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You
will never believe what I found this week in the church building! First,
two long black wool capes in the cloak room off the Narthex. No doubt one
of you will tell me what they are for, I hope. Second, another Spencer
Crooks painting that you can now see hanging just outside Donna’s office.
Third, the movable letters to the small reader sign in the entry near the
elevator. I discovered last week that it still had our pre-covid schedule
on it, but we couldn’t find the key. Having located both the letters and
the key, I was able to update the type to reflect our current schedule and
media platforms. Look closely at this picture–what do you see? BOTH
SCHEDULES. The last schedule was up so long that it is permanently etched
into that felt.
The
past is like that, isn’t it? We make changes because we want to or need to,
and yet what formerly was is still present. Time simultaneously pulls us
ahead and backwards. Think about the cycle that baby names have gone
through in the last century. My daughter’s first name was the 9th most
popular baby name the year I gave it to her, although it had been both her
great grandmother’s and her great great great grandmother’s names. But,
would it have been popular in my generation? No more than Noah, Amelia, or
Charlotte would have been in the 70s, although all were on the top 10 list
in 2021 (1970s Jennifers, Amys, and Brians - step to the side!) We cycle
through names because our love for those who had them keeps them in
existence even while they sometimes sound outdated. I loved my grandmother
and am happy she shares a name with my daughter. But the past can also hang
on in uncomfortable ways. “Generational trauma” is one way of naming how
the brokenness of our predecessors can still negatively shape how we live
in the world now.
“Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,” wrote the author of
the letter to the Hebrews (13:8). God was with us in the past, is with us
in the present, and will be with us in the future, this has never and will
never change. God in Christ is unchanging: always loving, always full of
grace, always kind, and always responsive to us. When the past shines
through into the present, be that as a blessing or a curse, God shines
through as well, because God holds all of our times in God’s hands.
As
we sort through what it means to be Phillips Memorial Baptist Church today,
let us remember that God was with us in the past. The past that peeks
through when we miss folks or programs is a past where God also was. But,
do not be afraid of what is to come - we have been promised God is also
present in the future!
“Do
not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will
strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right
hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Even when the way forward feels less comfortable than
the past that keeps showing up, remember, God was with us then, is with u
now, and always will be with us.
Amen
Rev.
Dr. Amy Chilton?
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