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Brothers and sisters,

Believe it or not, we are less than three weeks away from the beginning of Advent! It amazes me how, each year, November just seems to melt away. Regardless, we’ve got a lot of really exciting services coming up throughout the rest of the year. This coming Sunday, November 14, will be the close of our sermon series, “We Are How We Eat.” Then the next Sunday, November 21, will be Christ the King Sunday, a day on which we celebrate the royal, regal nature of Christ’s character. The Sunday after that, November 28, is the First Sunday of Advent—the Sunday of Hope—and our Hanging of the Greens Service. I’m excited for this Advent season. I’m excited for this season of preparation as we await the celebration of Christ’s birth. I’m excited for the simple fact that this is our first Advent together! In another part of the Illuminator we’ve printed the schedule of services for the Advent season with times so everyone can be sure to make plans to be here for those services.

As we move closer to the season of Advent, I did want to go on and tell you all about our Advent and Christmas sermon series, “Incredible”. I know that may sound like an underwhelming title for a series, but as I sat here and thought about the different passages we’re going to look at, the different people we’ll meet, and the way that God brings it all together, the only word that kept coming to mind was, “Incredible.” And for this sermon series, I want us to think of the word incredible in all its different meanings. Most of the time, when you hear the word in-credible you think of something being great, right? Krispy Kreme Doughnuts? Incredible! The Sound of Music? Incredible! Spending time with loved ones? Incredible! And I do think that applies to the season of Advent as well. The Savior of the world is coming? Incredible!

But the word incredible also means, “difficult or impossible to believe; too extraordinary and improbable to be believed.” And as we read through the passages I’ve chosen for this sermon series, I think you’ll find that the people in these stories believed that what they were hearing was incredible too. It was impossible to think that this was happening. The plan God was setting in motion was too improbable, too unlikely to work. And yet, time and again, we see the people have faith. We see people trust in God. And, of course, we know that doing incredible things—that’s God’s specialty. So I want us to take some time this Advent to think of the incredible things God has done for humanity. I also want us to take some time to think of the incredible things God has done for each of us.

This will be the last Illuminator before Thanksgiving, so I would encourage you to think about these things over the Thanksgiving holiday as well. What are the things you’re thankful for? What are the things God has done that amaze you? How can you do something incredible for your friends, your family, your neighbors?

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,
As I’m writing this article, our church is preparing for our Trunk-or-Treat this Saturday, October 30 (from 4:30-6:30 if you’re reading this ahead of time and want to come!). There is candy in the office. There are pumpkins and scarecrows scattered around the church. There is a wonderful chill in the air and the trees are at this wonderful stage of half-green, half-turned leaves. It feels like the week of Halloween. It feels like something fun and exciting is coming!

I mentioned in an earlier Illuminator article that I love fall and everything that comes with it. In particular, I enjoy Halloween. I love the feeling of mystery and suspense that comes with the holiday. I love the mischief in the air. I love to read some ghost stories and watch a scary movie. But I also love some of the themes that come along with Halloween. It is a holiday that brings up the ideas of life and death. It reminds us that there is still mystery and wonder in our world. And it also can remind us of the communities to which we belong. Over the last few years, I’ve taken an interest in the history of Halloween, particularly where some of the traditions of the holiday come from. Perhaps the most famous tradition, I would argue, is trick-or-treating.

Interestingly, scholars are not sure where exactly trick-or-treating came from. There are some traditions from hundreds of years ago that might be the origin, but those were more focused on cakes and singing hymns. Some say that it comes from concerned homeowners trying to appease pranksters, i.e. “I’ll give you a treat if you don’t play a trick on me.” But most scholars seem to think that trick-or-treating came about during the Great Depression, when money was tight for families all over the country. Their children still wanted to celebrate Halloween and have a night of fun, but not everyone could afford to provide big meals for their own families all on their own. So, neighbors each agreed to make one little treat that they would pass out to any children that came by their door. That way, even though individual households did not have much, the neighborhood could come together to bless their children.

To me, that’s a wonderful way to look at a holiday like Halloween—as a community-driven effort to care about our neighbors. It is a holiday on which we can provide a small blessing to our neighbors, our friends and families, and even complete strangers. It is a time of the year in which we can remember that we are called to be in an authentic community with people, finding creative ways to love them. Halloween can serve as a time of year when we think back to the communities that came before us and shaped us, to the communities that loved us—and be thankful. It can serve as a time of year to bless those around us. And it can serve as a wonderful reminder that those children coming to our doors (or our trunks this Saturday, October 30 from 4:30-6:30 in the church parking lot!), will remember the time that total strangers cared for them. They will remember the time when church people loved them and gave them candy. So, let’s take this opportunity to bless them. Let’s come together and show our community how much we care. Happy Halloween, y’all!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,
As I write this article, I’m preparing to go on vacation with my family. I’m working on getting volunteers lined up to lead the different parts of the worship service on the 17th. I’m thinking about what all I need to purchase before I go to the beach, with sunscreen being priority number one! And I’m thinking about what all my family and I will do once we
get to the beach. But there’s another thing on my mind as well.

Today is my friend’s birthday! I would imagine most of you have, at some point, heard me talk about my friend Dustin. Well, today he turns thirty-three! Dustin is one of my closest friends, but also one of my oldest friends. We met twenty-five years ago, around this time of year, when he invited me to his eighth birthday party. Since then, he and I have grown up together and have experienced so much of life together. Back in high school, we spent plenty of Saturdays with friends playing games, swimming, and eating pizza.

We’ve struggled through classes in middle and high school together. We’ve been there for each other when family members have died and relationships have ended. We’ve celebrated huge moments in our careers with each other—my graduation from Duke Divinity and his passing of the Professional Engineer Exam.

But when I think about my friendship with Dustin, one of the first things that jumps to mind is our time together in college. Dustin and I were roommates for two years at Carolina before he transferred to NC State to pursue a degree in Environmental Engineering. Even though we were roommates most of our time in the dorm room was spent studying or working on homework. Because of that, we started intentionally carving out time each week to have lunch together at a restaurant on Franklin Street. We would meet up somewhere on campus each week and then make our way to any number of restaurants—Mama Dip’s, Bon’s, Franklin Street Pizza and Pasta, Los Potrillos, B-Ski’s, etc. It was a wonderful time when we could get away from the stress of classes and just be present with each other, catching up on how things were going. Regardless of how stressful our schedules were, we would find time to share a meal together. We could take time to rest and encourage each other, even when we were tired and stressed.

So often in the scriptures, whenever food is mentioned, it serves to bring people together. It gives the people in the Bible a moment of respite, to breathe and reconnect. Sometimes they reconnect with each other. Sometimes they re-connect with God. Meals end up serving as precious moments in the gospels where Jesus can speak to people about the eternal love that God has for them. When Abraham entertains the angels of the Lord unaware, he does so with food, and he is able to build an unshakeable bond with God. When the prophets envision the heavens, they envision meals that are served at tables where everyone has a seat. God knows human beings very well. God knows that when we take time to break bread with each other, we build community with other people. God knows that we need community and God knows that the communities we build can endure all kinds of issues. The communities we build can withstand the test of time and enrich our lives. Every one of the restaurants I mentioned earlier, except Mama Dip’s, has gone out of business. But the connection Dustin and I built over meals in those restaurants continues. I’m grateful for those meals and for that time together.

Grace and peace to you all,
Pastor Ben

Brothers and sisters,

I am excited for the sermon series we’re going to be starting this Sunday. We are moving into one of my favorite times of the year—fall! I really do love just about everything about this season. I love the crispness in the air. I love the return of football. I love the changing colors of the leaves. If I’m honest, I even kind of love how we get a pumpkin-spice version of everything! But perhaps my favorite thing about the fall is the food that comes along with the season. I love making a pot of chili for my friends and inviting them to carve pumpkins with me on Halloween. I love hot coffee on a Saturday morning when it’s cold out and the sun is shining. I love Thanksgiving and the incredible spread of food my mother prepares each year.

What does all this have to do with our upcoming sermon series, though? Over the next seven weeks, we are going to be taking a look at several different passages in the Bible in which food plays a critical role in the story. The Bible is filled with food imagery and stories and visions of meals. Food is a constant presence and a constant source of nourishment and sustenance for God’s people. But why focus on food (other than the fact that we Baptists love to eat!)? I want us to take some time to focus on the food in the Bible because of how basic food really is. Food nourishes our bodies. It gives us strength to meet each day. Food can also nourish our souls. How many of us have a favorite dish, something that just makes us feel good when we eat it? Food nourishes our communities. It brings people together to share a common meal, to share the stories of their lives, to share their culture and their heritage. Food ends up binding us to other people and to the rest of Creation. We are reminded, every time we eat, that we are de-pendent upon the wondrous bounty of God’s Creation to survive. Food reminds us of our place in God’s grander plans.

Finally, perhaps most importantly, food reminds us of the kind of love that God has for us and the kind of love we ought to have for one another. It takes time to prepare a meal for someone else. It takes intention on each of our parts to do that. We have to spend time and money planning the meal and purchasing ingredients. We spend time and effort cleaning, chopping, stirring, seasoning, tasting, seasoning again, and plating. All to let someone know we care about them. And there are so many moments in the scriptures where we see God doing similar things. We will see God break bread and provide for God’s people. We will watch God multiply scant resources in the midst of a drought. We will see God care for people through food and rest. We’ll even catch a glimpse of God’s table and see what the Lord will lay out for all of us one day. All these beautiful images of God, these wonderful under-standings of God’s love and God’s character—they all involve food. I’m looking forward to the next seven weeks. I hope you all will as well!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben