Unmasking Halloween

Our reading is Luke 8:26-39. There is no other way to describe the story, it is weird. It is weird from beginning to end. The story begins with Jesus and the disciples sailing on the Sea of Galilee. They land in an area largely comprised of Gentiles, who show very little interest in Jesus. As a matter of fact, only one person came out to meet him, the weirdest man in the entire community – the demoniac, Legion. We are told his name is derived from his spiritual condition. A legion of demons had invaded his soul. He lives in isolation because no one wants to live with him. That is fine with him, because he simply wants to be left alone. There is no hope. There is no earthly cure for him. The only thing he has to look forward to is death. The tombs that surround him were his earthly future. He had no clue at the beginning of the day a cure was so close. Yet, by the end of the day, he had reclaimed his life because Jesus came into his life. The story ends in an odd way. You would think the community would have wanted to thank Jesus for saving one of their own. Instead, they insist that Jesus leave. I told you – it is a weird story from beginning to end.

Can I make a confession? I like this story because it is so weird. Maybe a better word is creepy. I have read this story for nearly fifty years, and I understood the divine truth from the very first time. The story of Legion is a story about Jesus’ authority over demons. The authority of Jesus cannot be ignored. All the stories in the eighth and ninth chapters of Luke deal with Jesus’ authority over something. Trace them with me. Jesus had authority over leprosy. Jesus had authority over paralysis. Jesus had authority over sickness. Jesus had the authority to call the disciples to follow him. Jesus had authority over nature. Jesus had authority over fasting. Jesus had authority over life itself. In this story, Jesus had authority over demons. The question is not whether Jesus had authority. The question is, do you believe in demons? Everyone must answer that question for themselves. I had to answer that question for myself. I believe in demon possession. Do you believe in demon possession? This is why I believe in demon possession. Let me tell you my story. I tell this story annually to remind us of Halloween’s dark side.

Her name was Pat, and she changed the way I look at Halloween forever. When I was pastoring in the Cleveland area, I received a random phone call. The young woman’s voice on the end of the line said she needed help. I was prepared to give her a bag of food or a voucher to the local grocery store. However, she was quick to say she didn’t need financial help, she had a job to cover her expenses. She just needed to talk to someone about some experiences in her life. I said I would be glad to meet with her and we met at my church a few days later.

When the day arrived, she came early. She drove an old light blue Pontiac, complete with rust and some bald tires. From my office window, I watched her sit in her car until the magic hour. I met her on the sidewalk in front of the church and stuck out my hand to welcome her. She didn’t respond. She could not even make eye contact, but I examined her. In short, not yet seeing her thirtieth birthday, she was a victim of life. Her clothes were faded and baggy. Her hair was long and ungroomed. Her shoes were worn out. There is no other way to say it, she was as nervous as a cat. The church building was empty and we sat in the narthex. In those days, my office resembled a closet, so the only place we could talk comfortably was the narthex. The right words were hard to find. I tried my best by making small talk. I wanted her to calm down, but she never did. The only thing she did was look at her watch and tug on the sleeves of her sweatshirt. Realizing our conversation was going nowhere, I asked her this question: How can I help you? Using broken thoughts and sentences, she told me about some past surgery. I don’t remember anything about it, however, what I do remember was her uneasy spirit. Fidgeting in her seat, she told me she suffered from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. I said, “I am not sure I can help you. I am not really a counselor, I am a preacher, I am a theologian.” We sat there in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, when she announced it was time to go. She asked me, “Can we meet again?” I said, “Yes!” and I gave her a card. She promised me she would call, and she did.

The next time we met, she arrived in the same old light blue Pontiac. She was wearing the same shapeless clothes. Just like our prior meeting, her eyes were down, and her spirit was broken. We sat in the same seats in the same empty church. However, this time she did something new. She looked at me and said, “I have to confess, I lied to you last time.” She continued, “I lied to you about the source of my problem. The problem is not my surgery. The problem is I can’t get over my childhood.” Without a single emotion, she began to tell me about her childhood summers.

Annually, she would travel to Canada for the family vacation. They would visit her uncle, who lived on some remote lake. Her parents were both alcoholics. They drank daily, so they entrusted Pat and her siblings to their uncle. The uncle was a Satan worshipper, who exposed his nieces and nephews to some of life’s cruelest experiences. There was no form of abuse they didn’t endure. She told me she was buried alive with an air tube to allow her to keep breathing. She told me he forced her to attend satanic worship services, where animal sacrifices were common. She told me she hated Halloween, because on that highest day of the satanic calendar, human sacrifices were expected. Those experiences forced her personality to fracture and she manifested eight personalities in all. I asked her just one question, “How did you survive?” She answered with red, moist eyes, “I am not sure I have.” She pulled up the sleeves of her sweatshirt and revealed to me the signs of a cutter. She reached into her pocket and showed me her knife. She said, “My psychologist wanted me to come and talk with you. He wants you to teach me about the truth about God and Jesus’ love.” Through a period of several years, I went through the traditional confirmation curriculum with each personality, offering them communion once the course was complete. Each one heard about the good news of Jesus Christ. Sad but true, I taught her about Jesus. She taught me about a world that I wished didn’t exist, Satanism.

Because of my discussions with Pat, I began to research that dark world. I learned that the people who organized modern Satanism were Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) and Anton LeVey (1930-1997). Crowley believed he had harnessed the power of Black Magic. LeVey established the Church of Satan in 1966 in San Francisco. The combination of these two men was truly sinister. The church of Satan is the counter universe to the Christian world.

We worship in the open; they worship in hiding

We worship in churches; they worship in covens

We exist to help others; they exist to help themselves

We see Jesus as the Lamb of God; they value the goat

We sacrifice ourselves to serve; they sacrifice others to gain

We are taught to love; they are taught to hate

We believe in angels; they believe in demons

We are taught to welcome; they are taught to intimidate

Our cross is right side up; their cross is upside down

We give our praise and glory to God; they embrace Satan

The more I learned, the sicker I grew. The story of Legion is the story of a man who was completely overwhelmed by Satan and his forces. I sat there with Pat for years, and I saw a young woman whose life had been destroyed by Satan, and a young woman who needed God’s love. It did not hit me until later – the bravest thing I have ever witnessed was Pat walking into that church for the first time.

Pat came to me for help, but I learned so much from her. Do you know what I learned from her? I learned to stand close to Jesus. Without Jesus, Legion would not have been healed. Jesus isn’t just our friend; Jesus is our Savior and protector. When I was young, my friends and I played with a Ouija board to get answers. When I was young, I wondered about mediums and communicating with the dead. I know people who use tarot cards to see into the future. I know people who sit in the dark in every closed hospital and school hoping to experience paranormal activities. I don’t dismiss those things because I don’t believe in them. I dismiss those things because I do believe in them. They are so seductive. I know they can lead us into a dark world, where I don’t want to go. I just want to stand near Jesus where it is safe. No wonder Legion wanted to go with the Master. He just wanted to be safe.

It has been years since my time with Pat. Our time together ended when I moved to my next church. However, I still think about her during the Halloween season. The last time we met, we sat in the narthex of my church and talked. She thanked me for my time and wanted to give me a gift. I didn’t want a gift, but she insisted. She told me she wanted to give me something she didn’t need anymore. She reached into her pants pocket and handed me her knife. It was the same knife she had used to cut herself. It is my most prized possession from my time in the ministry. Then, she reached out her hand and asked me to pray with her one more time. I prayed that Jesus would protect her from the dark world.

On Halloween, I am planning on being home passing out candy. I like passing out candy, because I like seeing all the children arrive in their Halloween costumes. There will be some princesses. There will be some with masks of frightening characters. There will be a few trying to look like Beetlejuice. There will be a handful of football players. (The ones dressed like Cleveland Browns will get extra candy because they have suffered enough!) When the last one comes, I will turn off my front porch light and pray. I will pray that Jesus keeps all those trick-or-treaters safe, but I will also pray for those souls who are lost in the dark world of Satanism. With Jesus, there is hope. 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”

Halloween’s Dark Side

His name is Kolya. He is a student at Moscow State University now, but he was raised in the Renewal Orphanage in Dmitrov, Russia, which is the home of severly physically handicapped children. He was born with obvious physical limitations. He has no legs and only one functional arm. Yet, those limitations do not define him. He is an amazing young man. Today, he is thriving in the Russian capital.

Years ago, Kolya came to the Youngstown, Ohio area for help. Thanks to my wife’s non-prophet, Project Orphanage Outreach, he received it. I cannot overemphasize the next line. Koyla’s story was truly a miracle. He came to my home in a wheelchair, but he left walking on his new prosthetic legs. That did not happen in an instant. It took time. We spent many days waiting for the next doctor’s appointment. It was a challenge to find things for him to do. One of the things he did was visit American schools in the area. Local teachers were open to his visits.

One of the schools he visited was celebrating Halloween. He showed up just in time for the party. Both students and teachers were dressed in costume. There was a mummy and a ghost. There was a vampire and a zombie. There was a monster and a boy covered in fake blood holding a plastic ax. The teacher was dressed like a witch. We thought Kolya would love it, but we were wrong. It was one of those cultural differences. Americans love Halloween, but that is not true of the Orthodox world, including Russia. Did you know only 3% of Russians observe Halloween? His non-verbal cues told us he was unhappy and confused. That evening we tried to answer the question: what is Halloween? That is not an easy question to answer. Consider these three sides of Halloween.

Halloween is a holiday! The history of Halloween can be traced back 2,000 years to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts believed the dead could walk among the living one day annually – October 31. They would wear ghoulish masks so the unwanted visitors could not distinguish between the living and the dead. In North America, where there was a surplus of pumpkins, they carved them with scary faces to ward off spirits. Others offered sweets to appease the spirits. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches, and zombies have long been associated with the evil world. Halloween is a holiday.

Halloween is a big holiday in America. Did you know, according to the National Retail Federation, 73% of all Americans plan on celebrating Halloween? The average American will spend $108.45 on Halloween. As a country we will spend $3.6 billion on costumes, $3.1 billion on candy, $3.4 billion on decorations and $.6 billion on greeting cards. 18% of all Americans are planning on visiting a haunted house and 46% of all Americans will carve a pumpkin. It is safe to say, in America, Halloween is not just a holiday. Halloween is a big holiday. Do you know anyone who doesn’t pass out candy? Halloween is a holiday.What is Halloween?

Halloween is sinister! Halloween is not all fun and games. There is a very dark side to Halloween. Halloween is the most sacred day on the Satanic calendar. Satanism has been part of our world for centuries. However, the source of modern-day Satanism can be traced back to one man, Anton LaVey (1930-1997). He authored several books to promote his dark world, The Satanic Bible, The Satanic Rituals, The Satanic Witch, The Devil’s Notebook and Satan Speaks! I checked several years ago and at that time, those books can be found in my local county library.Those books were vital in the creation of his new church, The Church of Satan.

The best way to explain The Church of Satan is that it runs contrary to the church of Jesus Christ. It is like a parallel universe where everything is opposite. Our congregations are called churches; their congregations are called covens. In churches, we strive to know and accept everyone. In covens, fellow members are unknown because their identity is hidden. In churches, we worship in public. In covens, they worship in private. Churches worship during the day. In covens, they worship in the middle of the night. In church, we talk about our eternal reward. In covens, they talk about temporary gain. In church, we sacrifice for strangers. In covens, they sacrifice and misuse strangers and those who are weak. In church, we encourage and love. In covens, they intimidate and hate. In church, we worship Jesus Christ. In covens, they worship Satan. Satanism is a sinister parallel universe. If you get nothing else out of this blog, then accept this fact: Satanism is real and countless people are regularly being victimized. On Halloween, the holiest day on the Satanic calendar, Satan desires a human sacrifice. I believe that is where some of those missing children have gone. There is a sinister side to Halloween. That dark fact upsets many. What is Halloween? That takes us to our Gospel reading for today.

We find ourselves in the seventh chapter of Mark, verses twenty-four through thirty. Jesus is in the vicinity of Tyre. That community is in present day Lebanon, north of Galilee. That fact is important for one reason – Jesus was extremely popular in Galilee, not so in other places. The smaller crowds gave Jesus an opportunity to teach the disciples. Demographically, the population seemed to be less Jewish and more Gentile. That is the case with the woman in the story. The author tells us she was Greek, born in Syria Phoenicia. She had heard of Jesus’s miraculous powers and knew this was an opportunity to save her daughter. Verse 25 says she was possessed by an evil spirit. She locates Jesus and begs the Master to save her daughter. In other words, she begs Jesus for an exorcism. At first, Jesus refuses to heal the daughter because the woman is a Gentile. In the end, Jesus exorcises the demon because of her great faith. Do you believe in demon possession?

The world struggles with this story and all other Biblical stories which deal with demon possession. The reason is we try to read the Bible like a science book, but it is a book of faith. How do you translate demon possession in our modern world? Some say demon possession in the Bible is untreated seizures. Some say demon possession in the Bible is untreated anxiety. Some say demon possession in the Bible is untreated depression. Some say demon possession in the Bible is some other untreated mental illness. Some say demon possession is just that, demon possession. I believe demon possession does exist. Sometimes, there is no other explanation. How do you understand demon possession in our modern world? However, demon possession in the Bible is more. Demon possession in the Bible is a reminder that our world is filled with sad people who look to Jesus for help. Our world has a dark side where Satan is alive and well. What is Halloween? Halloween is a reminder! I have told this story many times in various venues through the years.

When I lived in the Cleveland area, I tried to help a young woman by the name of Pat. There is no other way to say it, she was a victim. As a child she would go to Canada for the annual family vacation. Her parents, both alcoholics, were drunk the entire trip. They entrusted her to an uncle. He wasn’t an alcoholic, but he was a Satan worshipper. He exposed Pat to the worst things this world had to offer. She was raped countless times by a variety of unknown men. She was photographed and was subject of child pornography. Years later, he would have those photographs sent to her in the mail, just to intimidate her. One night, she was even buried alive in a casket, with a small oxygen tube to keep her breathing. She told me on one occasion she saw Satan himself. The outcome was predictable. Pat fractured in every possible way. She had six or seven different personalities. She came to me by way of her psychologist, who asked me to help her straighten out her Christian theology. Through the years, I met with Pat regularly and went through the confirmation material with each personality. At the end of each course, I offered each one communion. Looking back, my time with Pat was the most rewarding experience I had in the ministry.

It has been thirty years since I met Pat, but I still find myself praying for her. It was Pat who taught me about the dark side of Halloween. I double up my prayers for Pat on Halloween because Halloween is the holiest day on the Satanic calendar. On that day, they look for a human sacrifice and Pat didn’t want to be the victim. Every Halloween she would hide in the Cleveland Mero Park system, alone in the woods.

I close this blog with a challenge to not just pray for Pat, but for all the victims in our society who are suffering silently, due to Satanism. It is a secret world that seldom gets exposed. It is a secret world, but it exists. A woman came to Jesus and begged for help. Her daughter was demon possessed and without Jesus there was no help. Some things don’t change. Countless victims are living in the dark world of Satanism. Without Jesus, they will remain in the dark. With Jesus, there is hope. 1 John 1:5 says, “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”