Church People Are Going to Tell You Spooky Stories. You Should Believe Them.

 

 By Rev. Dan Greg

I get it. You’re a Christian, maybe you’re a pastor as well. 

You’re not crazy, nor are you gullible. 

You have a good head on your shoulders.

You were born at night, but not last night.

I get it.

But as you work with the Holy Spirit in your Christian life to become someone of Christian maturity; 

 

as you develop the personal garden of your heart that Jesus dwells in by pulling weeds, building walls and chairs, planting flowers by His Spirit; 

 

other Christians are going to begin trusting you, especially with their confessions and testimonies of how the spiritual and how God is working in his or her life.

“Suzy, sometimes I see my deceased husband sitting at the edge of my bed early in the morning; like, he’s getting ready to head to work like the old days. Is he really in heaven like Pastor says?”

“Pastor, sometime in the Summer of 1983, I saw a strange object in the sky hovering over my backyard. Ever since, I’ve had doubts about God. . .”

“Jim, when I was in high school, my childhood friends and I made a pact with a spirit we talked to through a Ouija board. I’ve been addicted to my lustful thoughts for 30 years. . .”

What do you say? 

Do you dismiss your friend, your brother or sister in Christ, your sheep; because you are uncomfortable talking about these subjects which Christ Himself warns us about?

You cannot! 

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, CSB). Cf. James 5:13-18.

A big part of being a Christian, let alone a Christian pastor, is that you are called to first and foremost cast your burdens on the LORD (Psalm 55:22). 

Jesus makes this easy, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-20, NKJV). 

But, because you are Christ’s ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:18-20), you’re to be Christ to the person you’re talking to at that moment.  

This means that right now: on the car ride, on the treadmill, around the campfire; you need to help your Christian brother or sister carry this burden. No questions asked.

Understand that keeping this to his or herself has probably been tormenting this person for years. 

Other people tell them they’re crazy, they were hallucinating, they were just waking up and still dreaming.

But they know what they saw.

 *  *  *

Keep in mind, by the way, that occult practitioners insist on keeping these things secretive, as it increases their power. 

(See Luhrmann, T. M. “The Magic of Secrecy.” Ethos 17, no. 2 (1989): 131–65. http://www.jstor.org/stable/640319.) 

That gives a whole new meaning to Jesus words, “therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops” (Luke 12:3, ESV) doesn’t it? Cf. Ecclesiastes 12:14.

This point is given even more spooky depth as the context of these verses is within Jesus’ teaching of the 72 returned disciples not to glory in their power to cast out demons in Jesus’ name, but rather to rejoice that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:17-20). 

He then teaches the Lord’s Prayer to them, which includes asking for protection from the Evil One (Luke 11:1-13) . 

Immediately following that, He casts out a demon in front of everyone (Luke 11:14-23) and clarifies this power comes from God, and that it is a sign that the Kingdom of God is here amongst us.

Then comes his teaching on the importance of making sure one who’s been exorcised of a demon is then connected to faithful Word and Sacrament ministry, lest more demons return (Luke 11:24-26). This person needs the Holy Spirit to live in them, not an evil spirit.

 *  *  *

The greatest thing that you can tell your brother or sister in Christ when they tell you about their supernatural experience(s) is this:

“I believe you. I’m sorry this happened to you. Let’s pray right now.”

Then pray to your Father in heaven to protect this beloved child in their baptism, by their faith alone, by God’s grace alone, in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ alone:

“Heavenly Father, your Son showed authority over and cast out demons throughout his ministry. 

Look with favor on your daughter, Suzy, who is plagued by misleading apparitions who make her doubt Your Eternal Kingdom.

Thank you for the surety of her husband Joe’s salvation, that he is with You now, as well as Christ’s promise that we will see him again on the Last Day.

Banish these evil spirits from her life and always remind her that she is yours by the water of her baptism, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, who died on the cross and rose again for Suzy, and lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. 

Amen.”

It’s that easy.

Has a beloved member of your congregation just confessed to you that alien beings visit them sometimes at night?

Get down on your hands and knees and thank God that you get to be the person who gets to tell them of Jesus’ Word, love, protection, and active power in their life.

Show them the Litany in your hymnal or prayer book.

 

Show them the Psalms. 

Give them the peace that they are allowed to add evil spirits, the spells and rituals of local witches, demons, aliens, or whatever to the list of things that are prayed against.

Jesus will protect them and keep them safe. 

That’s what scriptural prayer is for. 

That’s what Preaching and the Scriptures are for. 

That’s what the Sacraments are for: assurance of your salvation from the Evil One now and eternally in Christ Jesus.

“Our Father, who art in heaven. . .  deliver us from the evil one. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

Christianity is simple, pure, and public. 

In Him there is no darkness at all.  There are no secret passwords or incantations.

Just public, communal prayer of all the faithful.

Luther has to remind us to ask the Lord for big things, like deliverance from these kinds of tormentors, because Our Heavenly Father and King will delight to give them to us:

“Pray for an eternal inestimable treasure and everything that God Himself possesses.  This is far too great for any human heart to think about desiring, if God had not Himself commanded us to pray for the same. . . it is a great shame to God if we. . . do not have the confidence to receive, but hardly dare to pray for a piece of bread” (LC 3.55, 57).

 *  *  *

An article like this was actually one of the initial reasons I wanted to start this blog: something that helps Christians and pastors to have practical stuff they can take and use to help one another in Christian community and life.

However, I was scared to! What might others think of me?!

Regardless, here it is. Mind you, this is barely scratching the surface of what must be said to American Christians.

American Culture, like European Culture, is full of and saturated with folk tales, wives tales, ghost stories, cryptids, and legends.  Americans are tied to their land and the stories that the land tells.

The people that lived there before us, their continued presence in memory. . . or more.

You must understand that everybody lives very supernatural lives.

People make decisions throughout the day based on hunches and feelings that they never stop and consider the source of.

They yell out in prayer when they’re surprised in traffic, when they get bad news and are scared, or are happy that they found a penny on the ground.

They avoid opening umbrellas indoors or stepping on cracks.

They make life decisions based on half remembered dreams; thoughts that came from nowhere; connections they made in their heart between partially memorized bible verses, something their great-grandma said 43 years ago in passing, and T-Shirt slogans they saw once at the store.

Some cold force would always move stuff around in their abusive home, though no one was there.

Though Tommy drowned, some people still hear him at night near the creek.

The baby keeps looking in the dark corner.

This is a part of human day to day life, just like our Christian faith.

So, I don't want the Church to be discounted as a place to bring it up.

If people feel shamed by other Christians or their pastor about the supernatural, they will look elsewhere for answers.

Instead of the Bible, they’ll watch a terrible History Channel program.

They’ll Google what to do, and they’ll end up smudging their house with burning sage.

They’ll buy crystals and repeat mantras.

But all this time, Christ believes that these things are happening to them and loves those who are tormented by them. 

 

He cast those evil things out constantly throughout His ministry and continues to do so through Baptism and His Word.

Not only that, He’s given oppressed people Christian brothers and sisters who believe them as well and take real prayerful action in their lives. 

He’s given them a pastor, to act in His place: to bless homes, to point to God’s promises, to strengthen them with His Word, Water, Body, and Blood.

If something mysterious or supernatural has happened to you or continues to happen to you, know this:

I believe you. 

How can I help?

 

Fr. Dan Greg is an LCMS pastor in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.