The First Baptist Church of Redlands
T A PE S T R Y
Jan 2021
Wo v e n To g e t h e r I n L o v e : C o l o s s i a n s 2 : 2
Change is in the Air A Message from Pastor Shawn
As we are looking to put away the Christmas decorations, a song with a similar title (to the theme of this issue of Tapestry) comes to mind: “There’s a Song in the Air.” Each verse comes back to the star in the sky. We are reminded that the very first Christmas (which, of course, was not known as “Christmas”) was an unusual time. In some ways it was an ordinary night. But in other ways it was extraordinary. People were displaced because of an order by Caesar to take a census. That meant that people had to travel to the town of family origin. Without going into all the details of this, the result was that Joseph and Mary had to be far from home and family when it came time for Jesus to be born. And so, on this seemingly ordinary night, the Messiah was born and put in a manger for a bed. The star was an extraordinary event as well, enough to bring the scientists, we call the “magi” or “wise men,” a great distance to investigate what or who might be the reason for such a cosmic event. Not to mention that on this ordinary night there were some ordinary shepherds who had a major encounter with a “heavenly host.” (Yes, I know that the shepherds and magi did not show up to the manger on the same night, even though our Nativity scenes depict otherwise). But on this seemingly ordinary night, when the vast majority of the world went about their ordinary business, some really extraordinary and history-changing things were going on. To say this 2020 Christmas season was NOT ordinary, is rather an understatement. Many of the traditions for families and church were altered significantly, and even set aside, due to the pandemic. In between the Christmas movies and Christmas cards we have watched as the number of those impacted by COVID-19 reaches a scale that we are unable to comprehend. It comes at the end of a year filled with upheaval, difficulty, political dissension, civil unrest and more. We have even had a cosmic event that has caused what appears to be a “super-star” in the sky, as Jupiter and Mars came close together from our vantage point. Who knows--it may be the same kind of cosmic event that caused the magi to go looking for Jesus! Remember, the story of the magi often marks the beginning of Epiphany, the season when we read the “ah ha!” stories of people getting a glimpse of who Jesus really is. As they looked at that “ordinary” baby, born under difficult circumstances, away from the support of family and the familiar, they saw the “extraordinary.” They saw the One whose birth we celebrate in this season—the One who would change lives all over the world for generations to come.
Issue No. 1
As we enter Epiphany and a new year, we are, no doubt, glad to see 2020 end. But what does 2021 hold in store for us? We get some glimpses as we now have a vaccine that can bring back some sort of normalcy as the year progresses. I expect that by next Christmas we will be gathering to worship in the same physical space. But what else? There is change in the air. How will what we have been through impact our future? What have we learned? In a world coming out of a pandemic, we cannot just come together and be cozy with one another and that is all. We have work to do! What it is and what it will look like is yet to be discovered. But we do know that Jesus said and says, “The Kingdom of God is at hand!” This is Good News (“lovely evangel”) for us and for the world. This new year is going to be one in which The First Baptist Church of Redlands begins to see a new vision. There will be familiarity in that vision, but it will also look different. I believe that it will challenge AND excite us. Here are some words and phrases that we will hear that will be part of this envisioning experience: “Lessons of the wilderness.” “Stirring pots.” “Gregory Legacy Fund.” “Growing Young.” “What are we hearing?” “The Holy Spirit…”
Change is in the Air and Jesus is King! Blessed Epiphany to you! Pastor Shawn
“There’s a Song in the Air” by Josiah G. Holland There’s a song in the air! There’s a star in the sky! There’s a mother’s deep prayer and a Baby’s low cry! And the star rains its fire while the beautiful sing, For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King! There’s a tumult of joy o’er the wonderful birth, For the virgin’s sweet Boy is the Lord of the earth. Ay! the star rains its fire while the beautiful sing, For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King! In the light of that star lie the ages impearled; And that song from afar has swept over the world. Every hearth is aflame, and the beautiful sing In the homes of the nations that Jesus is King! We rejoice in the light, and we echo the song That comes down through the night from the heavenly throng. Ay! we shout to the lovely evangel they bring, And we greet in His cradle our Savior and King!
