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the church kitchen every Wednesday morning making sandwiches for the Salvation Army in Boone. Wendy occasionally joined them, but she was now on the Altar Guild, and so looked ever-so-slightly down her nose at the two other ladies. They pretended not to notice. Mattie Lou was also the church historian and was a pack-rat when it came to St. Barnabian minutia.
Nancy went to get our coffee while I squeezed past some occupied chairs and over to the ladies' table.
"What are the 'Zombies of Easter?'" asked Mattie Lou.
"Pardon me?" I said, not at all sure I had heard correctly.
"New Fellowship Baptist has their sign out in front advertising 'The Zombies of Easter,'" said Wynette. "They have a new minister you know. He's been there about a month."
"His name's Brother Tommy or Johnny or something like that," added Mattie Lou.
"It's Donny, dear," corrected Wendy. "Brother Donny. That's what Walleena told us. Brother Donny something-or-other."
"That's right," agreed Wynette. "Brother Donny. Anyway, they're having a 'Zombies of Easter Walk' for the Halloween trick-or-treating. My grandson, Brandon, says the youth group is dressing like zombies and walking through town during the carnival handing out biblical salvation tracts. He says it's right out of the New Testament."
"So what we want to know is..." said Mattie Lou.
"What the heck are the 'Zombies of Easter?'" finished Wendy.
"Zombies, eh?" I said, mentally running through all the zombie stories I knew of in the New Testament. Not Lazarus probably. Not Corinthians. Ah!
"I suspect," I said, "that Brother Donny is referring to a specific scripture passage found in Matthew 27."
"You mean there really are zombies in the Bible?"
"Well, they weren't exactly zombies, per se ," I said. "But after Jesus' resurrection, the bodies of many holy people who had died came out of their tombs and walked around Jerusalem."
" What? " said Mattie Lou. "Dead people walkin' around? I never heard of such a thing. They never showed us that story on Sunday School flannel-boards!" She pondered the prospect for a moment. "What would they be wearing? The dead people, I mean?" She didn't wait for an answer, but instead reached into her purse and pulled out a small New Testament.
"I guess they would have been in their linen grave wrappings," I said. "Unless they stopped by a shop somewhere and got some clothes."
"Grave wrappings?" said an incredulous Wendy. "Like mummies?"
Wynette shook her head. "That's not in my Bible."
"I'm afraid it is," I said.
"He's right," said Mattie Lou, having flipped through the thin pages to the correct passage. "Right here in Matthew. Chapter 27, verses 51 to 53. 'And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.'"
Nancy walked up and handed me a lidded paper cup of coffee. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked.
"Zombies," said Wynette. "Zombies in the Bible. I never would have believed it."
"Oh, I believe it," said Nancy. "There's a talking donkey, too. Like that one in Shrek ."
"No such thing," exclaimed Mattie Lou, snapping her New Testament shut. "Talking donkey, indeed!"
***
The celebration of Halloween, in our part of the country, was always getting mixed reviews. We are in the Bible Belt, of course, and therefore subject to many different perspectives. There were those very conservative denominations that held that celebrating a holiday by dressing up as demons, devils, witches, goblins, and other such creatures of the night was just plain heresy and wouldn't be tolerated in any shape or form. There were those semi-conservative denominations that offered the kids an alternative to trick-or-treating by having "Fall" carnivals at their church on Halloween, inviting the children to come
Nancy went to get our coffee while I squeezed past some occupied chairs and over to the ladies' table.
"What are the 'Zombies of Easter?'" asked Mattie Lou.
"Pardon me?" I said, not at all sure I had heard correctly.
"New Fellowship Baptist has their sign out in front advertising 'The Zombies of Easter,'" said Wynette. "They have a new minister you know. He's been there about a month."
"His name's Brother Tommy or Johnny or something like that," added Mattie Lou.
"It's Donny, dear," corrected Wendy. "Brother Donny. That's what Walleena told us. Brother Donny something-or-other."
"That's right," agreed Wynette. "Brother Donny. Anyway, they're having a 'Zombies of Easter Walk' for the Halloween trick-or-treating. My grandson, Brandon, says the youth group is dressing like zombies and walking through town during the carnival handing out biblical salvation tracts. He says it's right out of the New Testament."
"So what we want to know is..." said Mattie Lou.
"What the heck are the 'Zombies of Easter?'" finished Wendy.
"Zombies, eh?" I said, mentally running through all the zombie stories I knew of in the New Testament. Not Lazarus probably. Not Corinthians. Ah!
"I suspect," I said, "that Brother Donny is referring to a specific scripture passage found in Matthew 27."
"You mean there really are zombies in the Bible?"
"Well, they weren't exactly zombies, per se ," I said. "But after Jesus' resurrection, the bodies of many holy people who had died came out of their tombs and walked around Jerusalem."
" What? " said Mattie Lou. "Dead people walkin' around? I never heard of such a thing. They never showed us that story on Sunday School flannel-boards!" She pondered the prospect for a moment. "What would they be wearing? The dead people, I mean?" She didn't wait for an answer, but instead reached into her purse and pulled out a small New Testament.
"I guess they would have been in their linen grave wrappings," I said. "Unless they stopped by a shop somewhere and got some clothes."
"Grave wrappings?" said an incredulous Wendy. "Like mummies?"
Wynette shook her head. "That's not in my Bible."
"I'm afraid it is," I said.
"He's right," said Mattie Lou, having flipped through the thin pages to the correct passage. "Right here in Matthew. Chapter 27, verses 51 to 53. 'And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.'"
Nancy walked up and handed me a lidded paper cup of coffee. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked.
"Zombies," said Wynette. "Zombies in the Bible. I never would have believed it."
"Oh, I believe it," said Nancy. "There's a talking donkey, too. Like that one in Shrek ."
"No such thing," exclaimed Mattie Lou, snapping her New Testament shut. "Talking donkey, indeed!"
***
The celebration of Halloween, in our part of the country, was always getting mixed reviews. We are in the Bible Belt, of course, and therefore subject to many different perspectives. There were those very conservative denominations that held that celebrating a holiday by dressing up as demons, devils, witches, goblins, and other such creatures of the night was just plain heresy and wouldn't be tolerated in any shape or form. There were those semi-conservative denominations that offered the kids an alternative to trick-or-treating by having "Fall" carnivals at their church on Halloween, inviting the children to come
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