The Kaptain’s Logos

                                         Ghosts

     Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.                                                                                              - Luke 23:46 NIV

 Ahoy:

             If you’re an adult, the odds are you’re haunted by ghosts.  Very few adults, relative to the entire population, have felt haunted by spectral apparitions, skeletons or translucent figures of the deceased.  Most adults, however, are haunted by coulda-woulda-shoulda-mighta ghosts.  We are troubled by past mistakes or opportunities we let slide.  We think, “If only I had . . .” or “If only I hadn’t . . .”  We can’t let go of past problems or roads not taken.  It’s good to learn from past mistakes, but if they are “baggage,” interfering with good decisions and good living now, they can distort or sometimes even ruin our lives.

             “Who ya gonna call?”  Ghostbusters?  If we are haunted by ghosts of the pasts of coulda-woulda-shoulda-mightabeens what can we do for relief?  Consider the above scripture.  Just before he died, Jesus committed His spirit into the hands of God the Father.  This is where the phrase came from “giving up the ghost.”  Now when “spirit” in the scriptures is mistranslated or thought of in terms of “ghost,” this causes problems and misunderstandings.  In this case, however, it can be helpful.  Jesus “gave up the ghost” by committing himself to God and God’s will.  If we turn ourselves over to God, saying to God, “Put me to work for you and your purposes,” then the past mistakes and decisions that haunt us no longer matter.  Our goal, our mission, is clear and focused on working hard in the present to make a better future. 

             The scriptures are full of people who made major mistakes but turned their lives around when they committed themselves to God and God’s will.  Examples include Moses the murderer (Exodus 2:12), Zacchaeus the dishonest tax collector (Luke 19:8), the centurion who helped with the crucifixion but then recognized who Jesus was (Mark 15:39) and Paul the Christian-killer (Acts 8:1).  If you have “ghosts”- past decisions or mistakes that haunt you- give them up- let them go.  Focus on doing what God wants you to do.  Remember that Hallowe’en (There are a few ways in which I’m old-fashioned.  I prefer the spelling of that holiday with an apostrophe, though computer spellcheckers do not.) is the night before All Saints’ Day.  All believers of Jesus are saints, no matter what they may have done in the past, as long as they are committed to God’s will and turning over their spirits to God in their lives today.  May all of us commit ourselves to spreading . . .

                                                                         Grace and peace,

                                                                         Rev. Dr. Karl R. Herman