When I was young, both not very old, and new as a Christian, I used to think that what mattered was believing the truth and trying to persuade others to believe it too.
As I get older, I find myself more and more concerned about what others think of the church, and how our Christian beliefs seem so odd and out of step with the world that there's precious little chance of them believing what we believe because we express it in such a weird way. In other words, it's not what you say it's the way that you say it.
So although I've been opposed to Halloween for years, I've come to think that my long standing opposition to this upstart of commercial festivities is comprehensively misunderstood by people outside the Christian bubble that I inhabit.
Boo! Christian killjoys! Don't you understand irony? You think we really believe in vampires and zombies? Well actually, we're more likely to believe in vampires and zombies than in Jee-zus anyway! Cause the way you talk about him is so off-putting!
So what's a middle-aged vicar to do?
Especially one who finds himself in charge of a secular youth club, where his committee think it would be a good idea to have a Halloween party.
Tomorrow I'll tell you what I did.
Today, it's all about the dilemma. Why is Goodness boring? Why would we rather muck about with evil? It's not an old problem. Milton, writing Paradise Lost, accidentally turned Satan into a sublime tragic hero and made Jesus about as exciting as John Major. (sorry John). I'm not quite at Milton's level, but I am trying to come up with something to say and do that speaks about Jesus and the Resurrection.
Perhaps you could pray for me.
Or maybe you'd prefer to wish me luck.
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