Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, November 10, 2024
I wasn’t sure what to make of the tangle of Halloween ornaments huddled together at the edge of a cemetery this week. At first I thought it was an unusually large collection marking someone’s grave in holiday fashion.
And then I thought a more reasonable explanation might be that the cemetery groundskeepers had collected these Halloween decorations from various gravesides because the holiday had already happened – or perhaps because they were deemed inappropriate.
Mulling that over, I could agree that some of it was dubious décor to greet people visiting the graveside of someone they loved. Especially the witch flying by, with the words “Trick or Treat” below her broomstick. And then there’s the large cheerful scarecrow holding the sign that bids us “Welcome.” Grinning pumpkins galore, including two that form the two “o’s” in the word, “Boo.”
I’ve never wondered about the history and definition of the word “Boo” before; its meaning seemed very clear. But just for fun I looked it up, and found that the online Merriam-Webster dictionary’s first definition is an interjection “used to express contempt or disapproval or to startle or frighten.” Sounds about right.
It was the slang definition listed that reminded me that the word had a positive side: “boo” is a slang term for “a romantic partner,” with synonyms of “sweetheart” and “honey.”
I spied one item of décor in the collection that seems supremely appropriate for a graveside, no matter the holiday or season – the cross on the right side of the display.
The cross was not originally designed as jewelry and ornamentation; it was an instrument of torture and death. The cross is not so much décor as declaration. It declares that Jesus chose to die on the cross although He was totally without sin and had done nothing to warrant crucifixion. He chose this death so that we would never have to suffer it; He chose to give us eternal life.
I noticed this collection of Halloween décor as we walked away from a freshly dug grave into which a heartbreakingly small white coffin had been lowered.
We had stood around the graveside and sung a song the parents requested, the Gaithers’ “Because He Lives.” We’ve often sung this song in church on Easter weekend, but never like this, standing among gravesides with tears and hugs and lumps in our throats:
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
And Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25 NKJV)
And all His people said, “Amen. Thank You, Jesus!”