St. Patrick Presbyterian Church, Epc

We have just come through Halloween. It is a festive time to be really present in your neighborhood and have some fun while getting your steps in, as you follow wild, costumed children trick-or-treating down the middle of the street. Vats of chili are cooked, hot dogs are roasted, and themed cocktails with outlandish names are served. The reason we do this is somehow lost on us or has been forgotten. In the original sense, Halloween was done to mock evil. Yes, that is right—the way Satan is defeated is through laughter and joy. This week we see something similar in Habakkuk. Without giving too much away, the vision God gives Habakkuk is not only that the just will live by faith alone—sort of socially grinding out a righteousness—no, this week we see the rest of the story. The bulk of the vision is a series of taunts or mockery of evil. Five taunts are leveled at Babylon. It is like God is making fun of Babylon and showing God’s people that, as they live by faith in the midst of a reign of terror, they are not