Thursday Thoughts
When Plans Change
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 12/14/23
I do wonder what happened in those 10 days when the folx here realized that they did not want an early morning service on Christmas. Interesting, they had held an 8 a.m. worship service on Thanksgiving Day that year.
Although I’ve only read up to 1921 in our
record books, I can tell you this: there were a lot of changed plans in those
first 21 years. Sometimes detours were taken - such as when they were between
pastors or the oil prices got too high. Sometimes they made major changes
without any recorded discussion, such as when they joined the Northern Baptist
Convention (now ABC-USA). I do so wish that the proverbial fly had left behind
their records too so we could hear how people felt about these changes.
As we head through Advent, we are confronted with the stories of the people around the Christ-child whose plans also changed:
1)
Zechariah had to learn to
communicate without speaking after Gabriel visited with the news of John’s
coming birth (Luke 1:20);
2)
Elizabeth’s everyday routines
changed when her she shut herself away from her neighbors once she got pregnant
and then Mary showed up (Luke 1:24);
3)
Mary had to go stay with her
relatives once she was pregnant - the biggest change of all being her agreed
upon pregnancy! (Luke 1:26-40);
4) And can we please talk about the poor sheep who were taken off the fields while they were trying to sleep so their humans could go see the Christ child?! (Luke 2:8-20).
As much as knowing what is going to happen next so we can plot our path, life is always full of unexpected detours. I was in Providence this past week when the 195 was shut down suddenly. While I didn’t get caught in the traffic, plenty of other folx did. And now we Rhode Islanders have to figure out how many extra miles we are willing to drive to get to the other side of the Bay!
None of the biblical stories I listed above are about things these people planned for themselves. Some are about things that were chosen for them. Some are about things that were laid before them as options they ultimately chose. But, in all of it God was present with comfort and encouragement.
Sometimes we have to pivot quickly when we suddenly find laid out before us new paths we didn’t expect. That is one of life’s certainties. But always God is present with us, which is the meaning of the name we sing so often this season: “Immanuel” (Matthew 1:23).
So, as we sing the songs, deck the halls, and gather the energy to make it through, I pray that we are open to God’s presence, no matter how our plans might change. God remains the God who Moses promised he was to the Israelites before they went into the Promised Land: “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deut. 31:8). God remains with us, now matter how our paths in lives may change.
That is Good News indeed!
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
Sacred Scents
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 12/07/23
Following service this
past Sunday I was walking past the front of the chancel when the Advent candle
was extinguished. The smell of extinguished candles in a sanctuary never fails
to bring to the surface of my heart feelings of joy, contentment, and
belonging. Think about the times when we light candles in sanctuaries: Advent,
Christmas Eve, and weddings. In my life, these have been joyous and hopeful
events and when I smell the distinctive smell of a candle having been blown
out, those same feelings come flooding back.
Our brain processes smells in such a way that the neural path of a smell goes directly through the parts of our brain related to emotion and memory. “Smell memories” can pull from us earlier and more emotional memories than can our other senses. And “smell memories” are often the first and easiest part of a memory to access, which explains why we remember a smell before we remember the event associated with it.
When I smell candles blown out in a sanctuary I can almost feel my child self-sitting in the sanctuary of my childhood church waiting for my turn in the Christmas program dress-rehearsal, eager to be part of something that felt so big and important, or watching my dad dressed as a shepherd keeping his eye on the Baby Jesus that was my sibling.
This time of year can be complicated and tiring, for sure. But, it is also a time of year when folx remember some of the sacred moments of their past. Many of those moments happened in the church or around the family dinner table.
The Bible has its own stories of sacred scents and sacred spaces. In Exodus 30:34-38 the LORD gives Moses a sacred recipe for a sacred perfume to be used around the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle (Israel’s early traveling version of the Temple). The recipe given there is gum resin, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense (ok, maybe not so secret). I have no idea what this would have smelled like, but I suspect the priests and anyone else who smelled this perfume in that sacred space of God’s presence would have positive emotions associated with it (the full recipe itself was never used outside the temple, but individual ingredients were). So, perhaps every time frankincense was used in a perfume (Song of Songs 3:6) or included in an offering (Isaiah 43:23), those who smelled it had memories of being in God’s presence come forward in their minds. Perhaps they felt wrapped in grace and love.
We read about Frankincense again when the Magi bring their gifts to the toddler Jesus in Matthew chapter 2. I am struck here that such a sacred scent was gifted to a child of displaced parents who was being sought by a jealous king. A smell that could bring forth emotions and memories of God’s holy presence was now lingering in the air around this family.
God’s holy presence in the perfumed air of a sacred space.
God’s holy presence in the air around a small child.
God’s holy presence.
What scents bring you into the sacred presence of God?
Perhaps for you it is also candles, blown out after a singing of “Silent Night” in an otherwise darkened room. Perhaps it is evergreen branches, covered with bits and bobs of a lifetime.
God is wholly present, now and always. But this season I am thankful for these olfactory reminders of God’s holy presence in sacred spaces. Now, excuse me while I go blow out some candles.
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
Giving Thanks in All Things
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 12/06/23
(Originally Published November 23rd) Giving Thanks in All Things Perhaps like ours, your Thanksgiving dinner table looks a bit different this year. I lost two aunts this year, one of whom was THRILLED for any family gathering that involved food, especially if it was at my parent’s house, and one who never came to family holiday gatherings.And although my daughter and I aren’t at the family homestead for Thanksgiving, I’m mindful of these losses. Family is complicated, isn’t it? When I was a professor, I used to joke with my ethics students each fall that I would be sure to send them home to Thanksgiving supper with lots of things to argue with their parents about. I mean, they were going to argue anyway, why not at least make it interesting?! The truth is that holidays rarely match the Hallmark version sold to us with our bags of stuffing mix. Even when things do go perfectly, someone is going to bed with achy legs from cooking and doing dishes. But, we don’t need things to be Hallmark perfect to remember today, Thanksgiving day, to give thanks for our blessings, whatever they may be. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, part of Paul’s list of how to keep on living the Christian life even when you are disappointed (in the case of the Thessalonians, disappointed because Christ had not yet returned), we are reminded to “give thanks in all circumstances.” Not for all circumstances, but rather in all circumstances. You don’t have to be thankful for things that harm you or harm the world. You don’t have to be thankful for things that cause you grief. You don’t have to be thankful for family losses you didn’t want. But in the midst of whatever comes your way, I pray that you might recognize God’s presence all around you and speak it out loud. Isn’t that really what giving thanks is - seeing God at work in the world and naming it with awe? Friends, this Thanksgiving, I give thanks for each one of you and pray that in the midst of whatever today brings you might find a few moments to sit still and give thanks to God for all God’s many graces. Blessings, Pastor Amy Around the Table God, awaken us to the everyday miracle of a simple meal. Whether it is takeout that took a phone call, or a recipe that took an entire afternoon, or the cereal-for-dinner-again feeling this meal creates, Bless it all. So blessed are we, sharing a meal today. May we recognize God’s goodness in the thoughtful preparation, in the delivering, in the eating together, savoring something that tastes like love. May our time around the table be a gift. May we be present to one another, engaging all our senses as an act of thankful worship for the nourishment that’s before us with the people we love. Or are trying to. God, bless the hands that prepared this, those with us now, and the ones we wish were. Bless us, oh God. in all our eating and cooking and gathering and sharing, our jokes, talking with our mouths full, and elbows on the table, may we taste and see the love that multiplies. Amen.
"Let It Fall"
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 11/17/23
What a few weeks we have had at my house! Between my daughter getting a concussion at PE and a medical crisis of my own, we have been in two emergency rooms, the urgent care, and about 6 doctor’s appointments. Many lovely folks in our PMBC family have reached out to check on us and see if they can help, and many of those check-ins have included the refrain: let things go and focus on your health.
But letting go of all the things isn’t ever easy, especially right before the church’s busiest season. I have to plan the Christmas (eve eve eve) service, make sure Advent is ready to launch, write sermons, etc. ALL THE THINGS.
I think you can resonate with me - it really is hard to let things go and be okay that in the end those things might come out “just ok” and that “just ok” really is “ok.” There are times we have to listen to these wonderfully complex bodies God gave us and trust that in doing so, the rest will sort itself out well enough.
The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that times and seasons and the things we do in them will flex and change:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
Reading this from my own current medical situation reminds me that things won’t always stay this way. But, also that God is present in all the circumstances we find ourselves in. And no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, God is present with us - which is something to give serious thanks for.
Paul called his followers to give thanks in all circumstances, not for all circumstances: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
So, today I give thanks for how I have witnessed this church body rise up and care for us when we both had to stop and listen to the wisdom of our bodies. I give thanks that God promises to be with us in all things. And I rejoice that I don’t hold the whole world on my shoulders - especially when they are this tired!
Friends, for whatever time or season you find yourself in, my prayer is that you too find things for which to give thanks, that you listen to the wisdom of your wonderfully created body, and that you too might let go of the belief that you have to balance it all on your own shoulders.
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
PS - here is a fun listen by my favorite band: Let it Fall
"The Sacred Cups of Our Lives"
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 10/27/23
At our recent leadership retreat, I invited the leaders who had gathered to join in a meditation exercise of imagining themselves as cups being held gently in God’s hands and being filled by the Spirit so they might have what they need to fill others. Traditional Christian spiritual practices such as prayer, singing, and meditation can help fill us with God’s grace and presence, as can less traditional spiritual practices like going for a walk and enjoying creation. There are many ways to empty yourself to the point of exhaustion when you are serving others, fortunately there are always ways to be filled!
Just like I invited our leaders, I also invite you to choose a cup. The cup in the picture above is the one I took to the retreat. It was handmade by a dear friend’s friend. Yours might be one you just like the look of or it is a souvenir from an especially memorable trip. You choose! Take a few moments and hold it in your hands. Close your eyes and feel the weight of it. Imagine, if you can, that God is holding you. Let yourself rest in the warmth of our Creator, cradled in the same hands that formed us from the dirt of the ground. Then shift and imagine the inside of the cup - the inside of you. What might the Holy Spirit want to fill you with? Courage? Joy? Strength? Peace? Rest? Ask!
Hear these words as you wait on the Spirit:
I have called you by name,
You are mine…
You are precious in my sight,
And honored,
And I love you
(Isaiah 43:1,4)
Place your cup somewhere you can see it, and when you do, remind yourself that you are held in God’s hands and the Spirit is present and ready to fill you with God’s overflowing and abundant love. YOU ARE LOVED.
“Bestower of Life, Abundant Love,
Trusted Companion, Eternal Wisdom,
I pray your blessing to be upon this cup and upon myself.
Make of this cup a sacred vessel
as I pray with it each day.
May this cup become by teacher,
Helping me to find my way to you.
May this cup hold many messages
Of your wisdom and your comfort.
May this cup connect me with life
And create in me a generous heart.
May this cup draw me ever closer
Into loving oneness with you.”[1]
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
____________________________
[1] Joyce Rupp, The Cup of our Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth (Notre Dame, Indiana: Ave Maria Press, 2005), 18.
