiced in the first century…and proclaimed his victory. So, yes, I believe we can have fun with Halloween and use it as a small or perhaps even a big window to proclaim Christ risen, eternally victorious, and reigning. We also use this day to point to the Saints we’ve known and say, Look! They’ve conquered, they’ve overcome, and their with Jesus! Death, spirits, evil, sickness, tribulations, none of it has beaten them!

Empower

There have been other Christians in history who’ve done momentous things, even miraculous things, on October 31. Today is not only Halloween, and the day we’re celebrating saints, but it’s also reformation day. On this day 504 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the Wittenburg Cathedral door…and therefore was a major reason the reformation of evil within the church started. There’s another event, 400 years to the day after Martin Luther nailed his thesis, in 1917. The Battle of Beersheba. Part of the conflicted area in WW1 was what we now know as Israel…Jerusalem and such. The Ottomans and the Germans held the ground and the Allies were trying to get it. Months and months of fighting had happened with no gain by the allies. Until October 31, 1917. On that day, some Australian light cavalry on fast horses charged…many of them with nothing but bayonets. Facing fierce fire from the trenches they approached, they continued their charge and many ultimately lept on their horses over the trenches and into the city. This is often referred to as the charge of Beersheba by the Australian Light Horse. This courageous victory was a vital component of the allied forces’ campaign to secure the Sinai peninsula and ensure the Suez canal remained open to the British and the allies.

But, even a historic battle victory, or Martin’s nailing of his thesis, is not more important than the saving of a single soul. Will you approach All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween, from the perspective of a victorious saint in the making?! Proclaim that Jesus is all treat and no trick! Proclaim Faith over Fear! Proclaim Jesus Lord today and change someone’s life!