Chris Yaw

I’m re-laying 76 concrete pavers in my backyard.

After I removed them I raked and leveled the ground underneath in preparation for re-laying them. That’s when a handyman friend of mine told me that before I do that I should lay a thick foundation of sand.

Part of me protested: what does it matter? Isn’t the ground level enough? Nobody will notice the difference. But my friend argued that the pavers would drain better and stay in place longer if I spent more time laying the foundation.

When it comes to laying foundations it’s important to pay attention.

Like when we answer that foundational question: why are we here?

Ignatius Loyola said we’re here to give praise to God and bask in God’s glory. The Westminster shorter catechism says, 'man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.'

But I have come to believe that our foundation, the reason we’re here, is neither of these. It is to love.

Sure, I think basking, praising, and glorifying God are important, but we are meant to love.

This love is not passive, but active. This is a love that goes out, creates, reconciles, encourages, and hopes. It is a love that studies, practices, and perfects. This love is not about contemplation, it’s about action.

This Sunday we are kicking off a sermon series called Awakening. It’s about waking us up to the central message of the Gospel, which is love. I believe that in discovering the depths of what the Bible teaches about love, we are awakened to the abundant life Jesus intents for us (John 10:10).

Are you feeling burned out by COVID? Are you anxious, worried, struggling with your faith? Apathetic or just plain tired? Then join me in this series that has the potential to jump-start your faith and your life.

I believe our happiness comes when we proactively love. It’s what we were created to do.

When Jesus asked that iconic question at Caesarea Philippi note how his disciples responded. What did their heads say? What were their neighbors saying? What was their culture saying?

Only Peter got it right, because Peter told Jesus what his heart said.

During this time of Covid-19, I have to confess, my heart has taken a beating.

All of the rituals, traditions, habits and routines I have been used to, have been turned upside down. If feels like I threw my clothes in the washing machine while I was still in them.

And so it’s become harder to answer those basic questions: Who am I and who is Jesus to me?

That’s when my heart speaks up - and I’m sure yours does too - because this is where Jesus lives.

And this is what Jesus says: "Don’t worry. I’ve got things under control. I know where the economy, election, and racial equality initiatives are going. I know your needs and I’ve got this. Now you, you simply be concerned with my work - heal your relationships, take care of your neighbors, live decently, and leave the rest to me."

In these crazy times, let us draw closer to God and look to our hearts. Because that's where Jesus is - and where the right answers lie.

It seems like 100 years after women’s suffrage we’d have this thing figured out.

It’s well known that women make less than men - depending on who you ask, it’s around 80-cents to the dollar that a man makes.

Just this week an analysis found this gap for black women in D-C is horrendous: They are underpaid to the tune of 52-cents on the dollar - which totals $2 million of underpayment over the course of a lifetime.

Now you would think that I don’t have a problem with this - because I’m a white guy - I stand to benefit from these inequalities: for every penny a woman doesn’t earn, a man probably does.

But I do have a problem with this - and so do you - because we say we try to keep the Golden Rule - to love our neighbors as ourselves, especially the weak and vulnerable - the unjustly treated and the unjustly paid.

And when Jesus asks us to love our neighbors it means to stick up for justice and to respect the dignity of every human being - men and women.

So if we’re asking why we pay women less than men - we have to ask why we don’t respect women as much as men?

It’s not about money - it’s about respect.

Every time we let the Ted Yoho’s of the world get away with callously disrespecting the Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s of the world - we’re disrespecting women - and we’re part of the problem - not the solution. Failing to say something is to say something that fails.

In Sunday’s Gospel Jesus has a problem - thousands of people to feed - so he tells his followers ‘You do something about it!’

And that’s the same for you and me.

If the problem is gender inequality - let’s do something about it.

White guys: stop disrespecting women - demeaning them, talking behind their backs, repeating those locker room jokes, not standing up to an unjust status quo - that’s what Real Men do.

This is not an issue that legislatures fix, it’s one we guys fix - when we wake up - and really try to listen to women - hear what they’re about, genuinely value their skills, understand that they can do the job as well or better than a guy.

As different as men are from women, we both have equal gifts - that should command equal pay.

Women don’t have to be paid less than men, if we don’t want them to be.

The answer is simple - though not easy.

If everyone stayed home as much as possible.

If everyone wore a mask in public.

If everyone cared a little bit more about the health of other people -

The virus would go away.

And that last one is our problem:

Why should I care about other people?

We should care because how we treat people says something about who we are and who we are becoming.

We should care because we want our ourselves, our communities and our nation to be generous, empathetic, kind, and courteous - not selfish, rude, callous.

Nobody’s happy about the ‘I’ve got mine, so the heck with you’ culture that’s been on the rise for the last half century.

We’re tired of it.

It’s not satisfying.

And it’s not working.

Look at the ‘happiness index’ - where the U.S. ranked at its lowest-ever this past year - at 19th and falling -

Or the rise in ‘diseases of despair’ - suicide, addiction, and depression - all on them on the upswing.

And look at the increase in the ‘wealth gap’ - that continues to enrich those who need it least - to the detriment of those who need it most.

It’s time we change - and we’re seeing it happen.

People are marching in the streets to say something profound about the society we want to live in. And it’s one marked by care for other people - especially those who have been marginalized.

We are at our best not when we’re hoarding all the cookies - but when we’re sharing them with our neighbors.

I get it if we don’t want to pay 17-cents extra for a Big Mac so the person who made it can get a living wage.

Or to pay 5-bucks more a month in rent because of a millage to improve the schools.

Or to have a bit more from my paycheck deducted so my neighbors who don’t have health care, can get it.

But when we choose to live only for ourselves, we choose a shallow, lonely, and ultimately unsatisfying life - and we can’t be surprised that when a deadly virus comes knocking, it becomes even more of a challenge that it might otherwise be.

So let’s keep our distance.

Mask up.

And love your neighbor as yourself.
It can save someone’s life - and it can save our own souls.

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?

Chris Yaw

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Why Are Women Still Paid Less Than Men?

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