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“Trick or Treat!”

This is the chorus I will hear over and over again tonight, as my doorstep is visited by countless Elsas, Marios, zombies and witches.  It can be easy to have mixed feelings on Halloween.  There are many elements to this day that make me uneasy.  With all that said, Halloween remains one of the favoured days of the year in our household.  The costumes, the candy, the imagination, the lights, the parties – these are the traditions we tend to focus upon with our celebrations.

This year, a new verse has been attaching itself to my Halloween preparations.  ‘So he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” (Luke 10:29). 

Halloween night, more than any in the year perhaps, serves as the perfect answer to that question.  Neighbours of all ages and stages will make their way to your front door.  So what would a loving neighbour do with this opportunity?  How does the one who seeks to love their neighbour as themselves approach this somewhat ambiguous night?

May I suggest that one gift in this dark fall evening is the cheerful procession of your neighbours before you, that you may add them all to your prayers.  After distributing candy to each of the young (and some not so young) treat-seekers, you still have more to give.  What a real treat it is to take a few extra moments, to quietly retreat to your couch, and to present those you’ve just encountered before the Lord: To pray that they would be seekers of the Kingdom; To pray for their safe travels home;  To pray for them to know the security of unconditional love; To pray for them to be held in your own heart as a neighbour. 

I wonder what a difference it might make on the other 364 days of the year if we truly felt that kind of prayer connection to our neighbours.  What doors might open to us on other nights?  What joy might we be welcomed to share on other occasions? 

Tonight I will ask  for the Lord to show me “Who is my neighbour?”  The excitement is building in my heart.  I pray it grows in yours also.  May we all be able to call this a truly Happy Halloween!