Chris Yaw

I am a Christ Lover

  • Downsizing

    Downsizing


    The Pope is driving a 5-year-old Ford Focus.

    He’s traded in the Mercedes Benzs and Volvos of previous pontiffs and settled for a set of wheels that will help him follow Christ more nearly. In more ways that one, he has found focus…

    Of course, Francis is still among the well-off, 93% of the world does not own a car. But in deliberately downsizing he is reminding us, like Jesus did, that the Christian life is about continually removing the obstacles that keep us from more completely following our savior.

    In Sunday’s Gospel we meet a familiar character named Zacchaeus. Like you and me and Pope Francis, he is well off. We also relate to Zacchaeus’ deep desire, ‘he was trying to see Jesus.’

    As the story unfolds, we see that Zaccaeus is willing to put aside his possessions, reputation, and respectability in order to get a clearer picture.

    The story invites us ask: what’s getting in our way of seeking a clearer vision of Jesus? What changes is God asking us to make? What needs to stay? What needs to go?

    The only thing wrong with well-stocked backpacks is that they can keep us from going as fast and as far as we want to go.
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  • Downsizing

    Downsizing


    The Pope is driving a 5-year-old Ford Focus.

    He’s traded in the Mercedes Benzs and Volvos of previous pontiffs and settled for a set of wheels that will help him follow Christ more nearly. In more ways that one, he has found focus…

    Of course, Francis is still among the well-off, 93% of the world does not own a car. But in deliberately downsizing he is reminding us, like Jesus did, that the Christian life is about continually removing the obstacles that keep us from more completely following our savior.

    In Sunday’s Gospel we meet a familiar character named Zacchaeus. Like you and me and Pope Francis, he is well off. We also relate to Zacchaeus’ deep desire, ‘he was trying to see Jesus.’

    As the story unfolds, we see that Zaccaeus is willing to put aside his possessions, reputation, and respectability in order to get a clearer picture.

    The story invites us ask: what’s getting in our way of seeking a clearer vision of Jesus? What changes is God asking us to make? What needs to stay? What needs to go?

    The only thing wrong with well-stocked backpacks is that they can keep us from going as fast and as we want to go.
    -->

  • Forgive Yourself

    Forgive Yourself



    94% of college professors rate themselves above average.

    32% of software engineers put their performance ratings in the top 5% of their company.

    And the vast majority of U.S. drivers consistently rate themselves as above-average behind the wheel.  It's called illusory superiority. It points to our propensity toward poor self-assessment and self-awareness. 

    And no one is immune.

    On Sunday we will hear a familiar Bible story about a priest and a tax collector who go to the temple to pray. What follows is an exercise in illusory superiority, as the clergy person boasts of his self-worth, while the tax collector seems to see things more clearly and reaps the benefit of this parable's payoff: he is forgiven.

    And this is the only viable antidote to our pervasive illusory superiority: we can awaken from our Illusions to forgiveness. God is well aware of our self-deceptions and deals with them in the most merciful way possible: God forgives us.

    The questions are, how self-aware are we and how willing are we to forgive ourselves for our poor judgment?

    Forgive yourself.

    God does.

  • Perseverance

    Perseverance


    It happened on the first day of track practice.

    That’s when the coach asked the freshman to run a quarter mile. Matt Stevens won – by a lot. In fact, during that first two weeks of track practice it became clear that Matt was the best one on the team - and had an amazing gift of speed and stamina that could take him far in track and field.

    But when week three rolled around, Matt was nowhere to be found.

    When I called him he told me he quit.  He said he was bored and would rather watch TV and drink milk shakes.

    As the year went by, the talent on the team grew to be defined not so much because we were inherently faster than others – but because we showed up and worked the program.

    More and more studies seem to show that giftedness and talent actually play a small role in one’s success when compared to the capacities to work hard, keep on task, and persevere.

    In Sunday’s Gospel Jesus tells his disciples a parable that urges them to do the same - not to lose heart, to keep at it, to be relentless in their pursuits.

    What do we feel like quitting today? In what ways do we need more perseverance?

    If Jesus is calling us to do something, chances are he’s given us the perseverance to make it happen.

  • Wake Up Call

    Wake Up Call

     Be awakened to:

    What we read – because we become what we read
    What we eat – because we become what we eat
    Whom we befriend – because we become like our friends
    How we’re entertained – because we become what we watch
    What we admire – because we become what we admire
    What we boast about – because we become what we boast about
    What we love – because we become what we love

    This Sunday Jesus is out to awaken disciples of all ages to the presences, gifts, and graces of God. When we pray for more of God in our lives, we’re really praying for more of an awareness of God in our lives. We do that by being awakened to the influences around us.

    How do we need to be awakened and how is God trying to do that?
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