Chris Yaw

Welcome! I’m an Episcopal priest serving a congregation in Metro Detroit... With a passion for gun safety... A zest for online Christian formation... A zeal for video blogging... A budding writer... A heart for those who have unintentionally harmed... A commitment to workforce housing... A love for marrying people... And a wonderful wife, three kids, and a cat... If we have common interests or not, I'd love to connect with you.

The 8 Keys to Contentment

The research is in.

And now we know the one, surefire way that leads to fufillment: giving. Research says givers are hands down happier, healthier, and more prosperous than those who hoard and make less of a habit of being charitable toward others.

Jesus knew this, even gave us ways to understand it more deeply in his most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount. When we give, we’re blessed, so here’s how he describes the ideal way to be a giver:

“Blessed are the poor… Givers are willing to give of ourselves, to be ‘poor’ so that others might prosper.
“Blessed are those who mourn… Givers are empathetic, sharing the sorrows and heartaches of others.
“Blessed are the meek… This means we do not live for the spotlight, we let others go first when it comes to taking the credit.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… This means we hunger less for possessions and experiences, and more for doing the right thing.
“Blessed are the merciful… We’re first to show mercy and forgive others.
“Blessed are the pure in heart… We approach God and others to seek forgiveness, immediately, to remain ‘pure.’
“Blessed are the peacemakers… Givers are the first to give in after an argument, and the first to say we’re sorry (hard to do).
“Blessed are those who are persecuted… Givers aren’t afraid take the flak for others; to stand against injustice.

In our search for contentment, let’s consider these ideals, for to truly live is to truly give.

Following...

When the call to pitch for the New York Yankees came to a AAA player in Toledo, it was a no brainer.

When the call to play lead actor in a Broadway show came to the understudy, there was no indecision.

And when the call to follow Jesus came to a group of fishermen in Galilee there was a similar lack of hesitation, they simply dropped everything and left. The disciples had found something so attractive, so enticing they couldn’t resist.

For some reason, I have a much harder time doing so. Do I see what they saw? Have I grown callus or indifferent?

Maybe there’s too much stuff in my way - buildings and budgets and staffs and offices and routines and rituals and 2,000 years of an extremely checkered past that make it really hard to see what those first disciples saw: an irresistible invitation to pursue a path of personal challenge and fulfillment unequal to anything else life has to offer.

Lord, grant us an epiphany to see what they saw. Open our eyes anew to your beckoning presence. Help us make the space for God to matter.

Take Notice

When I lived in England I regularly had opportunity to walk by the spot where students said Isaac Newton famously saw an apple fall from a tree.

As the story goes, this is how gravity was discovered. Of course, gravity had been around much longer than that, but the moment Newton noticed fruit falling from a tree has been credited with kicking off the research into the theory of what gravity was and how it works.

In that moment, Newton noticed, paid attention, and pondered. It led to an epiphany of the highest order.

It makes me wonder what would happen were we to make noticing, paying attention, and pondering bigger parts of our lives.

I wonder if there are epiphanies happening all around us.

And it’s up to us to simply notice.

Yes, God Will Provide

During my first year of seminary I visited just about every church in Southern California.

I was looking for the path God had chosen. Thankfully I found the Episcopal Church, and a parish that welcomed me and my gifts. And within a few days God made it clear that this was home, this was where I was supposed to be. I had taken the risk of leaving my career, moving to a new city, and now God had provided. It was an epiphany.

The church season of Epiphany, which also marks the end of Christmas, is January 6, and is celebrated on the following Sunday.

This 7-week period is our time to remember what God has done in our lives. It’s to give us faith for today, to remind us that the world IS in God’s hands, that everything DOES have a purpose, that our work for justice and equity IS NOT in vain, and that we NEED NOT worry.

We recall that God delivered the Israelites from slavery and said, ‘See, now remember what I can do.’ God sent Jesus to accomplish great good in the world and said, ‘See, now remember what I can do.’ God sent the disciples to establish hospitals, pass fair laws, and help people live for others and said, ‘See, now remember what I can do.’

Each of us has at least one Epiphany moment – one instance when we felt God’s presence or provision – and God is telling each of us, ‘See, now remember what I can do.’ Can you recall an epiphany moment?

No matter what trial, challenge, or contest, Jesus wants us to hearken back to those stories of provision. He wants to tell us anew, ‘See, now remember what I can do – and never forget I can (and will) do it again.’

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Chris Yaw

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Chris Yaw

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