Chris Yaw

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.

I remember standing in line at Sacred Heart School as a second grader waiting my turn to go to Confession.

This is something we Catholic second graders did every week - sinful 7-year-olds that we were... And what I remember most is racking my brain, trying to think of something for which to repent.

I usually re-racked some version of not obeying parents or not listening to teachers, as I desperately tried to think of something new or creative to confess to Father Esper.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and my capacity for self-reflection has certainly improved, although I still feel utterly naive about the full extent to which my words and deeds fall short of the glory of God.

One thing I understand better, is the subtlety of my sinfulness.

In C. S. Lewis’s classic book, The Screwtape Letters, senior devil Screwtape explains, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

Noticing, "a gentle slope, the slow turnings, the lack of signposts," is what Lent is all about.

After all, like marriages that dissolve, and parishes that dwindle, people rarely exit abruptly, but gradually. We always notice the dramatic, not so much the subtle.

This is why the work of Lent - and self-examination - is so serious, dead serious. Deep down, we want to see the places where we miss the mark, we want to know our shortcomings even if there are heavy consequences. Better we notice our fly is down by looking at a mirror in the rest room, than be told by a stranger on the dance floor.

As we look in the mirror over these next 40 days, what will we see? How is our fear, exhaustion, happiness, longing, gratitude, and arrogance showing? How are we accepting, forgiving, and supporting ourselves? How is God shaping us into the people we want to be as a result of our intentional, persistent self-examination?

My friend Anne makes her living reading movie scripts.

She gets hundreds of them every week. They first land on her assistant’s desk where he whittles them down to a few dozen. He then attaches a one-page synopsis. Then Anne gets them. After reading the synopsis, Anne picks up the script. And the first place she turns is the ending. Anne wants to know where the story’s going, where the viewer will be left, how the journey will be affected by the result, and certainly what the production ramifications might be for her company.

Knowing the ending removes stress and enables her team to get behind the project and row in the same direction.

This Sunday you and I will hear the familiar story of Jesus taking his three best friends to the top of a mountain and being transfigured into shining light before being joined by Moses and Elijah, the Old Testament icons of The Law and The Prophets. His three friends, James, John, and Peter will be awed and humbled by this experience. They will then head back down the mountain, and begin the journey to the Cross that will require every ounce of their faith.

This magical mountaintop event is meant to help them do that.

Jesus is showing them the end to give them faith.

He shows them who he really is and what the ending will look like to take away the stress and help them row in the same direction.

Today Jesus wants to show you and me the ending.

He wants us to know that the culmination of our stories lies in him.

The journey is arduous, but not without purpose.

Our end is in God and everything will be alright.

So be faithful.

Be encouraged.

Be hopeful.

God has not abandoned us, but has gone ahead of us.

Together, with joy, let us follow.

When I was in school, my favorite teacher was Mr. Rademacher.

He was our English teacher, and everybody's friend. He brought candy to class. He had a record player and all of the latest music. It was not difficult to get an A.

My least favorite, at the time, was Mr. Gagnon. He taught us Art. He was demanding, exacting, he pushed our limits, and made it really difficult to get a good grade.

However, looking back, I learned much more in Art than I did in English. It was the relentless pushing, the regular raising of the bar, the high expectation that Mr. Gagnon had for us that forced us to perform better than we did in English class.

And as I look back, I'm thankful for Mr. Rademacher and the fun he made our everyday learning. But I'm deeply appreciative of Mr. Gagnon because of his relentless drive to make us the best we could be.

In Sunday's gospel, we hear some very harsh words from Jesus. He takes on four subjects, murder, adultery, divorce, and the swearing of oaths. First he gives us the letter of the law. Then he raises the bar and gives us the spirit of the law. Here he offers a much more comprehensive and difficult understanding of what it means to live holy, dedicated, and devoted lives to God.

Why does he do this?

Because Jesus understands that the more we grow in devotion to God the happier we'll be. He knows that the more deeply we live in God the more generous, kind, forgiving, encouraging, hopeful, and peaceful we can become, which is not only good for us, but good for the world.

Jesus knows that in raising the bar, making us stretch, and lifting up our expectations, that very often, we can meet those seemingly unreachable goals.

And so we ask: who is pushing us?

In what ways are we seeing that the bar is set higher so that we can meet our potential?
Sometimes the biggest favor our teachers can do is push us.

Sometimes the biggest favor God can do is push us.

May Our Lord give us grace to make the right choices, which may take us on more difficult paths, but ultimately do us, and the world, the most good.

Chris Yaw

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