Which Path?

The most popular man who ever walked the Earth didn't spend his three working years trying to make money, accumulate power, or become well known.

No, Jesus spent his time soaking in Divine Love. He let that love dictate every move he made—healing the broken, feeding the hungry, and looking the powers that be right in the eye to say, "This isn't it."

That is the spiritual path. It’s the harder road, and frankly, it’s the one most people avoid because it doesn't offer a quick return on investment.

Then we get to Holy Week. This is where the tension snaps. The world was given a choice: follow the path of love or stick with the status quo of power and greed. And the world chose to try and destroy the Meek.

We see it in the scriptures, and if we’re honest, we see it in our mirrors. We know it’s wrong to put popularity on a pedestal, yet the gravity of those "strong forces" pulls at us every single day.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, the doorway into Holy Week. It lays out a stark contrast for us:

Will we bend toward what’s easy?

Or will we bend toward what’s right?

How do we choose the life-giving path of healing and standing up for Love in a world that often prefers the opposite? It’s a difficult path. I’m not going to sugarcoat that. But the good news? But you're on it, I'm on it, and we can do this together.

What Was Plan B for Lazarus?

What if Lazarus hadn't been raised from the dead? What if Jesus had called out, Lazarus had stayed in the grave, and everybody had to deal with the fact that when you die, you die?

It seems like Jesus was preparing for Plan B, because as he was surrounded by mourners, who were crying, and wailing in sorrow, he didn't tell them to quiet down and prepare for a miracle, he stopped, he joined, he broke down - you know it's the shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept", or as scholars say, more accurately it's that Jesus burst into tears.

Maybe your plan A is to heal that relationship, miraculously recover your health, or strike it rich with that new business.

When that doesn't happen, God has not left the building and there is a plan, because God will do one of two things: make it happen, or give you the strength to get through it.

The story of Lazarus sats God's power can make the impossible happen - like ending a war, uniting a divided country, or liberating an oppressed group.

But it also says that as we go through the unspeakable, we are not alone, somebody weeps next to us, somebody is just as torn up as we are, and will not abandon us.

Listen to Saint Mick, you can't always get what you want, but you get what you need.

And I'll see you Sunday.

Would Jesus Bomb Iran?

Let’s talk about the question that’s making everyone’s palms a little sweaty today: Would Jesus bomb Iran?

After all, we see a regime that’s repressive—where protesters are silenced, where 80% of the people are literally crying out for a different future, and where an iron fist is the standard operating procedure.

As followers of Jesus, our hearts don’t just ache for that; they break. We want to do something. We want to help."

But historically, the Church has tried to navigate this through something called Just War Theory. You can Google it—it’s basically a five-point checklist to see if a war is, well, just.

And honestly? Just like we saw with Iraq, this path with Iran is tripping over almost every single one of those hurdles

For instance:

Do the benefits outweigh the harm? In a region as complex as the Middle East, that’s a massive 'maybe' at best.

Was there an imminent, verifiable danger to us? Again... the math isn't mathing.

And: Is there a clear, honest intention? Because right now, the stories are changing faster than a Sunday morning liturgy.

There’s this story in the Gospels where Jesus heals a blind man. And the people in power? They hated it. They weren’t worried about the man’s sight; they were worried about their own status. They were willing to deny the truth just to keep their grip on the steering wheel.

I can’t help but wonder: Are we compromising our morality just to feel powerful on the world stage?

Look, our hearts should break when we see drones and destruction. But we have to remember: using violence to end violence—if it’s born out of vengeance or greed instead of a radical, sacrificial love—it’s not the Way.

We are called to act 'Christianly,' whether we’re in seasons of peace or the shadows of war.

The Man at the Well

Who did Jesus have his longest conversation with in the Bible?

Now, you might think it was a powerful politician, right? Or maybe one of the "religious elites" of the day—the billionaires and celebrities, or even the powerful rabbis of first-century Judea.

But it wasn’t. It was a woman.

A Samaritan woman.

Someone who had been married five times, going on six. She was an outcast among outcasts.

But see, this was Jesus’s "brand." He didn’t spend his time climbing social ladders; he spent it crossing social boundaries. He sought out the people who were sincerely open—people who were thirsty for a deeper spiritual life, even if they didn’t look "the part."

His ministry—and by extension, our ministry—is about doing the same thing: being peacemakers and healers. It’s about the radical idea that everyone is included in God’s plan. No exceptions. No fine print.

So, I have to ask myself—and I’m asking you, too:

How are we bridging the divides in our own lives?

Who are we seeking out for real, honest friendship?

Are we cultivating relationships with people who think, vote, or live differently than we do?

Instead of assuming, mocking, disparaging, the other side, are we actually trying to have a conversation with them?

We learn everything we need to know about Jesus by looking at who he sat down with. And honestly? We learn a lot about ourselves when we look at the same thing.

How can we try to be a little more like the man at the well this week?

Chris Yaw

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Which Path?

Which Path?

What Was Plan B for Lazarus?

What Was Plan B for Lazarus?

Would Jesus Bomb Iran?

Would Jesus Bomb Iran?

The Man at the Well

The Man at the Well

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