“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Martha, about her dead brother Lazarus.

John 11:22

Death.

It is the rotten fruit that Adam and Eve sunk their teeth into all those years ago. And like a family recipe passed down through the ages, this dessert is one we will all taste some day.

Happy Halloween.

Happy All Hallows Eve.

Tonight’s festivities are connected to tomorrow’s holy day. All Saints Day.

Like Christmas celebrated on the 24th, Halloween is really about the next day—November 1st.

All Saints is a day we lean into the bitter taste of the rotten fruit of our forebears. It is a day we come face to face with our mortality. It is a day we remember our loved ones who now rest in the everlasting arms of Jesus.

Halloween, at least its ancient past and much of its sketchy present, seeks to connect to death and the dark side of this life we share. For some, Halloween is about goblins and ghouls and cozying up to the dark side of this life.

Rest assured, this day is not about celebrating death. Today, and tomorrow, and everyday after, is about celebrating the One who defeated death.

Today, tomorrow, and forever are assured to us because of the One who tasted death for your sake. And mine.

All Hallows Eve is about the one who harrowed hell! This day, and all the days after, is about the One who continues to harrow graves. In Him, through Him, because of Him death never has the last word. Ever.

The last word is The Word. Jesus.

This is why today, with all of the spooky and kooky, is still about Jesus. It’s also why it matters that we continue to celebrate All Saints Day.

You’ve lost a loved one. Many loved ones. Death is real. It hurts. The loss is palpable. It’s a weight that you never fully escape.

The sting of death cuts deep. The searing pain of death lingers a lifetime.

This is why we celebrate. Not death. Certainly not it’s pain. We celebrate because Jesus has defeated death. Jesus has turned this rotten fruit into a doorway unto eternal life.

Death is no longer a period. It is a comma. It is a pause. It is a moment. A really long moment that is painful for us who remain in death’s wake. But, death is a moment that does not last indefinitely. Death has an end.

Today, we are honest that we all have an expiration date. But the bigger truth—the one I want you to never forget is this.

Death itself has an expiration date. Its time is coming. Death will soon be put to death. It will have no more dominion over you. Over your loved ones. Death will no longer be able to imprison the gift of Life that Jesus sings over you. The Life that Jesus sings over your loved ones.

Oh what a glorious day!

In the mean time, we continue forward. With the sting of death still stabbing at your heart, cling to the hope that there will be a day when every tear is wiped from your eye. But, even more importantly, this promise and this hope clings to you. For this is who Jesus is. This is what Jesus does.