PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE:
Siloa congregation welcomes new pastor, Timothy
Savarese. He is newly ordained
after attending Luther Seminary in
I have just spent the last two days sitting with my
younger brother, Chris, at Abbott/Northwestern Hospital. To understand the meaning of my time at
the hospital, it would help to understand Chris.
I grew up the third child of four. I am naturally close to Chris since I am
two years older. Yet, it’s
not the age that brings us together.
I had the honor of being the big brother to the little brother who faced
his life with epilepsy and a cognitive delay-this is the current way of saying
that he had a degree of mental retardation. Over the years, I have been his
protector, academic aide, friend, his wheels to get around, get in trouble with
from time to time, and the one who sat with him when he would have a seizure. One memorable time was a seizure that
lasted four hours. I was always
there. I’m sure my parents
would say that I was too protective a few times as well. To which I say, “Oh, well!”
But the other day I got the call from my mom saying
that Chris was being taken to the hospital via ambulance and all that she knew
was that he was weak. I took off
and went to see what was up. He was
in one of those really small ER bays.
Not very coherent, but smiled when he saw me. I got a rather slurred and disjointed “Oh,
Hi, Tim.” After a few hours
of tests and not knowing what was wrong, he started to fire off a seizure. I was 13 again talking him through yet
another of the hundreds or thousand seizures over the years. This time he asked me to hold his
hand. We sat there in silence. Then it dawned on me. I was seeing Christ in that small ER
bay.
Through all the times that I was the bossy big brother
and I got tired of being the one who would take care of him; he still
unconditionally loves me. There was
so much going on inside of him at that moment of medications and neurons firing
off uncontrollably he wanted to let me know how much he appreciated me being
there. All of the sins that we have
compiled over the years, all of the relationships that have injured, all of the
times that we have turned our backs on our neighbor or God, we are still loved
for who we are…sinners. “For
God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into
the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through Him.” John 3:16-17
No greater example of this love will be made known to
us than the events of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter morning. We will see the new covenant that is for
us, and the forgiveness of our sins.
We will see at what lengths that Christ will go for the payment of those
sins with his death on the cross.
Even as we shout crucify him, crucify him! Finally, and gloriously, the power of
the empty tomb that Christ has overcame death to redeem the world that God has
loved.
May we be filled with the joy of the Easter Season. Living
in the light of the cross we can go forward as children of God, forgiven and
living in the promises of eternal life.
Peace,
Pastor Tim
P.S. Chris
is doing well and the cause of his hospitalization was rather involved, but it
had to do with medications, dehydration, and of all things having to do with a
seizure disorder.