Chris Yaw

I recently ran across this obituary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

"Purmort, Aaron Joseph age 35, died peacefully at home on November 25 after complications from a radioactive spider bite that led to years of crime-fighting and a years long battle with a nefarious criminal named Cancer, who has plagued our society for far too long. Civilians will recognize him best as Spider-Man, and thank him for his many years of service protecting our city. His family knew him only as a kind and mild-mannered Art Director, a designer of websites and t-shirts, and concert posters who always had the right cardigan and the right thing to say (even if it was wildly inappropriate)… He is survived by… first wife Gwen Stefani, current wife Nora and their son Ralph, who will grow up to avenge his father's untimely death."

It was written by the deceased and his wife in the weeks leading up to his inevitable death following a brain tumor that had been diagnosed 3 years earlier.

While it wreaks of sadness and loss, death is less the victor and more the stoodge. Death may be serious, but it is not above being laughed at.

Hmmm, not bad advice for us… as you and I continue to muddle, grow weary, and be challenged through this persistent time of fear and isolation, how many deaths are we dealing with?

The words of Jesus, that we will hear on Sunday, and throughout the gospels, remind us not just of the presence of these deaths - of sickness and hunger and blindness, and the weariness of human life as we go through never-ending bouts of painful and hurtful things - but they also remind us that Jesus shows up at every one of these events inviting us to see them for what they really are, fleeting and temporary instances that eventually give in to the persistent and ultimate truth of life.

In times like these, the overwhelming awareness of the unpleasant, the unpredictable, and the threatening can cause us to lose hope and lose sight.

Our job is not too. For the truth is, that God is with us, the unseen hand, the calm and steady voice, the soft and gentle heart-felt conviction that while death abounds, grace much more abounds.

Let us stand together knowing that God is at work. Death is not the final word. May we have the confidence to stand tall - not to be discouraged, but have the faith to laugh.

5 years ago my friend Dave planted a tree outside his house.

It lasted about 18 months before it lost its needles and turned brown. He replaced it with another, that one died too.

So Dave called in a soil specialist who determined that the dirt around the tree was not healthy. Dave had to call in a topsoil company, dig a big hole in his yard, and put down some healthy soil. That did the trick, third time was a charm, and the tree is doing great

So what was wrong with the dirt?

Experts will tell us that one of the main components of healthy soil is something called hummus. It's what we get from our compost piles, which is essentially decomposed animal and plant tissue. In other words for soil to bring forth life, something has to die.

As the world awakens to the deeper meanings of liberty, justice, and equality especially around racial issues, we are finding that bringing forth health and life means putting things to death. It mean putting away habits, traditions, and deeply rooted ways of moving in the world.

We cultivate good soil when we are not afraid to let things die - when we realize that God is at work in the world constantly looking to bring about healing, health, and reconciliation. And we become God's agents as we put to death the things that need to die - to make way for the things Christ is bringing to life.

For me, it’s reading more about racial justice, joining a team of allies at church to move the ball forward, initiating conversations and listening more to my friends of color. How about you?

This Sunday we will hear Jesus tell us about the importance of good soil as we ask: What does this look like in our lives? What are the habits, traditions, and beliefs that need to die so that life can come forth?

How are we doing the work of cultivating good soil?

I was on the phone with a friend recently, asking him how his extended lockdown was going.

He said, " It feels like that movie Groundhog Day, like every single day is the same, like I keep waking up expecting things to be different, but they're not."

For those of us who have seen this 1993 Bill Murray film we remember that it's about an arrogant weatherman who gets assigned to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. And he discovers that every day he wakes up is a repeat of the day before: the date is the same, the people he runs into are the same - he gets caught in and endless time loop.

At first this weatherman decides to use this time loop to do some diabolical things, he plays pranks on people, steals, and with the knowledge that there are no consequences for his behavior, he chooses to act selfishly. And the time loop continues.

However, the movie ends when the weatherman decides that instead of doing nefarious things, he's going to do good things. He starts to help people, care for people, he starts to use the knowledge of his time loop to improve the lives of others - to look beyond himself.

And magically, this is what gets him out of the time loop.

I wonder if that can work for us too.

Is our time-loop our extended-play Lockdown?

Or is it our seemingly immovable societal attitudes regarding racial equality?

On Sunday we will hear Jesus’ iconic invitation “Come to me all you who are weary and over-burdened and I will give you rest.’

This lies at the heart of our ability to bring lasting change to our lives and to our common life, because when we follow Jesus we follow the way of unselfishness - we follow the way of hope - we follow the way of care and concern for others - because he loved us first.

This never-ending lockdown - and our seemingly intractable attitudes toward race - our Groundhog Days - do not have to go on forever.

The way of Love breaks the time loop - let’s get out of ourselves - let’s get into helping others - isn’t it funny that by helping people with their problems, ours often get fixed too.

A few years ago some dear friends bought a beautiful home.

It was about a hundred years old, but had been left vacant for about a decade and needed a lot of work. I remember visiting them on the day they closed on the property, and touring the backyard, which at one time had been very grand. It had a trellis, and the makings of some wonderful plantings, however it all been overtaken by weeds and 10 years worth of neglect.

"I'm so excited to get started on this garden! " My friend said, " I get to rip out all this stuff, I get to pick out new plants, I get to redo this entire area! "

Fast forward 2 years, after the family had welcomed twins into their lives, and spent a lot of time and money redoing the house. One night we sat on the back deck enjoying a socially distant cocktail. "Take a look at this garden, " my friend said, " I haven't had any time to put into it, now I've got to rip up old plantings, I've got to reconstruct a fence, It's exhausting to think of how much work back here I have ahead of me! "

It's funny how my friends attitude had changed from "I get to! " to "I've got to."

And that little vowel can make all the difference.

Instead of " I've got to take out the trash." We might say, "I get to live in a neighborhood where the trash is picked up regularly."

Instead of, "I've got to write that big check to pay off my taxes." We might say, "I get to help pay for the salaries of important workers who provide essential services for my health and safety."

Instead of, "I've got to say my prayers, get to church, or read that book I've been meaning to crack open." We might say, "I get to invest in one of the most important areas of my life."

There are a few things in life we can change.

Our attitudes are one of them.

In finding ways to look at things not as burdens or obligations, but as blessed opportunities may be one of the most surefire ways to feel better about the situations we're in and the God who, though invisible, is with us every step of the way.

I talked with my friend this week who just lost her restaurant.

She had made a good living serving creative cuisine to a loyal and growing following.
But as soon as the country went on lockdown, my friend knew it was just a matter of time before she'd have to lock up. No amount of payroll protection was going to be able to sustain what is turning into a very long drought for our friends in the food service industry.

But instead of spending a lot of time down in the the dumps, my friend told me about her plans to open up a catering business. Her face lit up and she became animated as she described her new menu, her new location, and how she was going to use technology to take and process her orders and to market to a growing number of people that she feels would be interested in her culinary offerings.

Her spirit of enthusiasm and optimism lifted mine. She was not going to let circumstances dictate her destiny. She was going to dust herself off, get back on the horse, and plan out the ride of her life.

What an inspiration.

If the Bible is a history and description of the relationship God has with us, then Pentecost tells us that this relationship can be a characterized as one of deep care, visceral presence, and active participation.

In Pentecost, we do not see a passive God, an uncaring God, nor a quiet God, but one who is quite keen on inspiring, energizing, and dramatically equipping us for whatever the job ahead might be.

During these incredibly trying times, when people are not only losing their jobs, and quite literally their lives, it is this side of God, the one that inspires, energizes and equips, that we have to remember is by our side.

This is not to discount the very real need we have to mourn or lament, it's simply to put it into perspective, reminding us that we are in God's hands, and this God is one who is active, attentive, and at work during our good and bad times.

Just before the pandemic my friend’s house caught fire.

Teresa and her family had been out to dinner and they arrived home to see their gorgeous Northside Chicago house surrounded by fire trucks hosing down the smoke and flames.

All Teresa’s family could do was stand and watch in stunned silence at the nightmare unfolding before them.

Then Teresa's youngest son came up beside her and put his arms around her waist.

He said, ‘Mom, I can’t bear to think of all the stuff that’s burning up right now! My clothes, the furniture, our bikes, all of our electronics!’

Teresa said, ‘Yes, this is a tragedy isn’t it?’

Then Teresa asked her son a question: ‘But what’s the most valuable thing this family has?’

Without hesitating, her son said, ’That’s easy, it’s all of us.”

“That’s right,” his mother said, “And we’re OK. No matter what happens to all our stuff, we have each other to get us through this. And that’s all we need.”

The soothing voice of someone who loves us more than themselves… of someone who puts tragedy into perspective… of someone who speaks truth in the face of great fear… that’s what Teresa did.

That’s what God is doing.

Right now many of us are like Teresa.

We're forced to stand and watch many of our hopes, dreams, and opportunities go up in smoke.

But God is coming alongside us, like the good parent God is, to comfort, assure, and encourage. In church this Sunday we’ll hear these words, ‘Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you’ and we’ll be reminded of the great love and care God has for us.

May God give us perspective and gratitude as we endure that we never thought we’d have to endure.

I did my first funeral ‘under lockdown’ last week.

As you might surmise, the trauma of losing a loved one was only exacerbated by the Covid-19 trauma.

The dozens of friends and family members who would have come to comfort one another - were now limited to 10.

And those 10, who could have used the comfort of many more, went without.

And loved ones that perhaps would have cried under ordinary circumstances, now wailed.

And when it was my turn to preside over that emotionally-charged gathering, the only message that came, perhaps the only message that mattered was that of hope.

And not a human hope based on promises from politicians, doctors, or the people or systems we’ve grown to trust.

For, as this virus has forced us to wear masks, it has also unmasked our false hopes: those hopes are rooted in created things, not the Creator.

Friends, God is with us.

The Spirit is in us.

Jesus is inviting us to take him up on his promises that he will never leave us - and has even gone ahead of us to provide for us.

This pandemic, this lockdown, and this uncertainty around it all has many off our lives as emotionally-charged as that funeral.

We are all mourning, we are all wailing, we are all flummoxed over what the future might bring.

And into our midst comes God - urging us to let go, look up, and receive the hope on offer.

Friends, hope is here because God is near.

As we trust in God’s promises, we will endure, we will fight on, we will come through this thing with a new kind of shine-

Not because of what we’ve done - but because of what God’s doing - in our midst - in your heart and in mine - as we reach out - and grab hold of that hope we have in Jesus.

The other day my exasperated friend said, "I just want to go to sleep and wake up when it's all over!"

I totally understand our widespread discomfort with this unpredictable, scary, and what many consider to be unproductive time.

But while this strategy can be helpful for some events, usually of a much shorter duration, author Seth Godin points out that this is not very helpful for extended periods, like the one we're going through. And as Christians, who's faith has prepared us and even been designed for times like this, we do well to ponder how this point in history can be used to inspire, connect, create, serve, and grow.

On Sunday we get some timely advice from Jesus. He's on his way to the cross and it’s a time of deep instability. So Jesus urges his increasingly alarmed disciples not to worry. Time and again he urges focus, concentration, and confidence that what they’re going through has meaning and purpose.

You and I are in a similar space. And God’s word to us is to be present, calm, non-anxious, and even expectant of what God is up to. Thus, these are not unproductive times, but differently productive times.

Let us not wish away this extended discomfort lest we find we’ve also missed out on a different sort of opportunity. Let us take a tip from the Spring that is exploding outside our doors this week: What’s coming into bloom? What’s being recreated? How are we being invited?

When my friend drove to the parcel delivery depot to pick up his much-anticipated order of 11 goslings, he should have left his phone at home.

Soon after he safely buckled that box of goslings into his passenger seat, his phone rang, and he talked with a good friend the entire 20-minute ride home.

While he thought he was simply engaging in light-hearted banter with his old buddy, to the goslings, something much more significant was happening, as, word by word, my friend's voice became imprinted on those very impressionable young minds.

This was discovered soon after, when these goslings began following my friend all over his yard. And today, years later, even though they have heard hundreds of voices in the interim, when they hear his voice, they start squawking and talking back to him.

And just as my friend's voice is imprinted upon their souls, so is God's voice imprinted upon ours.

We see it in action as people put handmade posters of encouragement in their front windows, chalk drawings on their sidewalks, and donate to charity when their own financial stability is shaky.

We know God's voice, and it's a voice of mission.

God is on a mission to restore humanity to a place of peace and wholeness. And you and I are called to be part of that mission, regardless of plague, pestilence, war, or any other kind of instability.

And listening for that voice is our challenge.

While you and I are surrounded by competing voices that speak danger, worry, and self-interest, we are called to put those aside and listen deeply for God's words, impressed so deeply on our souls.

And God’s voice says; we are doing better than we think, we are touching more people than we know, we are not alone no matter where we are, and that things will ultimately turn out OK.

The Christian journey is: our constant effort to return to that which is deepest within us: God’s imprint of shalom.

May we follow that voice because we know it.

A grandmother I know loves to go on walks with her 7 year old grand-daughter.

When they set out, they have a ritual of holding hands.
In those first few moments, my friend will take her granddaughter’s hand and squeeze it three times.
It’s their little code - and it means ‘I love you.’

Then, Covid-19 arrived - and the lockdown.
And the 7-year-old, unable to be with her grandmother, lamented during a video call,
‘Grandma, I miss you so much - I want to feel you squeeze my hand three times!’

‘Ah!’ said her grandmother -
‘And I want to take your hand in mine just as badly.
‘Of course, we can’t right now because we are wisely separated from one another.
‘But don’t you worry, we will be reunited soon -
‘And I will squeeze your hand over and over again.'

Then the Grandmother added:
‘Until then, please know that I am always thinking about you and praying for you.
’So please remember: You don’t need to feel my love to have my love.’

This Sunday you and I will hear a famous Bible story about two men who, after Jesus’ resurrection, were walking along a road when the Risen Christ joined them.
But they were unable to recognize him, even though they walked with him, talked with him, and had dinner with him: they didn’t know Jesus was with them.

As you and I go into ‘day whatever’ of this seemingly endless lockdown - we may also start to feel like God is distant or absent as well.
But the challenge of faith is that we don’t need to feel God’s presence to have God’s presence.

So you and I wisely endeavor to act as if Christ were here - no only assuring us of his provision, but inviting us to get on with the work - and to be brave and even bold about moving outside ourselves to tend to the frightened, the afflicted, and the vulnerable - it’s as if Christ were saying, ‘I’ve got your back, all will be well - now here are some things to do...'

Let us have faith and get on with the work - for Christ is here.

Did you hear about Danny Meyer?

He's head of a company called the Union Square Group. He was just forced to lay off 80% of his employees. So he started an employee assistance fund then donated his entire salary to it.

Then there's my friend Angelica Lopez, a financial planner. She just came out with a book on gaining control of your finances. She was going to sell it. But now she's giving it away.

Then there's my friend Ginny Baldwin. She took the time to send me these 6 tips on surviving quarantine:

These friends remind us that what we need to get through this is generosity, kindness, connection, selflessness, and faith to believe we will make it.

This weekend we mark Palm Sunday and the death of a man who stood for all those things. We will hear the story of Jesus from arrest to trial to crucifixion.

This means that at the height of this pandemic, you and I will descend, with Jesus, into the depths of hades.

But let us go like Danny, Maria, and Ginny, confident that while we may be facing hell, we are only just visiting.

God is near.

Together we will make it.

#easteriscoming

Going against the grain is never fun.

But sometimes it’s necessary.

In the case of Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah and his decision to side with Democrats in the recent U.S. Senate impeachment vote, it was a decision made not to deepen friendships in his party, but, as he put it, to be obedient to his conscience.

Following our conscience, even when it puts us at odds with our peers, is a reason we pay close attention to the Jewish leader Nicodemus. In Sunday’s gospel we see that unlike the rest of the religious leadership of his day Nicodemus was not combative or dismissive of Jesus, but curious and intentional about investigating his suspicions.

In Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by night in order to ask some deep questions, we see someone who’s trying to be true to himself. He is brave, courageous, and a man of conviction.

Yes, this is a message for us today because in our desire to fit in, play it safe, and not cause a stir, we often compromise ourselves, which is not just about us, but about the God-given gift in us. And our work with that gift is not to tame or conform it, but to listen to it and develop it.

Why do we suppose the Lord made us all so different if not to bring all of us, contrarian ideas and all, to the table?

So we ask:

In what ways are we afraid to buck the trend?

How are we being called to stand up for something?

How might we find courage to do the unpopular and unsafe?

Conviction more than conformity validates our Christianity.

Chris Yaw

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