Seeing Through Cross-Colored Glass
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 02/16/23
This past week I was blessed to visit one of our much loved house-bound members. While there, she gave me the stained-glass cross in the image above. With it was a typed note that reads: “The stained glass used in your cross was salvaged from the original [1901] Phillips Memorial Baptist Church building during the renovation to create our present Children’s Center. It is at least 100 years odd [sic] and a most suitable memory piece for our 100th year celebration. October 15, 2000.” I was struck when taking this picture at seeing Dave’s Market through the color of the cross. Not just the yellow, but the idea of letting the cross itself shape my perception of the world around me. Muriel Lester, one of my favorite Baptist theologians, shifted her life from a comfortable middle-class existence to the poverty of London’s East End at the beginning of the 20th century. In her work she showed great respect for the people of the East End and called on the rest of the church to do the same. Reflecting back on her transition she wrote that you can either go down the streets of the East End in fear and disgust toward the poor, or you can go down the same streets “with God” - in which case you see the beauty in the people. This is from her book, Dare You Face the Facts, in which she is urging folks toward pacifism in the face of WWII. Love your enemies, especially those who have been made enemies by someone else, she declares. Essentially - see them through the color of the cross, a color that destroys the category of “enemy.”. The old Sunday School memory verse of John 3:16-17 is a good reminder to us of what it means to walk “with God” through this world. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. God’s intention toward this world and all who live in it is love and salvation. God’s love even extended to Christ’s living a full human life - all the way to the grave - a life of service, faithfulness, compassion, humility, and love. As we enter next week into the Lenten season, let us together remember to look at the world around us through the color of the cross; with love, compassion, service, faithfulness, and humility. And let us remember to look at ourselves through the same lens - for even we are part of God’s good creation! Blessings, Pastor Amy
