Halloween – Mr G's Ponderings

*D C Parker tells the story of Codex Sinaiticus*

The Living Gospel

Whenever I visit the British Library in London I try to search out two very special manuscripts ~ The Codex Siniaticus and the Codex Alexandrinus. They are two of the rarest copies of Bible texts in Greek. In the case of Codex Siniaticus it is one of the most important books in the world. It is, arguably, the oldest complete copy of the New Testament that is still in existence, though not all of it is kept in London with a portion still being in Egypt, Russia and Leipzig. However, it has been digitally re-united so a complete copy now exists.
From its text (and others which are less complete) all our translations of the New Testament are influenced.

It is also rather beautiful to look at in its handwritten script.
To come close to what is the earliest known version of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, lovingly scripted in the 4th century at the monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, is to come close to the Living Gospel. It is the closest we get to God’s Holy Word spoken by Jesus and the New Testament apostles and evangelists.
Yet this is not the only example of the Living Gospel.

I write this on All Hallows Eve or ‘Halloween’ – a night when we try not to think of ghosts and scary things but rather of the Holy Ones of God—the saints whose lives God touched and who became, in the way they lived those lives Living copies of the Good News of Jesus Christ. I think not only of the many saints we commemorate in our Church Calendars but also those whose holiness is known to but a few, though always to God. People who, through the lives and values they have tried to lead and the faith they have proclaimed, been influential and an encouragement to others. Most, if not all, of us who embrace the Christian faith, can think of such people whose nurture of our Christian understanding and practice have laid the foundation of our belief in Jesus Christ and our love for Him. These are the unsung hero’s of our Church. These we remember at All Saints’ tide.
But their specialness is not about them being unique. All of us are called to be the Holy Ones of God. We are all called to saintliness and to nurture and grow the faith of others by our example, our prayers and our living out of the Gospel—a Gospel we should know by heart because it is absorbed into our souls. Someone once said that we should remember that we may be the only copy of the Gospel that others may read!

As I keep the Hallowed (sacred) evening on the cusp of All Saints’ Day, I think of those holy ones of God who have made such a difference in my own life with their outflowing of God’s love. They have been the beacons which have illuminated my journey towards God. I am thankful that they were placed in my way to bring God’s heavenly glow to my pilgrimage to heaven.
They are also a reminder that, as we can read in the Book of Wisdom (Chapter 3) “The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God.“
That includes all the Saints, and all who, today, are trying to live close to God and who continue to show us the way to God’s Heart.

[Mr G. All Hallows Ever 2025]

All Hallows’ Eve – a time to Sparkle with light and love.

‘The Feast of All Pumpkins’ was one of the slightly irreverent names give by some to Harvest Festival.
Judging from the decorations which fill our shops, pubs and many homes, it is presumably a description that we could apply also to Halloween. Once again this is a day which has been hijacked by commercial interest and turned into something that was never intended. ‘Trick or Treat’ could be seen as a bit of harmless fun – taking over from Guy Fawkes night. After all what does the tradition of lighting a fire and setting off fireworks on November 5^th mean to most people today? – outside England, very little. The idea of blowing up Parliament would never occur to us today. Of course not!

The problem is that Halloween has long been associated with the occult, black magic and the darker side of life. A concentration on mock horror can quickly turn into real horror. A concentration on the dark side of life can have a negative effect on life. We are living through some very dark times on our world at present. Ukraine, the energy and cost of living crisis, economic uncertainty throughout the world, drought and famine and the way we are treating refugees, and the poor are all part of a darkness in humanity which creates a negativity that becomes the devil’s playground.

Try reading C S Lewis’s Screwtape Letters if you don’t get what I’m trying to say

However, like all negatives there is an opposite positive and it lies in the name of Halloween itself. ‘Halloween’ means The Eve of All Hallows. The word ‘Hallow’ means ‘Holy’ as in the traditional Lord’s Prayer – ’Hallowed be thy name.’
Halloween is the evening of the Feast Day of the Holy Ones of God – which is another way of describing the Saints.

All Saints’ Day is the glorious feast when we remember the Holy people who have perfumed the world with the fragrance of their holy lives and deep devotion to Christ. So Halloween is a time of preparing for All Saints Day.
This is not best done by thinking about ghosts, vampires and witches.

It is best done by quietly reflecting on those people whose faith has influenced our lives and who have shown something of the saintly qualities we are seek to imitate in our own lives. Few of us has grown in faith without the help of good and holy Christians. People who have encouraged us, taught and shown us something about God’s love, and reflected Christ-like love in their own lives. These are the people we should be thinking about at All Hallows and All Saints. Some are now with God and others are still here, quietly showing us what God means to them. We honour them but more than that, we honour Christ whom they show us.

A better use of Halloween is to praise God for such ‘saints’ and to pray that the holiness they show us might become a quality in our own lives.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.

(Thomas Ken. b. 1674)

[Mr G]

Mr G's Ponderings

The Living Gospel on All Hallows Eve.

Imitate the Hallowed ones.