Chris Yaw

During this historic Inauguration week we hear forecasts from economists, diplomats, journalists, politicians, and doctors, but what might we, as people of faith, like to see in the next four years?

Using the Bible as our roadmap and Jesus as our guide, here are some ideas:

We would like to see the poor better off.

Jesus had such a heart for the poor and spent nearly all his time and energy improving their lot. This is a plea for more attention to the plight of ’the least of these.' The richest nation in the world should not have 550,000 people sleeping outside every night. 2,000 children in affluent Oakland County should not be without a home. Can we find a way to use our vast wealth and power to improve living conditions of those so close to Jesus’ heart?

We would like to see the environment better off.

As stewards of God’s creation, who are responsible not just to our Lord, but to our children and their children, how are the decisions we’re making today about energy production and consumption, recycling and reuse, conservation and preservation, reflecting our convictions? Can we find a way to muster Our shared sense of care for the health of our environment to productive ends?

We would like to see our society behave more civilly.

It’s a complaint we hear (and make) all the time. And we know that civility is a real impediment to progress. We know that the more we fight on deck, the greater risk that the ship goes down. And living out something most of us agree on, Jesus’ Golden Rule, shouldn’t be so hard. In our uber-connected world, can we find some way to agree that the way we treat others is not only a reflection of who we are, but of the way we treat God?

We would like to see more racial justice.

Race relations in our country remain poor. The marks made by 400 years of slavery do go awayquickly. And while our country has made strides, the average American white family, for example, has a net worth of $171,000 and the average black family has a net worth of $17,000. This points to deep and lasting systemic problems that need continued attention. At the heart of Jesus’ ministry was justice, he died for it. Can we take the momentum from last summer’s racial reckoning to new levels in the years ahead?

We would like to see greater economic equality.

Do we want to be a country ruled by plutocrats? Our society concentrates 90% of its wealth in the hands of 1% of its people. America is no longer the land of dreams it once was: it’s now far easier to rise above the class you’re born in in Denmark, Japan, Germany, and Australia, just to name a few. What can be done to stop the death spiral of ’the rich getting richer’ so that those who need it most don’t tend to get it least?

Lord God Almighty, who hast made all the peoples of the earth for thy glory, to serve thee in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with thy gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP p 207)

As we move into a new chapter in our national life, I invite you to stay connected with the Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations for suggestions about engagement with our government. In this time of division, you might also want to check out Make Me an Instrument: A Guide to Civil Discourse, a free course from ChurchNext.

Let us pray for President Trump and President Biden and for all who hold authority. And let us never cease to work and pray for the good and well-being of all people.

And may we see the next 4 years bring us closer to God's kingdom than ever never before.

Years ago, University of California, Berkeley researchers asked students to take a very difficult vocabulary test.

Nobody did well.

The students were then broken into groups.

One was told to be easy on themselves, that they would do better next time, and to practice self-compassion.

Another group wasn't told anything. These students were left to their inner evaluations which, presumably meant concentrating on the negative, self-flagellation we routinely experience when we fail.

All these students were then monitored in the run-up to another test a few weeks later.

And researchers found something surprising.

They found that those in the first group, who were told to practice self-compassion, began studying for the next test earlier and harder - and did better on that second exam.

This Sunday, when we commemorate the baptism of Jesus, arising from the River Jordan we will hear God say to Jesus: “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus was told, even before his first miracle, sermon, or healing, about his self-worth.

God’s word to him of inherent value and appreciation, lays the groundwork to self-compassion. And why? Because God wanted Jesus - God wants us - to do well in our pursuits.

As we approach 2021 may we not beat ourselves up - but practice self-compassion, not just so we’ll do better, but so we can do better for the world we’re called to serve.

Has there ever been more excitement about ending one year and starting another?

I'm sure you're as anxious as I am to get rid of smelly face masks, work-from-home, school-from-home routines, and that pestiferous phrase, "We can't hear you, you're muted."

Yes, 20/20 was a terrible year for too many people.

If you take a moment to do an end-of-year inventory, yours was probably rife with missed concerts, graduations, sporting events, and worship services, if not even worse: bouts with sickness, unemployment, bankruptcy, or even death, as we all did our best to stay sane, safe and healthy.

Staying safe is something we’ll hear about this weekend when we see what motivated Joseph and Mary and the newborn Jesus to leave their normal lives behind and flee to Egypt.

The story of the Holy family's flight is what we hear in marking the season of Epiphany, which is the churches' word for opening ourselves to newness.

And how appropriate is that?

Newness.

Joseph and Mary did this not once but twice: in traveling first to Egypt, then to Nazareth. Their openness to trusting their instincts - having faith in an unknown future - and holding on to hope - and the possibility that God would work things out.

This is an inspiration for you and me - as we too stand at the precipice of what will certainly be a very, very new time for us.

2021.

A fresh, white sheet of possibility and opportunity is before us.

A new dawn to pursue healing, reconciliation, charity, justice, contentment, and fulfillment is breaking.

Our icon is the star.

And the meaning of that star is hope...

And hope is the heartbeat of our faith.

The changes you and I want to see in the year ahead start there.

They will not come out of hopelessness and apathy, but out of a sincere belief - hope - that things can get better.

You may be as exhausted as I am after living through 2020 - and have very little to bring.

But don’t worry - stay seated, stay centered - we can hold hands and hold on to hope.

I have a friend who's giving holiday gifts differently.

For quite a while she’d been receiving the same ill-fitting sweaters from her siblings, tossing them into her ‘re-gifting’ area, and not until recently noticing these siblings were probably doing the same thing with her ‘more convenient than thoughtful’ gifts.

She decided this year would be different after hearing these words by poet David Whyte:

“Better to spend a long time sitting in our armchairs in silent contemplation of those we want to gift, looking for the imaginative doorway that says I know you and see you and this is how I give thanks for you, which may bring us to the perfect objet but also may bring us instead to write a short heartfelt message that acknowledges their place in our lives.”

Thoughtful.

Heartfelt.

Other-centered.

Is there a profound way to celebrate Christmas?

When my friend came down with a very serious disease, he was stunned but hopeful.

The doctor said his condition could be controlled if he made substantial changes to his lifestyle, including diet, exercise, and weight loss. However, the doctor also warned that if he did not follow this advice, his life would more than likely be cut short by several years.

At first my friend worked hard to follow his new regimen, but gradually he fell away, and resumed his previous lifestyle.

In fact, researchers say this is usually the case: a full 90% of us fail to make critical lifestyle changes with regard to our health even when faced with life or death ultimatums like my friend.

Change is really tough - even when doing so can be life-saving.

So how do we do so?

Where do we find the strength to change?

This Sunday, the 4th Sunday of Advent, we hear of the blessed Virgin Mary's encounter with the angel Gabriel. He proposes a dramatic change - will she have the Christ chid? She says yes. And she does so using the same power that is available to you and me, the power of the Holy Spirit.

When we hear the word 'power' our minds typically think of political dominance, physical strength, military might, or even expressions in nature, like earthquakes or lightning.

However, when we hear of the 'power of the Holy Spirit' we do well to imagine it as the strength to say yes to otherwise impossible things.

Every day you and I seek similar power - the power to forgive, to be hopeful, to have faith that God will care for us, that our lives are infinitely significant - to a number of things that we may have deemed impossible.

But the same power that came upon this willing virgin seeks to empower you and to say yes to the difficult maybe even the impossible - to the unknown, the challenging, and the needful.

Can we articulate what we might need that power for, what’s that impossible thing before us - and be bold enough to ask God for it?

This is the life of faith, this is the power Jesus came to give us - and this is the imitation and invitation of Mary.

This time of year I’m reminded of the four stages of Santa Claus:

1) You believe in Santa Claus,

2) You don’t believe in Santa Claus,

3) You are Santa Claus, and

4) You look like Santa Claus...

Caught somewhere between stages 3 and 4, I can’t help but apply this to our present reality and the Four Stages of our Pandemic (for those of us who have not been victims of Covid-19):

1) Yay! Snow Day

2) Yikes! Groundhog’s Day

3) Lord help us through this Endless Day

4) Maybe, just maybe... Christmas Eve Day?

The theme of the upcoming Third Sunday of Advent is ‘Rejoice’ - as in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice always.” In order to do this you and I are invited not to change our reality, but to pay more attention to other parts of it. In other words, Stage 4 above could have read: Doomsday. But when we put on some other lenses we can rejoice in:

1) The prospect of an effective vaccine

2) Another safe holiday spent with those closest to us

3) A new year with a new national strategy to combat the virus

4) The mystical ways the Divine is teaching and leading through all of this

What else might go on your list?

You may find, like me, that the exercise of this word ‘rejoice’ brings not only relief, but hope. For we know that things will work out not because we’re in charge, but because we’re actively remembering who is.

The message of John the Baptist had some bizarre clothing.

You remember, it was a shirt of camel's hair and a diet of wild honey and locusts.

This year that same message has its own bizarre clothing: medical masks and a diet of anxiety, worry, and frustration.

The message of John the Baptist had some bizarre clothing.

You remember, it was a shirt of camel's hair and a diet of wild honey and locusts.

This year that same message has its own bizarre clothing: medical masks and a diet of anxiety, worry, and frustration.

Different clothes but it's the same deal. Both John and Covid ask us to question our priorities, examine our habits, and perhaps make substantive changes to the way we're living.

Just as those early pilgrims who flocked to the Jordan to be baptized by John were hunkering down under the oppression of Roman forces, so are we hunkering down, beneath forces outside our control.

John's challenge is also ours: not to be hunkered down spiritually even though we're hunkered down physically.

How are we not to allow the isolationism, disconnection, and weary prospect of a really long, dark, winter define who we are and who we want to be as disciples of Jesus?

What kind of attitude, habits, and lifestyle changes must we make to approach this challenging time with hope, courage, and confidence in God?

This is the challenge of Covid, this is the challenge of Advent: preparing the way of the Lord not hindered by our daunting circumstances, but clothed with trust and hope that things will work out.

We’re being called to the Jordan.

Come, let us go together.

My sister ran into an old friend at a restaurant.

He'd been out of town for years pursuing his career and had recently moved back to care for an aging relative.

After exchanging pleasantries my sister asked how he was doing. And he made the very brave decision to answer honestly.

"Not that well," he said. And he went on to explain how Covid had ruined his career, how his siblings were being less than helpful with their sick relative, and how he longed for an end to the raging destruction of this pandemic.

My sister asked if they could get together for a meal soon, he agreed and they adjourned only to take up these topics again soon.

Talking to a grave digger at a funeral this week, he told me about his job moonlighting as a check-out clerk at a grocery store. “It’s frustrating," he said, "Why do people have to be so angry? "

He explained how he tries to understand that people are bearing heavy loads, and much of the rudeness from customers is displaced pandemic frustration.

So he takes it in, and resolves to come back with words of assurance, and encouragement. He says he is often met with apologies and thanks for trying to understand and not retaliate.

What we see here is the power of connection to Inspire hope.

In both these scenarios there's a decision to engage with compassion.

This holiday weekend, as you and I gather in tiny pods of friends and relatives for our stripped down Thanksgivings, we see opportunities to build hope through connection.

Bravery and compassion are what’s needed to go beyond conversations about weather and sports - to create safe spaces where we can be honest - knowing our vulnerability only deepens our connections.

When we ponder Christian discipleship during Thanksgiving, few things bring the Kingdom to our doorsteps more than courage and compassion.

May we be brave.

May we be strong.

May God bring us the grace to connect with faithful assurance that all will be well.

Take a look at this graph.

It shows church attendance over the last 17 years. It’s a steady trend that shows America is going to church less.

Then COVID hit.

And we in the church business learned, as Carey Nieuhoff puts it, that crisis is not just a disrupter it’s an accelerator.

This means that our churchgoing trend has been accelerated as congregations have scrambled to put in place alternate worship and ministry models - and as many churchgoers consciously or unconsciously have thought, ‘Well, the building’s closed, so the church must be closed too.’

So today, as we all wait with hope for a vaccine, increased testing, and a world that goes ‘back to normal,’ in the back of our minds we know that, ‘back to normal’ will never happen.

Just look at these major industries that COVID has changed and ask:

Work - Do we really think everyone’s going to go back to a rented office?

School - is it ALL going to be in person again?

Fitness - Will everyone quit working out in the basement and return to the gym?

Dining - Will take-out and drive-thru disappear?

Shopping - Will everyone really close their laptops and go back to the mall?

Church - Do I really need to go in person to get my spiritual needs met?

This make us think: What will get people to offices, classrooms, gyms, restaurants, malls, and churches?

It will be a clear and compelling reason for making the effort.

This Sunday you and I will hear Jesus talk about Judgment Day - when those who talked a good game are separated from those who actually played a good game.

This is a stark challenge for the Church to get out and play the game - and to play a game worth watching.

Churches that are truly making a difference in people’s lives - who are feeding the poor, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, and effectively helping people deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ - those are churches that will ‘make it.’

This is also true on the granular level - when we are people who are feeding the poor, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, and effectively helping ourselves and others deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ - this is how we make it.

So let us be challenged, encouraged, and comforted to BE the church - knowing that every act that we take to move outside of ourselves and to heal the world, not only helps our hearts - but the heart of Jesus’ movement - the Church.

Never has America seen such a large cadre of lawyers descending upon state capitals looking to count and recount and investigate an election as we're seeing today.

While polls tell us that the 2020 presidential winner has been decided for most people, there is a significant minority for whom this conclusion is not so definite.

This means that the insidious divisiveness and period of not knowing is lengthened, indeterminate even, and now causing a social dis-ease that, combined with an increasingly scary pandemic, simmering racial injustice, and a still unpredictable economy, has more of us taking pills, calling psychologists, and simply feeling burned out, edgy, and unhappy.

When we open our Bibles and look at the lives of the early Christians and see the social and economic dynamic they faced - an unstable nation with oppression on many sides - we can understand why Jesus' message was as important back then as it is today.

It is in unstable times that our faith was birthed and finds fruition. Accordingly, we are urged to be hopeful, encouraged, and aware of the many promises God makes to take care of us.

Time after time, Christians in the most threatening circumstances of economic instability, political unrest, and personal trauma are assured by Jesus that they are not forgotten, that God is with them, that the trials they are going through will not end in defeat, and that there is work to do even as the world around us crumbles.

And so the challenge for you and me is to use this time, this precious and precarious time, to put things into perspective, re-stake our claim to Christian hope, do our best to toss aside the flaming arrows and negative temptations and draw nearer to God, God's peace, and God's rest.

Our challenge is also to stand for unity. This is a time for peacemaking, something dear to the heart of Jesus, looking first to do our part with our family and friends. Healing a divided nation begins by healing divided families and communities.

Finding this peace in ourselves and making peace with others is our goal and our challenge.

We do this and we win the election.

My friend, the hospital chaplain hears one complaint more than any other.

On her rounds to visit those asking for prayer and encouragement, she often finds people in pain because of surgeries or disease.

But the most common form of suffering she encounters is not caused by scalpels or sutures, but by the mental anguish of waiting.

When will I be wheeled down to the operating room? How long will it take to recover? Will I ever regain full use of my faculties?

Coping with the results is often the easier road, because as Tom Petty iconically put it, the waiting is the hardest part.

As you and I awakened this morning, the day after an election day that garnered the most participation of any US election in history, exposing our deep divide as a nation and putting ourselves in that same uncomfortable position.

How long until the race is decided? What will it mean to my daily life? What will it mean for our country?

And while we can't speed along the results, there are a few things we can do.

First, find a way to talk about your feelings. Not in a destructive, condescending, or judgmental way, but authentically, about how we're feeling and about what may be ahead. Vocalizing our emotions helps put us more in touch with ourselves, keeps us from the negative effects of bottling things up, and opens us up to the comfort offered by others.

Second: Get outside, go for a walk, find a distraction, endlessly dwelling on something we can't do anything about Is detrimental to our health.

And Third: Draw nearer to God. Times of uncertainty often motivate us to reconnect with that which is at our core. Pray, read scripture that puts things in perspective, and we discover that no election in the world can change God's love for us, God's provision for us, and God's promise never to leave us.

I've compiled some of those scriptures below, please feel free to use them in your time of prayer and meditation.

When it feels like there's nothing to hold on to, there's always God, and there are always God's people. Call me, call a parish member, if I know anything about our wonderful congregation, we are here for each other in stable and unstable times.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

John 16:22

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Matthew 6:25-34

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all who are weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

John 16:33

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

James 1:2-3

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

Deuteronomy 31:8-9

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

1 Peter 5:7

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Matthew 19:26

But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'

Proverbs 3:3-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Psalm 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Romans 8:38-39

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can you believe people were plotting to kill Governor Whitmer?

How did that happen?

Well, here's something that played a part...

Our failure to engage in productive civil dialog and constructive conflict resolution certainly helped make this possible.

And while we all pray that justice will be served, the bigger question is how we, as an increasingly diverse society, are to engage in the kind of communal dialog that brings us together, not apart, forms coalitions not cliques, breeds connection, not suspicion, and builds up our nation, not tear it down.

“Y’all just need Jesus.” is how a friend of mine likes to summarize the solution. And there is something to her conclusion.

It’s because of what Jesus stands for: respectful, cordial, and considerate treatment of others, especially those with whom we disagree.

Jesus stands for empathy, connection, and love.

We don’t hate, shame, or bully our way to peace - but get there by care and consideration.

So Jesus calls us to engage with, not disparage, those with whom we disagree.

We need to think about that when we talk with people who vote differently - and when we post on Social Media.

Jesus calls us not to denigrate and demean our opponents - but to realize that while our relationship with our communal governance, which he touches on in this weekend’s Gospel, must be defined by our allegiance to the law of love.

When Jesus says to give the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, he’s not planning a violent overthrow - but a covert, subversive coup - of loving his opponents - for this is the only way to lasting peace.

Friends, in this anxious election season, stoking the fires of dissension is much easier than forming a bucket brigade with neighbors we like and we don't like.

The road to communal, civil dialogue begins with personal, civil dialogue. This is our due, to both God and the emperor.

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Chris Yaw

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Isaiah 41:10

John 16:22

Matthew 6:25-34

Philippians 4:6-7

Matthew 11:28

John 16:33

John 14:27

James 1:2-3

Deuteronomy 31:8-9

1 Peter 5:7

Matthew 19:26

Proverbs 3:3-6

Psalm 46:1-3

Romans 8:38-39

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