November 2025
Click to access November Steeple
Dear Church Family,
I simply love the explosion of color fall brings. The boom of oranges and reds as a marker for the transition of the seasons. I also find it striking how the exact same trees and plants look drastically different throughout the year. They are in the same place, yet lend a dramatically different flavor to the landscape depending on the season. Have you ever noticed how the seasons of your life bring out different flavors in the same scripture passages? It is my practice to diligently explore the original context of biblical texts, and explore interpretation and intention. Alongside a studious lens, we cannot help but see how these timeless words affect our current lives throughout the changes in our seasons (and if they didn’t, I don’t think this book would be quite as beloved!). Consider these words from Paul in his letter to the Phillippians:
“ 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice, 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Read at face value, it is an invitation to center your lives on Christ, and see how God sees you through life’s trials and joys. But life is about how we integrate these words into our lived experience - how can I possibly rejoice now, in the midst of this? How can I turn off the anxiety that I feel? When we learn that Paul is writing this from a prison cell, arrested and in jail because of his preaching of the gospel and how it stirred up the people, it adds layers of real life to the nice words - how God is present amidst strife and suffering. Paul proclaiming - the Lord is near - means in his suffering, he knows the closeness of God. It’s not just a nice idea. He proclaims - God listens, God provides, God brings peace to your souls in the midst of the chaos of life.
I’ll admit that in different seasons I’ve treated this passage almost flippantly - in my school years they were words to calm my fears during exam times. Then I read how Corrie Ten Boom’s experience during the Holocaust gave new meaning to this passage as she and her sister shared the gospel in a concentration camp. I now know how Paul’s invitation to know God deeply amidst trial and difficulty - in grief, loss, frustration, true anxiety - helps me to shape a firmer foundation in Christ that helps me move through the seasons.
How does this passage find you today? November is a season of cozy escape as the winter weather begins. I also know it is a time of both celebration and grieving - gathering with loved ones and missing our loved ones more acutely. As you welcome whatever life has placed in your laps, may you go to God with gratitude and joy for what God has done, so that you may put in His hands the longings and grief in your heart. May you know the peace and love of our God amidst the trials and joys that life may have for you today, and may your foundation be set on Christ so that the road before you is guided by the Holy Spirit’s healing and transformational possibilities.
Blessings,
Pastor Becca
