As a Christian who attends a Lutheran church, am I to choose between these two days and decide which one I should celebrate with my family? I say, NO. Be a proud Lutheran and celebrate the heritage of our church body in which Martin Luther’s ideas of Reformation were that of: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide and Sola Gratia all through Solus Christus. These ideas started a reformation of the church at the time. Most of us would say these ideas have held the test of time and are as relevant in the 1500’s as they do in 2022. I would agree that we should celebrate these free gifts of God not just on Oct. 31st but everyday of our lives. So what about the other Oct. 31st, Halloween? Is there room for two celebrations? YES. Halloween is an opportunity to dress up in a costume, pretend to be someone else and get treats. But more importantly we get to tell the Devil he didn’t win. Dressing up in a costume is a way to celebrate the freedom we have been given by the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have nothing to be afraid of when the Devil does everything in his power to persuade us to follow him instead of God. We are poking fun of him when we dress up. Although, we don’t have to put on the Elvis wig, sunglasses, white jumpsuit and sing “Blue Suede Shoes” to show the Devil who’s the boss. We do that every time we pray. Every time we open our Bible. Every time we look to God for help, instead of other sources. So celebrate. Eat your German Lutheran (brats and sauerkraut) dinner to celebrate the Reformation and follow it up with some well deserved Halloween candy that your kids shouldn’t eat a lot of (but you have no problem helping them out). After all, we wouldn’t have any of this opportunity without the free gifts God has given to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Enjoy!
