Reverend Ruminates
Pastor Ruddat's random ruminations about Christianity and life.
Despite all the pagan references today, Halloween does not have pagan roots.
Halloween has its roots in the Christian festival known today as All Saint’s Day.
The word “Halloween” is an abbreviated form of All Hallows’ Eve’ which is All Saints’ Evening.
In the first three centuries A.D. the lives of the martyrs of the Church were commemorated on special days with one day, “All Saint’s Day,” reserved to celebrate them all. Neopagans and Wiccans like to claim that the source of Halloween is the Celtic festival of Samhain. The earliest mention of Samhain in Irish folklore doesn’t come until the 10th Century A.D., whereas All Saint’s Day has its roots seven hundred years earlier. Finally Samhain was a lunar festival of harvest. That means that the day of Samhain can vary up to a month in difference when compared to a solar year date of Oct. 31/Nov. 1.
Who are the saints we remember on “All Saint’s Day?”
We remember our loved ones who have died in the Lord, as well as remember why they are saints. Christians are members of the same family with them, as Christian have historically confessed in the Apostles Creed: “The holy Christian church the communion of saints.” Paul speaks to his contemporaries as “saints” and reveals the reason why in 1 Corinthians 1:2, “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours.”
What can we remember about those who have died in the Lord?
First, we remember them with thanksgiving. God had entrusted them with the gift of God’s Word, and they passed it on to us. They were faithful in that work, and for that we give thanks to God. The second service is the strengthening of our faith. When we see Peter’s denial forgiven, we also are encouraged to believe all the more that grace truly triumphs over sin (Romans 5:20). Sometimes those who have died before us led very colorful lives, perhaps even sinful lives, but later on were much different people, devoted to the Lord and to his forgiveness. The third honor is imitation. As we remember how they lived their lives in faith, may we too imitate their devotion to God and His Word.
Back in 2000 I watched the Super Bowl at a bar in Tokyo. Some Americans were watching it LIVE with us, but because of the time difference, the bar was mostly vacant and it didn’t seem right to be sitting on barstools as the sun was coming up. Yet I still had the urge to buy a beer in order to watch the game.
If you think you have total self-control in your alcohol consumption but have to have a cold one in your hand during the game Sunday, or that it’s funny bars will be open early for Sunday’s London Packer game, it’s time for you to reconsider the power that alcohol has over a person.
1 Corinthians 6:12 “Everything is permissible for me but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me but I will not be mastered by anything.”
Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan challenges us to change our thinking about what loving others truly means. A priest and a Levite, who supposedly have a close connection with God and His love, can’t find a reason to help a fellow countrymen who is at the brink of death. On the other hand, a Samaritan who shouldn’t have ONE reason to help, sacrifices income, time, and energy for a stranger.
Here are 5 things often forget about the Good Samaritan.
1. Being a good Samaritan starts with a changed heart.
It starts in our hearts, a heart that has been changed through the love of Christ for us, and a heart that sees other human beings: friends, enemies, people we know, people we don’t know, as neighbors. You can’t read this parable without thinking of how Jesus loved us, his bitter enemies, and rescued us from certain eternal death that we deserved. His unconditional love continues to help us as He provides for us spiritually and physically because that’s who He is. Considering His love for us, changes our hearts to love people as He does.
2. Being a good Samaritan means sacrifice.
The Good Samaritan didn’t take a picture of the beaten up Jew, share it on social media, and wait for the outrage. He actually did something that required sacrifice. Giving up his possessions to care for him, and then taking him to an inn, and handing more of his possessions over, required sacrifice. Helping someone else in the midst of our busy day means sacrifice. Whether it’s a car on the side of a road or a friend who needs time for us to listen to them, they need our time, and if our time is spoken for or we’ve wasted our time on ourselves, then how can we help? If you don’t think it’s your job because you don’t have the time, keep reading.
3. Being a good Samaritan is personal.
“Go and do likewise.” Jesus said at the end of this parable. When we see others in need, who should help them? The government? Some church program? Anybody but me? Jesus makes it personal for the expert in the law and for us. The expert was to “Go and do likewise.” So are we. Consider that being a good Samaritan is not the job of someone else like a church program or a government program, it’s yours. Thankfully, it was personal for Jesus. He didn’t wait for someone else to save you, He saved you. He is personally active in your life today too.
4. Being a good Samaritan activates our trust in God.
During the children’s devotion, I asked the kids whether it was easier to help someone you knew or easier to help someone you didn’t know? The kids said that it was harder to help someone you don’t know because you don’t know what they are going to do. This simple truth is in play whenever there is an opportunity to help someone in need. Is this going to hurt me? Am I better off just not helping? This requires trust that the God who provides and encourages you to love as He loved you, will be there for you when you actually do what He asks of you. Guess what, He never fails to keep His promises!
5. Being a good Samaritan earns nothing eternally.
The expert in the Law wanted Jesus to tell him what he had to do to get to heaven. Jesus directed him to the law, and told him to “do this, and you will live.” Do this… ALL THE TIME…no exceptions. The truth is, we cannot love our God and love our neighbor with the intensity and discipline that Jesus demands. Even our best effort to love our neighbor falls far short of the love Jesus has shown us. Thankfully, being a good Samaritan isn’t about us earning a place in heaven, but us being who God saved us to be, His children. His children showing His love so that others may know of their ultimate good Samaritan, Jesus.
We’ve been conditioned to get angry.
See a post on social media, watch the news, read the news, and there it is, something for you to get mad about! It’s considered a virtue even to be angry. It shows you care. It shows you have some investment in what is going on. Our sermon on Sunday from Matthew 5:20-26 talked about having a righteousness that is above and beyond the law. A righteousness we need because we can’t even get angry without putting our soul in mortal danger.
I don’t like my temper, but when it goes off, it’s when I think I’m right. But Jesus says that it doesn’t matter if I’m right, if I’m not careful at the moment I feel I am “100% right,” it could be the exact same moment I am bringing judgment on myself.
What brings about real change is not our anger, but Jesus.
I mentioned a passage during the sermon I’d like to talk more about here, and that’s James 1:20 “For man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” It’s a favorite passage of mine at the moment, because I’m working on my anger. If I want to instill in my kids a more righteous life or instill a more righteous life for those in the pews, anger is not the route to get it done.
Sure is fun, though, to get angry.
Jesus’ forgiveness is far more powerful than my outrage, and benefits my neighbor far more than him realizing how foolish he is. Jesus’ forgiveness brings about real change. If I want my kids to have a more righteousness life, they need more Jesus with that law, and those in the pews need more forgiveness with that correction.
That kind of righteous life is a work in progress.
We’re dealing with our conscience after all, that meter that tells us right and wrong. We’re dealing with causes we have strong opinions on. And we’re dealing with flawed human beings. It’s a challenging mix. We’d like to have a set of rules we can follow to navigate these challenges. Jesus tells us isn’t about rules, it’s about a righteousness that is above and beyond the law. A righteousness that does what is right without a rule book. A righteousness that is beautifully simple, when you think about it. It is righteousness that sees the neighbor not as an idiot, but one for whom Christ died for.
“Jesus died for this person for the same reasons He died for me. Jesus loves them for the same reason He loves me.”
It doesn’t stop us from talking to someone about their sin, but it does change our heart and attitude, when we do. The less we think “It’s us vs. them”and the more we think “Jesus FOR them,” the better we can control our anger, and the better the chances for a more righteous life, both for us and for those we talk to.
So let’s get outraged at all our outrage.
This isn’t a “can’t we all get along?” post. It’s entirely possible that we won’t all get along. It also isn’t entirely the angry person’s fault. They may be right, after all. However, if they want to produce a more righteous life in someone else or themselves, anger and outrage is not the way. So, let’s get outraged at all our outrage, and see our anger not as a sign of us being right, but more importantly, a sign that we need Jesus.
Not being angry in the midst of a culture of anger and outrage is a tall order. But it is what makes us a genuine and authentic Christian, one who fights their “fun” emotions such as anger because they love their Jesus and because of Him, love their neighbor.
“UNPLANNED” tells the real-life story of Abby Johnson , a former Planned Parenthood abortion facility director who converted to the pro-life cause in 2009. The movie is currently playing at the Marcus Bay Park Cinema and the Green Bay East Cinema.
The movie is thought provoking and is rated R due to two scenes. One scene is a CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) of an ultrasound screen during an abortion. It is a recreation of what Abby Johnson saw: a baby on an black and white 2D ultrasound screen confronted with the abortion instrument, struggling against it before it disappears into the instrument. It is the first onscreen recreation of what happens during an abortion. The second reason it receives an R rating is a scene that re-creates Abby’s experience with the abortion pill, which portrays the pain and bleeding that was involved.
Parents, judge for yourselves whether this movie is appropriate for your child(ren) to see.
Self-Care: Selfish or Sacred by Susan L. Fink
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Covid brought the concept of mental health more to the forefront, but it doesn’t mean everyone has understood what self-care is all about or bought into the concept. Many ask, “Isn’t self-help just selfish?” Susan gives addresses this core question as well as many other myths Christians have about self-care.
Susan in this labor of love and service to the Christian church, cements self-care in the Scriptures and addresses common myths Christians might have about taking care of themselves spiritually, mentally, and physically. Susan challenges you to ask questions of yourself, journal your answers, and deliberately engage in both the Scriptures and prayer.
But if you’re not the journaling type, there are plenty of other tools you can use. The wide variety of approaches, penetrating questions, and dense content makes this a valuable resource for those desiring to better care for the body God gave them.
I started a blog so you could get to know me better, and also as a way to interact with folks throughout the week. Blog posts will be on Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings. Monday’s posts thoughts are a thought continuation of the sermon preached the previous Sunday and Thursdays are comments on current events or comments on something I’ve been thinking about. I invite you to check it out and I welcome your comments.
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