Chris Yaw

In the mid-1930's a missionary couple travelled to India.

They left behind their 11-year-old son in the care of relatives until he could finish out the school year before joining them in New Delhi.

However, World War II broke out, suspending this kind of travel, so it would be eight years before that missionary couple could return home. When that occasion finally arose they secured transport on a freighter, a train, then, finally a cab to arrive early one morning to the home where their son was staying.

Unable to contain her excitement, the boy's mother sprinted from the cab to the front porch where her now-19-year-old son was standing with open arms when she stopped short and exclaimed to her husband, "Just look at our boy! He's gone and looked just like you!"

This week the Church commemorates the departure of Jesus from this earth in an event called the Ascension. It's after the Risen Christ has spent weeks instructing his disciples, praying for them, blessing them, and now departing from them - leaving them with the same job you and I have: to look like Jesus.

Being generous, kind, and helping the poor-

Being patient, prayerful, and grounded in scripture -

Being mindful of injustice and speaking up on behalf of the marginalized -

These are some of the ways we go about looking like Jesus.

We remember how St. John famously wrote to an expectant audience, well-aware of the brevity of life and the priceless value of each day, 'for when he appears we will be like him.'

So friends, let us set aside life's detours and distractions and make haste in doing what is right, in imitating Christ, so that we too might bear an unmistakable resemblance to our father.

My 85-year-old friend Jane does not act her age.

She dresses in bright colored clothes in the latest styles, stays up late salsa dancing, and has been known to put the top down on her convertible in the winter.

Asked once about her counter-cultural behavior, Jane said, 'Everybody around me wants me to act my age. I prefer to act my spirit.'

Act your spirit not your age.

Our age may tell us not to travel there, volunteer for that, listen to this, or start doing that. Your spirit would never say such a thing.

Acting our age implies our behaviors be dictated by others, by people who want to keep us safe, comfortable, and supportive of the status quo.

Acting our spirit means we listen to our hearts, even, as Jesus will teach us this Sunday, that holy presence inside of us. Acting our spirit often involves courage, trust, and faith - and prods us to improve and enliven ourselves and the world around us.

God put that unique, life-giving, love-seeking, self-liberating Spirit inside of you for a reason.

Don't be afraid to stand out.

Don't let cultural norms dictate who you are and what you do.

Listen more to your spirit, put it to the test, see if you don't feel more authentic, more fulfilled, more alive, by acting not your age, but your spirit.

When the twins, Hazel and Hannah, first arrived home they entered a nursery adorned with wallpaper sporting images of little violins.

No surprise. Both of their parents were concert violinists and instructors, who filled the house with violin music throughout their childhoods. It's no surprise that Hazel and Hannah would pick up the violin at a young age, grow to love practicing and playing, and themselves head off to college on music scholarships pursuing an instrument and a kind of music they had grown to deeply adore.

When people would hear them play in concert they would marvel at their knowledge, expertise, and skill - and how they could bring joy and happiness into the world. How did they know so much? How could they play so well? No surprise, it's because their entire world was sculpted and formed around the violin.

In Sunday's Gospel Jesus tells his disciples not to be anxious about what they're doing and where they're going. And when the disciples respond with worry and concern, he paints for them a picture of oneness with God, of a deep anchoring in love, of a sculpting and forming of their lives around a greater realization and conviction that God is in their midst.

Jesus wants his followers to know that we are greatly affected by the environments we create. Regularly calling to mind the reality of God with us, love watching over us, and charity showing us the way - is the kind of life he commends to his followers.

Friends, every moment of every day we take a vote on the kind of person we want to be. We do that as we choose the kind of things we listen to, the people we hang around with, the activities we pursue, the ways we spend our money, and the ways we spend our time. The challenge for you and me is to continually examine these things and evaluate them according to Jesus's ways. For his is the way of peace. His is a way of love. Like Hannah and Hazel, our environments make us who we are!

May we find ways to be more fully aware of the presence of Jesus, that his music may bring joy and happiness to all who hear it.

When we were going through COVID, didn't it feel like we were trying to live our lives while walking through water up to our necks? Every step was labored, time-consuming, life was exhausting.

We were scared, full of anxiety,

we were utterly dependent on others, thank God for essential workers,

and we were really clueless about where this whole thing was going.

Even now, while COVID is not the threat it once was, it still feels like we're walking through the water, maybe not up to our necks, but certainly up to our knees.

There's a lingering anxiety, dependency, and lack of awareness as to where things are going - and this is all now simply part of daily life.

This Sunday is called Good Shepherd Sunday, it is full of pastoral imagery of sheep and shepherds.

And while we are not reminded of how much sheep smell, or how warm their sweaters can be,

we are reminded that sheep are a very fearful and skittish sort.

We're reminded of how utterly dependent they are on the shepherd and on others to care for them.

And we're reminded of how unaware and unable they are to predict or even cope with the future.

Sounds a bit familiar doesn't it?

Fear, dependence, and a lack of awareness.

And what's curious is that Jesus's solution to these clueless sheep, is not to provide weapons or high walls to assuage fear,

Nor does he instantly provide a lifetime's worth of food and water,

Nor does he give the sheep superhuman intelligence and savvy insight to better predict the future.

No, Jesus gives himself,

He asks them, and us, to put our trust in his assurances of protection, his promises to provide for us, and his invitation to trust him for our future.

Fear, dependence, and a lack of awareness.

God knows who we are and gives us the shepherd to accompany us on the journey.

Let us entrust our fears, dependency, and futures to the Shepherd’s care.

Slaving away in some laboratory in San Diego, scientists tried and tried and tried to perfect a product that I love: WD-40.

It’s great for hinges, to loosen bolts, even to get oil stains off the car.

But it took some time to perfect -

In fact, it’s called WD-40 because the final product was the 40th iteration of their idea.

They tried to make this thing 40 times.

What if they’d given up at 35? Or 36? or 39?

This Sunday you and I will hear the story of Jesus, who shortly after his resurrection, joined a couple of his disciples walking on a road to a nearby town called Emmaus.

These disciples had no idea who this stranger was who was walking with them, and they peppered him with questions and were intrigued by his answers.

So when it began to get dark and the disciples were headed inside to stay the night - and Jesus wanted to keep going - these disciples strongly urged him to stay with them - to continue to talk with them - to continue to satisfy their spiritual curiosity.

Jesus did.

He stayed with them.

And shortly thereafter, they finally recognized him in the breaking of the bread.

But what if those disciples hadn’t invited Jesus in?

What if they’d said, ‘Hey, great conversation, see you around!

And never pursued their, spiritual quest?

Friends, as we bask in the glory of the Easter miracle - we are bidden to keep on keeping on in our pursuit of Jesus.

Don’t be satisfied with what we know or where we are - but to keep on keeping on in our pursuit of the spiritual life.

What does that look like to you?

In what ways are we too ’settled’ with God?

And how might we pursue the spiritual life even more deeply -

So many of the problems that plague us, the issues that roil us, the challenges that overwhelm us, can usually be handled much better when we are at higher levels of spiritual fitness.

Easter is a time to get in touch with our true self, our spiritual self, that self that recognizes Jesus all around us, all the time.

My friend bought a new car recently and remarked, ‘Wow, I didn’t know how many cars were out on the road that were just like mine!’

And an old, Latin phrase came to mind:

‘Whatever is received is received according to the manner of the receiver.’

In other words, we take biases into our perception of reality.

We have our own lenses - through which we perceive things:.

We get a new car - we immediately see others that look like it.

Bias, preconceptions, ingrained habits - these all come to mind when we turn to that perennial ’Sunday after Easter Story’ of Doubting Thomas.

When the Risen Christ comes to the disciples, while Thomas is out at Starbucks, we see several biases at work when, upon his return, they tell him that Jesus has appeared - and Thomas doesn’t buy it - and when he rejects the idea of the Risen Christ, we see his biases coming to light.

We see Confirmation Bias, which is when our brains welcome information that confirms what it already thinks, and resists information that disturbs or contradicts.

We see his Complexity Bias, the proclivity of our brains to reject a complex truth, in exchange for a simple untruth.

And we see his Convenience Bias, which is when our brains welcome information that keeps us happy and complacent, but rejects information that causes us to work or embrace discomfort.

Thomas’ is a story about facing our biases - being open to new paths - to possibility, openness, in order to make room for God.

Jesus knows this - and here’s how he addresses it:

Notice how he appears to his disciples?

Not arrayed in white light, ascending as a regally clothed Deity saying, “I told you so!”

No - Jesus comes among them pointing to his wounds.

Jesus calls attention to the marks of his suffering, his humiliation, his fraternity with everyone who has, is, and will ever live - by connecting with our suffering.

Ask people when they’ve felt closest to Jesus, and I always get the same answer - “When I was down, when I was out, when I was at my lowest."

Jesus comes to us at our lowest, in his lowliness, to help us climb higher.

Jesus transcends human bias in the humility of the cross to show us the strength of vulnerability.

He shows us how we build fraternity in our woundedness, and strengthen our bonds in the admission of our frailties.

Ours is an authentic God - asking us to be who we are - and bidding us to come to him as we are - laying our preconceptions aside - walking in a humility he mirrors, in pain and inadequacy he feels, that we might be strengthened enough to show other walking wounded, where they too might find healing.

Go through the day today humbly and not afraid to connect with the wounds of others - with our own wounds.

Humility is not a sign of powerlessness, but of true power.

Somebody famous was arrested this week.

Yep, everybody expected it.

In, fact, things were so tense, authorities worried a riot would break out.

So they meticulously orchestrated it, and made sure plenty of armed enforcement was on hand.

As the accused surrendered to his fate, some celebrated, some booed, some called it justice, others scorned it as a travesty.

Some wanted to set him free, others wanted to kill him.

In the end, he willingly gave himself up to authorities.

He stood silently before his accusers.

He didn't answer anybody's questions.

- although he was very, very rich -

- although he was very, very powerful.

And if we want details, we can read about it in any newspaper in the world.

Indeed, for some, Donald Trump's legal battles have become an obsession.

But in this holy week, there's another arrest story vying for our attention.

This is a story you know quite well because down through the years it has brought you, and untold billions of people, life, peace, healing, restoration, and salvation.

And, like every year, the recounting of this story is never convenient or easy.

It means putting aside other stories,

Paying less attention to other priorities,

Making a serious effort to set the story of Jesus above all others.

So friends, in this Holy Week, fight off the distractions,

Make Holy Week the powerful engine room to a life ablaze with hope and possibility!

At this very moment, there are people languishing in prisons, scrounging through garbage cans looking for a meal, one million of our public school children are homeless, thousands of people will be evicted from their homes today.

And the solutions to these big, looming problems always begin with small, seemingly insignificant decisions - the resolve to live outside of ourselves and to help others, as Jesus taught us to do. And the stories we make room for in our minds will determine the actions we take to live the selfless, charitable, and loving lives we want to live.

Headlines will come and go.

Distractions and detours will always abound.

But in this story we find the keys to eternal life, the foundation stones to the healing of the world.

Make room for that story this week.

Open your hearts anew to its message.

Draw closer to God, and God will draw closer to you.

Upon entering the museum with the toddler, he made a bee-line for the gift shop and immediately glommed onto a little stuffie - with instant admiration.

Mom and Dad walked over and put the stuffie back on the shelf.

They explained that there was an entire museum to tour before they would consider souvenirs.

But they promised they would return.

The toddler relented, unhappy, but taking solace in the promise that he would come back - and that his deep desire would be met.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday.

It marks the triumphant celebration of Jesus, our king, entering the Holy City of Jerusalem to begin the long-promised reign of God.

However, the Romans and corrupt religious authorities would not make that easy.

The celebration would quickly turn into an angry mob scene, ending in the arrest, torture, and death of Jesus.

His followers would flee in terror, giving up on their messianic hopes, cowering in fear, certainly considering any further developments improbable, even impossible.

But the magic of Palm Sunday is in the lingering promises of Jesus.

He told his disciples, numerous times, that this would happen, that he would not leave them alone, that he would return.

Today you and I face fears, threats, and anxieties of our own over a myriad of problems - to which, Jesus has also made promises.

Wherever we find ourselves today, Jesus has said he will provide for us.

Jesus has said he will forgive us.

Jesus has said he will accept us.

Jesus has said he will be with us - and never leave us

Palm Sunday invites us to remember Jesus’ promises that yes, he will return, to fulfill our deep desires.

Years ago a fascinating study was published on the topic of mice and hope.

Researchers took a number of mice and, one by one, put them in a bucket of water to see how long they would live.

These scientists noted that an average mouse would try to swim for about 10 minutes before giving up, surrendering to his fate and sinking to the bottom to drown.

The researchers would then scoop the mice up, revive them and let them go on their merry way.

However, when they put these same mice, who had been once rescued, back into the bucket, they noticed something absolutely astonishing.

These mice did not try to swim and struggle for 10 minutes before giving up, they would now go on for 60 minutes.

In other words, having experienced a miraculous rescue, seeing that there might be some possibility of survival, these mice hung on six times longer.

This Sunday, the last Sunday before Holy Week, we hear the iconic story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave. Lazarus had been dead for 4 days, people thought Jesus had lost his marbles for suggesting he would be revived.

You know the story, Jesus commanded the dead man to come out, he did, and the amazed disciples would take this story and store it in their hearts as they went into the very first Holy Week.

It's as if Jesus wanted them to witness this life after death event in preparation for his own, hoping, perhaps that they, too, would have six times more faith than before.

Jesus has us hear these stories because he wants us to believe as well. Jesus wants us to know that we serve a God who makes possible the impossible.

So when people tell us we'll never solve the problems of gun violence, loneliness, homelessness, political division, and poverty, we are not ones to chime in and say, 'You're right, these will never be solved.' No, we have seen God do impossible things, so we can be a people of hope.

We know that the world does not get any better by negativity, pessimism, apathy, and defeatism, of which there is way too much. What the world needs, is Jesus message of hope, and Jesus's people, you and me, to be heralds of that hope.

We, too, have seen, let us go and act accordingly.

Not long ago the cat went missing!

Maybe someone left a door open, maybe he slipped out when groceries came in from the garage, maybe he joined a gang of alley cats who dropped a rope down the chimney at midnight...

At first, we were hopeful.

We placed food outside for him, but it went uneaten.

We placed ads on social media, but they went unanswered.

We took neighborhood walks calling his name, but that went nowhere.

So as the days went by, hope began to dwindle in the household... Mom, dad, the kids... Everyone except the 4 year old.

Weeks after the cat left and miles from where he could have possibly gone missing the 4 year old would, all of a sudden, quite randomly scream the cat's name out the window of the moving car.

He would wake up in the morning asking for him, and he would ask to go outside after dark looking for the cat, which he never found - until, one night, he did.

Skinny, hungry, and chatty, he was ok - which sent joy sweeping through the house: the cat had been found!

But would he be here, were it not for the hope of a 4 year old after everyone else's had fizzled out?

This Sunday you and I will hear a story of a dramatic healing amidst a sea of doubt.

We will hear the doubters, the mockers, and a believer - whose faith parallels the 4 year old's - and comes to us in the midst of our hopeless, apathy, and doubt:

Take courage.

Don't give up.

Don't assume you've got it all figured out.

Be open to the unimaginable.

With God all things are possible.

A friend recently told me this story...

Once, when she was in her kitchen preparing a meal, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around to see a stranger pointing to the other side of the room, where my friend turned - only to see her 18-month-old daughter with the car keys that she was about to insert into an electrical outlet.

My friend leapt across the room, snatching the keys from the little hands of her surprised daughter, before embracing her ever so tightly, feeling so grateful she was ok.

Then, when my friend turned around to address the stranger in the kitchen, she realized nobody was there, the room was empty.

My friend believes that this was a sign from God - and it was given to her as an enduring message that God is with her, that both she and her daughter are not to take life for granted, and that God's gift of life must be paid forward to help others.

Has God ever sent you a sign?

Have you ever been sent one as profound as this, or one that's much more subtle?

What are you doing with it?

These questions pop up as you and I approach Sunday's Gospel, when a Samaritan woman was so touched by a dramatic and unexplainable sign from God that her life, and the lives of those around her were indelibly changed.

In fact, the Bible is full of stories of Jesus performing unexplainable signs with life-altering consequences. These consequences undoubtedly build gratitude, joy, satisfaction, and more than likely a deeper societal cohesion as people look to pay forward the gifts that they've been given.

I think, when most of us search our histories, we find moments in which we felt the Divine doing positive things for us.

And a big reason that God gives us these signs is so that we can pay it forward, that these "God moments" might inspire us to be kinder, more hopeful, more forgiving, and more loving to those around us, because we are more deeply in touch with the eternal and abiding presence of the Creator.

How has God made God's self known to you?

What kind of message was God sending?

How good are we at remembering this - And using it to fuel our own work of inner peace, reconciliation, and healing?

One of the most important words in the Bible is that word remember! Remember what God has done for us, remember how God has provided for us, remember how blessed we are - and use that remembrance for our own good, and the good of others.

When I was much too young to understand biology I asked my mother, "Where do babies come from?"

Of course, this is the question every parent of a 6 year old looks forward to...

But Mom never flinched... didn't head toward the liquor cabinet...

Instead she sat me down and said that when two people really love each other, babies are the inevitable result - life follows love - love gives birth to life.

Apparently that answer was good enough, because my next question was, "Would you rather be a Popsicle or a pickle?"

But the point is, you and I were created to love.

We love ourselves, our pets, our neighbors, our country, our cars, our God, the sunset, the Amazon driver, even Justin Bieber, some of us - But we soon figure out we are at our best when we love - we come alive to love.

In fact, researchers say our greatest source of happiness in life will come from loving relationships.

But how hard this is to put into practice!

It was for Nicodemus - a religious leader who sought out Jesus in the wee hours for a clandestine rendezvous - the original Nick at Night - because the socio-religious culture which had evolved around Nicodemus made it difficult, uncool, almost unacceptable, to talk so openly and comprehensively about love, God's love for everyone.

And things haven't changed much today.

It's still difficult to live in love.

Which is why we need Jesus, in him we see love without expectation or requirement, unbridled and unlimited, all we need is awareness, waking up to the reality that we were created to love. Our big job is not to change, convert, bully, or baptize, but to love.

You are a love machine, sang the Miracles, and they weren't far off, you come alive to love, Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus was to awaken him to love, how is God trying to awaken us to the same thing?

Chris Yaw

Hi, I am

Chris Yaw

ABOUT ME

Chris Yaw

Contact Details

How Can I Help?

St. David's

Disarmory Ministries

ChurchNext

Oakland Housing

Hyacinth Fellowship

Yaw Wedding

Blog

Who Do You Look Like?

Act Your Spirit

Lost in the Music

The Shepherd’s Care

WD-39

Quid, Quid, Recipitur...

Somebody Famous Was Arrested This Week

Promises, Promises

Of Mice and Hope

The Faith of a Four Year Old

How Do You Explain It?

Where Do Babies Come From?

Popular Posts

SAY HELLO TO ME

Total Pageviews

Search This Blog

Blog Archive

ADDRESS

EMAIL

TELEPHONE