Thursday Thoughts

Merry Christmas!

by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 12/27/24

As each of us sit in the light of the Christmas season, be it bright or dull, I offer you this blessing.

Merry Christmas - may the hope, peace, joy, and love of Christ meet you, uphold you, and walk beside you in the new year.

Blessings,

Pastor Amy

Where the Light Begins

By Jan Richardson

Perhaps it does not begin.

Perhaps it is always.

 

Perhaps it takes

a lifetime

to open our eyes,

to learn to see

what has forever

shimmered in front of us –

 

the luminous line

of the map

in the dark,

 

the vigil flame

in the house

of the heart,

 

the love

so searing

we cannot keep

from singing,

from crying out

in testimony

and praise.

 

Perhaps this day

will be the mountain

over which

the dawn breaks.

 

Perhaps we

will turn oir face

toward it,

toward what has been

always.

 

Perhaps

our eyes

will finally open

in ancient recognition,

willingly dazzled,

illuminated at last.

 

Perhaps this day

the light begins

in us.

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Holy Ground

by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 12/19/24

Have you ever wondered about the second verse of the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”? While our current hymnal reads “Here I raise to thee an altar,” I do not doubt that many of you have the original lyrics memorized: “here I raise an Ebenezer.” It is no wonder the words were updated. I mean, who knows what an Ebenezer even is? (Hint: it isn’t Scrooge.)

Ebenezer is a Hebrew name meaning “stone of help.” In the Hebrew Scripture book of 1 Samuel, we read about the Israelites being defeated by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant taken. (The Ark was a sacred box holding divine relics and believed to be the seat of God’s presence on earth.) When the Ark was returned to the Israelites and the Israelites had reconsecrated themselves to God, the prophet Samuel set up a stone and “named it Ebenezer; for he said, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’” (1 Sam. 7:12).

You might wonder why I have had the Ebenezer stone on my mind this week - after all, it isn’t the most thought of story in Scripture! Let me explain. A rock carron (stack) has appeared outside the PMBC lobby door. It has been slowly getting taller over the past few weeks. At first I assumed that our Sexton had moved some rocks after our landscaping work. But, then our secretary watched a teen on their way to school add a rock to the pile!

Now, I have seen many rock carrons along hiking trails or at the beach (there are always carrons at Fisherman’s Memorial near Pt. Judith). But, I have never seen one in front of PMBC. My initial thought was to dismantle it. But, carrons are often built to indicate a sacred space or holy ground - much like the Ebenezer stone. So, instead of unstacking them I added a sign to the window behind the stack that reads:

Thank You

For

Stacking these Stones!

 

Stacked stones indicate that this is holy Ground!

 

Also - We welcome and affirm all folx!

Join us on Sunday Morning at 10 a.m.

What kind of Baptist would I be if I didn’t issue an invitation to Sunday Morning service?! Seriously.

I don’t know who started this stack or what meaning it has for them, but what a perfect place to put it. The church gathered is a sacred place - a place where we remember how God’s help has brought us thus far. As we wrap up 2024 and our 124th year of life together, we too can also sing of many communal and personal trials that God has brought this faith family through. And God willing, we will continue to sing of God’s faithfulness in this community and beyond.

So, this week, perhaps make a rock carron of your own. Large or small, it doesn’t matter. And as you build it remember what God has brought you through and spend a moment offering thanks for the sacred ground on which God’s grace has met you.

Blessings,

Pastor Amy

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Light in the Darkness

by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 12/12/24

Many of you have shared pictures of your Christmas tree either on social media or via text. During the (literally) darkest season of the year, many of the PMBC families are lighting up their homes and neighborhoods. My own Christmas tree is set up and decorated with our collection of Christmas ornaments dating back to my birth year and collected from our various travels. Many were made by my mother.

Did you know that in the first few centuries of the church, Christmas trees and greens were condemned? As the church was trying to figure out what it meant to be the church in a world already full of other religious holidays and was wrestling with its own temptation to exert power and control, Christmas greenery was hotly contested. Literally.

The second century theologian Tertullian condemned Christmas decorators to the fires hell: “Let them over whom the fires of hell are imminent affix to their posts laurels doomed presently to burn: to them the testimonies of darkness and the omens of their penalties are suitable. You are a light of the world, and a tree ever green. If you have renounced temples, make not your own gate a temple.” He argued that decorating with Christmas greens was idolatrous and unfitting for a Christian.

Clearly Tertullian lost the Christmas tree dispute!

While I agree with Tertullian on the need to be attentive to what we have idolized, let me say a word in defense of Christmas trees. Lights only shine bright when the world around them is dark. We learned this as children playing with flashlights. As we stand in the midst of the darkest time of the year, in a time in history that also feels dark, shining our lights - Christmas or otherwise - seems prophetic. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed, “you are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Jesus wants his followers to live lives of justice, of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, of purity of heart, and of peacemaking - and he wants us to live that out so that we shine light by which others can navigate a dark world.

So, this year as you enjoy your own or others Christmas lights and trees, let those lights remind you that you are called to be a light in this world. As much as we might not like the dark, the dark needs your light. In fact, lights only shine bright in the dark.

Blessings,

Pastor Amy

Blessed are You Who Bear the Light

Blessed are you

who bear the light

in unbearable times,

who testify

to its endurance

amid the unendurable,

who bear witness

to its persistence

when everything seems

in shadow

and grief.

 

Blessed are you

in whom

the light lives,

in whom

the brightness blazes-

your heart

a chapel,

an altar where

in the deepest night

can be seen

the fire that

shines forth in you

in unaccountable faith,

in stubborn hope,

in love that illumines

every broken thing

it finds.^[1]

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The Beautiful and the not so Beautiful

by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 11/21/24

It is interesting to see what is in our trees now that many of the leaves have fallen. One tree on my street dropped its cover to reveal a large paper wasp nest. I know that hornets are good for something (they eat pests, for example). But since I am allergic to them, the sight of a large paper wasp nest brings something considerably less than joy. As I was walking the dog past this particular tree, I thought to myself, “that thing has been here all summer, this close to my house, and I didn’t even know it! Ugh!” 

I was then struck by the fact that the leaves had covered not only a hornets nest, but also a squirrel nest. Since the squirrels don’t bother me and are just cute and fluffy, I didn’t have the same reaction. That tree had held both of these nests, presumably all summer, and I had walked the dog past it many times without knowing!

What a metaphor for life. Our lives hold within them both beautiful things and not so beautiful things, ease and hardship, friends and enemies. We ourselves also contain dichotomies within ourselves: we love and hate, we rejoice and grieve. We are complex creatures, none of us all good or all bad, and all of us a mix of beautiful and not-so-beautiful things. And yet, just like the tree still offered shade and beauty even with its juxtaposed contents, so too can we offer light even with our juxtaposed contents.

We were, after all, created as creatures with free will - Adam and Eve showed us that when in the second creation story (Genesis 2-3) they embrace both a desire for wisdom and a desire for control over God. We often call this eating from the forbidden tree the “first sin.” But, they weren’t that different from us - who amongst us wouldn’t like to wrest control from God every once in a while and do something out of anger or fear or smugness?

Y'all can put your hands down now!

Of course we want to follow Jesus as a people who embrace that which is good. Paul ended his letter to the Philippians by encouraging them to do “whatever is true, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). But, we also follow as complex people who sometimes also carry wasp nests in our hearts. This is the nature of being human.

So, when you turn on the news and someone tries to convince you that people on the other side of our profound political divide are all bad and you are all good - remember the tree. And remember that each one of us, no matter what complexities we carry around inside of us, are called and gifted by the Holy Spirit to be light in this world. YOU are called and gifted - now go and be a light!

Blessings,

Pastor Amy

PS - Need a soundtrack for this Thursday’s Thoughts? Let me recommend Michael Franti’s “Life is Amazing” or Amos Lee’s “Little Light.”

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Remember Your Baptisms

by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 11/14/24

I’ve spent some time this week working with our sexton, Tom, to test the baptismal tank for an upcoming baptism. Good news - the baptismal holds water!

This has given me the opportunity to remember my own baptism - a story that I’ve shared with some of you in sermons. My dad baptized me. He isn’t a minister, but in that tradition this was allowed. I remember the congregation following me from our evening sanctuary to the big sanctuary where the baptismal was (my baptism was at night so my Catholic grandmother could be there and not miss her own morning mass). I remember being nervous when I had to come forward during the invitation time to tell the congregation I had decided to be baptized.

“Do you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?” was the question I was asked. My answer, of course, was “yes.”  This wasn’t a vow, exactly, but it was a covenant with the Lord I was committing to follow.

For those of you who were baptized as infants, you don’t remember what was asked of your parents. And for those of you baptized as older children, teens, or adults, perhaps the question was somewhat different. But, no matter the question asked or the age at which you were baptized, all who are baptized are part of a water-sealed covenant with our Triune God.

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he tells his readers to remember their baptisms and in remembering them to live as people of faith and justice in the world. 

“For in Jesus Christ you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28).

It has been a rough week and a half in our country - no matter what side you are on politically. And as we worry about what the future will bring either between neighbors or on the political stage, let us remember our baptisms. Let us remember the covenant we share with our Creator to live as a child of God, walking in Christ’s footsteps and seeking unity and the healing of destructive social distinctions. Our baptisms call us to this!

And, for those of you who aren’t baptized but are considering whether you are ready to take this step and share in this ancient Christian rite, I assure you that baptismal tank holds water well! (There’s a sermon in there, I’m sure of it.)

Remember your baptisms in all things.

Blessings,

Pastor Amy

PS - For reference, here is the PMBC ministry statement: Reflective of God’s love, and responsive to our evolving community’s diverse needs, Phillips Memorial Baptist Church strives to be an inclusive, nurturing, and Christ-centered church family. We are an open and loving community of faith for all people, of every age, race, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, cultural background, socio-economic status, mental or physical ability, marital status, and any other distinctions of society.

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