Do you have a worrier in your family? Recently I read a cute story that nearly every new parent can relate to. There was a man named Kais Rayes who became a new father. Not surprisingly, he and his wife soon discovered that their whole life had been turned upside down when their first child was born. Every night, the baby seemed to be fussy, and many nights, it seemed that their baby cried far more than he slept. Says Rayes, My wife would wake me up, saying, “Get up, honey! Go see why the baby is crying!” As a result, Rayes found himself suffering from severe sleep deprivation.

While complaining to his coworkers about his problem one day, one of his colleagues suggested a book on infant massage. Rayes immediately went in search of the book and that night, he tried the technique, gently rubbing his baby’s back, arms, head, and legs until the baby was completely relaxed and obviously had fallen into a deep sleep. Quietly tiptoeing from the darkened room so as not to disturb the rhythmic breathing of the baby, he made his way directly to his own bed in hopes of enjoying a well deserved full night of sleep.

No such luck. In the middle of the night, his wife awoke him in a panic. “Get up, honey!” she said as she jostled him awake. “Go see why the baby is not crying!”

Do you know anybody like that? Some people are just worriers. Even when things go well they worry, they fret, they fume. They worry that something bad will happen. Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen tells many memorable stories in her book, Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal.

In one of her stories she asked one of her patients to describe her husband. The woman laughed and told a story about a visit they made to Hawaii. An organized and frugal man, her husband had re­served compact rental cars on each of the four islands months in advance. On arriving on the Big Island and presenting their reservation to the car rental desk, they were told that the econ­omy car they had reserved was not available. Alarmed, she watched her husband’s face redden as he prepared to do battle. The clerk didn’t seem to notice. I am so sorry, sir, he said. Will you accept a substitute for the same price? We have a Mus­tang convertible. Barely mollified, her husband put their bags in this beautiful white sports car and they drove off.

The same thing happened throughout their holiday. They would turn in their car and fly to the next island, only to be told that the car they had been promised was not available. They of­fered a substitute for the same price and each time the substituted car was an upgrade far nicer than the car they had expected. It was amazing, she said. After the Mustang, they had been given a Mazda MR‑10, a Lincoln Town Car, and finally, a Mercedes, all with the most sincere apologies. The vacation was absolutely wonderful and on the plane back, she turned to her husband, thanking him for all he had done to arrange such a memorable time. Yes, he said, pleased, it was really nice. Then, much to her amazement he added: Too bad they never had the right car for us. She said he was absolutely serious!

What do you do with people like that? Some people can see the dark side of any cloud, even one with a silver lining. They are worriers. They fume, they fret, and they stay stressed out.

Do they ever read the words of Jesus? More to the point, do I? After all, I’m a kind of worrier as well and I often let the little stressors of life get to me. How often I fail to see the gifts I’ve been given because my day, my project, my life is not going according to my plan. And yet Jesus said to his friends: Look at the birds of the air. They neither so nor reap nor gather into barns – and yet God feeds them. Is this not our challenge throughout the season of summer? Are we not called to look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and remember that God loves us? Are we not asked to drop our worrying and complaining and our desire to control every moment of every day and remember that we are of infinite worth? Enjoy the warmth of summer. Allow the breezes to wash over you and heal you. Listen to the world around you. Do not worry!

There’s a great Easter story that comes to us from the 16^th century. Martin Luther once spent three days in a black depression over something that had gone wrong. Luther wasn’t a stranger to depression and in fact there were times when his family worried that he might harm himself so prone was he to fits of darkness. This particular bout of depression though was due to a failure on Luther’s part. He was often hardest on himself and for three days he wallowed in self- pity. Luther’s family tried to be patient. His wife, Katie, was nurturing and caring and his children simply gave him space. Still, the self-pity continued.

On the third day his Katie became tired of his attitude. She came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes, her black attire that was reserved for Christian burial. She walked into Luther’s study dressed head to toe in black. Luther looked up from his work. Who’s dead? he asked her. God, she replied. Luther rebuked her, saying, What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die! Well, she replied, the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!

I have a feeling that Melissa, my wife, might want to use that tactic on me some days! I often get down about the state of our world. There is rarely a day that goes by when I don’t hear about the division and stalemates within our political system. I read the stories and listen to the news and dwell in the political conversations and suddenly I’ll find that by mid-day I’m hunched over and sad looking and I’ve hardly smiled at all. There are times when I’ll get down about my family responsibilities. I’ll spend time with Ben and Joey and Rachel and exhaust my energy in correcting their behaviors. Do this! Stop that now. What did I just tell you to do? These are the constant refrains. Suddenly I’ll realize that spending time with these children, these beautiful gifts from God has become a burden and I’m all hunched over and my brows are furrowed and I’ve hardly smiled at all.

My church life too shares this pattern. I’ll arrive at the office and make my list of things to be done when the interruptions will begin – an unexpected hospital visit; another phone call asking for rental assistance; a call from the funeral home to arrange burial. There are days when I’ve caught myself getting down about ministry and forgetting that these interruptions are my ministry! By mid-day I’ll be all hunched over, getting more and more frustrated and I’ve hardly smiled at all. I suppose someone needs to ask me the question: Is God dead? That’s the way I so often act – as if God has died!

The Season of Easter is a call to shake off these doldrums, to shed our clothes of mourning, to straighten our shoulders and live as people of joy. This is the proclamation of the Easter scriptures – that God is alive within us and around us and because we are forever held in God’s love we can live as people of joy. There’s a 15th century mystic named Julian of Norwich who said, The greatest honor that you can give to God, greater than all your penances and sacrifices and mortifications, is to live joyfully. Not only is this the greatest honor we can offer God, this is also our most powerful witness to a world. Perhaps this is the very definition of evangelism, to be people of joy every day!

The joy of a disciple of Jesus is not some pie in the sky attitude that ignores the mess of our daily grind, or turns a blind eye to the cruelties in the world. The joy of a Christian is an acknowledgement that God is present even in the midst of our trials. The source of our joy is a deep belief that the final word of Calvary is not death but a life that is larger than death itself. The joy of a Christian is a proclamation of Good News to a world that is so desperate for anything good – that God is not dead; that God can not die; that in the end what remains is God alone, the God in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). If I believe this then I must show it on my face and in my attitude. If I believe this then I will smile more and laugh more and live more. If I believe this then I will honor God and spread Good News by being a person of JOY!  

Rally at the Capitol

On May 29^th, 1953 one of the great adventure events of the 20^th century took place. Sir Edmund Hillary, a 33 year old New Zealand mountaineer scaled the heights of the mountains of Nepal to literally stand atop the world. He climbed Mt. Everest. Sir Edmund Hillary died just three years ago and was proclaimed by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the century; his name is synonymous with mountain climbing and adventure.

Nearly every school child at some point reads the story of Sir Edmund Hillary but very few people remember that he did not climb that mountain alone. There was a team of 400 people, including 362 porters, twenty Sherpa guides and 10,000 lbs of baggage, and like many such expeditions, was a team effort. Even more amazing was that there was another climber with him when he reached the top, a Nepali-Indian named Tenzing Norgay.

Hillary owed his life to Norgay. Early on in the ascent Edmund Hillary slipped and fell into a crevasse, but was saved from hitting the bottom by Tenzing’s prompt action in securing the rope using his ice axe. That alone should have secured Norgay’s place in history! Still it is always Sir Edmund Hillary’s name that is associated with Mt. Everest. After three months of grueling climbing two men reached the top and yet headlines shot around the world proclaiming the great feat of Sir Edmund Hillary. In press conferences the two men would often be asked which man was the first to step on the peak of Everest, and Hillary would always underscore that both men did it together. The world it seems always wants one hero at a time and thus the story was created that placed Sir Edmund Hillary as the first.

Later in his life, Tenzing Norgay was asked what it felt like to have been so instrumental to Hillary’s success. His answer is powerful in its humility. We mountain climbers help each other. If it is a shame to help; a shame to be the second man on Mt. Everest, then I welcome that shame.

There is I think an Easter message in this story of Tenzing Norgay. The story of Jesus is essentially a story of a man who embraced humility and service. The crucifixion of Jesus was an event of terrible shame; and event of a man dying a common criminal’s death; a man who was willing to forgive those who injured, and beat and killed him. The story of Jesus is a story of one who had no need for the fame of the world. On the cross you can almost hear Jesus saying: Disciples help each other. If it is a shame to help; a shame to serve; a shame to die for others, then I welcome that shame. As much as the Easter story is about the victory of God over death itself, the Easter story is also about the service and sarifice – and even the shame taken on by the One whose name we bear.

Easter then is also a challenge to us as disciples. There are so many times in our lives when we desire to be number one, to receive the credit that we are due, to grab onto our fifteen minutes of fame. There are so many moments when we resent having to care for others and listen to problems, when we long to take are of ourselves first, when we are tired of coming in second. There are so many times when we are sick of being asked for money, and we’re tired of charities asking for more, when we want to claim what we have as ours alone. This is the human condition – we want to be number one! And still the call of the resurrected Christ is to service – always to service. Quietly we are asked to lift others up and help them along. Gently we are asked to find ways of making others feel valuable and needed. In humility we are asked to place our own desire for glory and power behind us and carry our sisters and brothers. On Easter morning we remember Jesus – a man who had no need for the fame of this world. We hear him calling to us from the empty tomb: Disciples help each other. If it is a shame to help; a shame to serve; a shame to die for others, then I welcome that shame.