Our region experienced a total eclipse on Monday. Perhaps you heard.
Hopefully, you had the chance to catch the spectacular event that took place in the heavens and here on earth. To (most) everyone’s delight, the sky cover cooperated and we were able to experience a total eclipse of the sun.
Most people’s reflections on Monday’s ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ phenomenon seemed to match my own. People noted that they got warm staring up at the sun for a couple of hours. Others remarked that the light before and after totality was eerie—as though one was looking at the world with sunglasses. You told me that the temperature dropped anywhere from 10-20 F at your locations. Many of you remarked that totality didn’t last as long as you had anticipated, and wasn’t as dark as you had expected. A few folk mentioned that the four or five minutes before totality was the most dramatic element of the event as darkness rapidly swept over the land. And many of us would see a couple of planets appear, though there was great disagreement as to what we were looking at.
Yes, all of this is ripe for spiritual analysis, metaphor and sermonizing. The darkness spread over us but it didn’t last long. True. The presence of light enables life to exist and flourish. Of course. Even when we are immersed in darkness, there’s still light to be seen. Absolutely.
The Psalmist agrees with us: “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night, even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.” Psalm 139:11-12
But there’s another observation that I’d like to make that doesn’t fit so nicely into astrological observation. For me, I was struck—and encouraged—by the unifying effect that the solar eclipse had on our community and upon our nation.
I know that I don’t have to tell you that our nation has experienced a terrible and divisive summer. Hate speech, violence, threat, and the dark and sinful shadow of racism has haunted us these past weeks and months. Fear and anger have become our sanctuaries and our reactions as a people have revealed a disdain for the Kingdom of God that Jesus heralds. Despair has become a common refrain.
That is, except for Monday. Eclipse Day found us eager to be with one another, eager to have a shared experienced, eager to look up. Momentarily cushioned from the realities of our world, we delighted in being a people together. Knowing that there was something that couldn’t be denied, spun, vilified, or argued over, most everyone in our nation was able to stop what we were doing and observe something so majestic that it took our breath away and stung our eyes with tears. Traffic was terrible. But people were kind and patient with one another. Resources were diminished and scaled back. But people were gracious with one another. Masses of people descended upon our small town representing more diversity than we could ever expect in Western North Carolina. Did that cause discord? Not one bit. Individuals who would never ordinarily associate with one another shared space on their blankets, passed around snacks and loaned protective glasses out. For a brief afternoon, I was reminded of the comradery, strength and hope that is present when we allow ourselves to focus our attention together.
Eclipse Day was a great day for us. But let’s not wait until May 11, 2078 before we experience that same unifying moment again.
There’s Kingdom Work to be done, y’all, to ensure that we won’t have to postpone shalom—peace—for 61 years. I’m ready. Who’s with me?
Sylva First Wednesdays
Sylva First Wednesdays will begin back on August 23rd with our Wednesday Night Supper and Bible Study!
Deep Creek Picnic
Our end-of-summer picnic will be at Deep Creek on August 27th from 4:00—8:00 PM! Please bring food for your family plus some to share for our pot-luck meal.
Nursing Home Visit
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH VISITS NURSING HOME
Sunday, August 27, our church will be visiting Mountain Trace. We will meet there a little before 2:00 pm for a devotion and music service. Come and show our shut-ins that they are still part of our church. Stop by the Loving Kindness Room and pick up a bag of magazines to take with you. For more information contact Sandra James, 828-736-3171.
Mission Moment
"Without a doubt, your gifts and contributions are touching and transforming lives for eternity. How Kormariayya met Christ is nothing but a miracle. Being a snake charmer all his life, he used to catch cobra snakes, put them around his neck and walk in the community to earn money from cobra snake worshipers. One day, a cobra snake bit Komariayya and he was taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. The doctor gave up hope and told the family he would die in about an hour's time, so they should take him home make plans for his funeral. Instead, his sons took Komariayya to church. The pastor and several church members joined Komariayya's family and prayed. God gave Komariayya a second chance! He accepted Christ, was baptized and joined the church where his sons are members. Because of God's miracle and Komariayya's second life, now many in that village are learning more about Christ and joining the church. Without a doubt, God is up to something in Chelpur and a lot of neat things are taking place."
Pastor Jonah in Chelpur, India, partner of CBF field personnel, Sam Bandela
Circles of Hope Dinner
Please join us for a Thank You dinner honoring Circles of Hope Volunteers
Tuesday, August 22, 6:00-7:00 PM
First Baptist Church of Sylva, Mission and Fellowship Center
669 W Main St.
RSVP by August 17th to Ron Robinson @ rrobinson@mountainprojects.org or 508-0951
Summer Explorers Camp Video
We had a great summer here at First Baptist Sylva! Check out this video made by Elise Parham that shows a few of the fun things our Summer Explorers Camp got to do this summer!
Backpack Program
The Dorothy Edwards Circle wishes to thank everyone who participated in the backpack program. It's a ministry that helps parents provide school supplies and helps children feel wanted and as prepared as their peers. We at FBC love all children.
Gaye Buchanan
The Sylva Bells Handbell Choir
The Sylva Bells Handbell Choir will perform Sunday, August 20, 2017 at 3:00 PM at the First Presbyterian Church in Sylva. The group is conducted by Lorie Meservey.
The B-I-B-L-E: That’s the Book for Me
"The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me."
-Martin Luther
What is your relationship with God’s Word?
By God’s Word, of course, I mean the Bible. Most Christians will quickly profess their love for the Bible. But like many of our relationships, our connection and loyalty to Another will wax and wane. The same goes for me.
My first Bible was a small New Testament that was presented to my parents when I was dedicated. It was red and worn from my greasy, preschool hands. Although I couldn’t read it, I carried it with me to church. It was common knowledge that one took their Bible with them to church. Apparently, 4-year-olds were not exempt.
When I began first grade, I was given a hardbound copy of the King James Bible in worship at the beginning of the school year. I couldn’t understand a lick of it, but I loved the dramatic pictures scattered throughout the book.
A couple of years later I received a children’s Bible for Christmas. I adored that gift and began to rapidly read through the gospels. There were few, if any pictures, but it was written in a vernacular I could understand. You can imagine my grief, then, when I placed this prized Bible on the hood of our Buick station wagon just before we pulled out of the church’s parking lot. We looked along the road for it but never found it. I was devastated.
My next Bible was a sleek, softbound New International Version Bible. It accompanied me on youth retreats and mission trips. It was used for personal reading, devotions and Bible study. To this day, it still has remnants of my past, pressed between its pages, like a 20th century time capsule.
My first real Study Bible entered the picture when I went off to college. The notes at the bottom of the page helped me to decipher tough passages and difficult stories. It proved to be a faithful guide as I prepared studies and devotions while I served as a student summer missionary.
By that time I was expected to have a different kind of Bible. I needed to have access to a Bible whose translation could be trusted from an academic perspective. I was learning, you see, that words and phrases matter. I knew the Message. But now, I needed to know how the Message had come to be given in the first place.
What would follow would be a quick succession of any number of Bible translations in any number of languages. These Bibles, which sit closest to my desk, provide me access to a dynamic expression of God’s Word.
My relationship with God’s Word today is complicated. It’s difficult to pastor, or to lead a Bible study, without a firm understanding of and familiarity with God’s Word. The trap for me, though, is to not treat the Bible as a tool of the trade. I must confess that it’s tempting to read the Bible for expediency—that is, for its professional usefulness. If I am derelict in my duties, I’ll read scripture for the sole purpose of preparation for my work to develop a sermon or some other ministerial demand. Ultimately, this does not reveal a healthy relationship with God’s Word as it can ignore an intimate and personal reading of the text.
I am convicted by the way in which I have been using, reading and reflecting on scripture, and I want to reclaim the zeal I once had for God’s Holy Word. Scripture shouldn’t be used to get something accomplished. It should be savored, pored over, delighted in and meditated upon. As followers of Jesus who are commanded to walk humbly with our God, we’ve got to be committed to the reading and study of scripture as a way to know the God Who Wants to Be Known.
On Wednesday nights this fall, we’ll be learning about how we got our Bible. Alas, it didn’t just wash up on the beach as a gift from God. Nor did God dictate the Bible to Jesus for him to write down. No, we have the Bible through an extraordinary process of discernment and evaluation that has stretched on for numerous generations and centuries.
Most of us have had a deep commitment to God’s Word throughout our lives. Perhaps this fall, however, we can find cause to renew our vows.