The Two Sunroots

On a good morning, the baby and I get out of bed a little early. On a bad morning, she will shout, crawl all over our faces and grab at charging cables (mostly to eat them) because her parents are playing a game of chicken to see who will take care of her first so the other can keep snoozing. On a morning where my better angels win, I snatch the baby out of the bedroom so Stephy can squeeze in a little bit more sleep.

Then, I start breakfast. I place the wee baby Shelby in her high chair facing me in the kitchen and make Stephy’s breakfast, usually a piece of toast with jam, a fried egg and ham, and my own—a cup of coffee (Stumptown via v60 hand drip). I put on a little music, usually my 60’s/70’s soul playlist (think Commodores, Al Green, Otis Redding, etc.) because there’s something special about Curtis Mayfield in the morning while the coffee is brewing. Shelby will dance in her high chair with me, and when she starts to get impatient, I sneak her a couple of cheerio-type puffs to snack on (don’t tell Stephy).

Shortly later Stephy joins us, makes Shelby an actual proper breakfast and a new day begins. For a few moments, before everyone has to clock in and start their day, we are in our own little world. Our days go by in a flash, from meal prep to clean up to play time to nap time and back again, all the while, working. Soon, we forget about the wild world outside of the walls of our little kingdom. When the only occasion to leave the house during the week is to take out the trash, it’s easy to get lost in our small town with a population of three.

Yesterday, I got my copy of A Promised Land, the new memoir by President Barack Obama, the first book I’ve pre-ordered since Murakami’s Killing Commendatore (I don’t like new books, I prefer to wait for the paperbacks). Quotes have been leaking in the past few weeks as editors get advance copies so I’ve been looking forward to reading more about what it was like to be in the hot seat during so many pivotal events in recent history and what it took to lead this nation through them. Just reading the preface and opening chapter has got me thinking about leadership, public office and a commitment to the common good. The desire to be a leader that I myself would be proud to follow has shaped who I’ve worked on becoming for as long as I can remember. Reading through President Obama’s humble origins and early experiences stokes a yearning within me, an ambition for accomplishing a wider breadth of good, that is central to who I am at my core.

At the same time, funnily enough, I’m making my nth reading through The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by the aforementioned Haruki Murakami. This novel, like most of Murakami’s, delves inward, and the scope of the protagonist is limited almost literally to the block that he lives on. Toru Okada spends extensive time alone and a good portion of that time is spent in complete isolation at the bottom of a dark, dry well. The words of these pages resonate with me too. There’s a quiet healing that comes from introspection and solitude. Murakami’s heroes spend a lot of time drinking coffee, listening to jazz and blending the lines between the real world and an imagined one. This aspiration is just as pivotal to who I am.

I suspect that my path in life will always rebound between these two Sunroot’s: the vision-minded champion and the melancholy bookworm. Maybe one day, I’ll learn how to recharge in my deep dry well so I can go get into some “good trouble.” I hope so. But for now, when I step back and reflect, I think I’m where I’m supposed to be. No matter how anxious I get, it’s hard to imagine being a leader outside without abdicating my responsibilities inside our little kingdom of three.

It’s hard to imagine not being home to clean Shelby’s food off the floors (and occasionally, walls) or making sub-par lunches for Stephy. Is it selfish to enjoy the weekend sleep-ins and groovy mornings with the dancing baby? I don’t know (I mean, it’s not like anyone is knocking on my door asking me to lead anything anyway, so maybe I’m getting ahead of myself). So I’m going to enjoy this time. When that hunger for public service kicks in (thanks, Obama), I’m gonna remind myself of the words from our morning jams…

Sittin’ here resting my bones
And this loneliness won’t leave me alone
It’s two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home

Now, I’m just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Oooo-wee, sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

32.

On Tuesday, the morning of my 32nd birthday, I woke up in San Gabriel, in the bedroom where I stayed for the better part of my 22nd birth year.

This was because on Monday, Stephy, myself and the wee baby Shelby arrived at our home in Tustin to a yellow sky, darkened by clouds of ash and filled with the thick noxious smell of the Silverado Fire. By that point, we had seen the notifications and evacuation orders for neighboring Irvine, and while there were no evacuation orders for our home, we took a look at the map and quickly realized that we were about two blocks away from a mandatory evacuation zone. Out of an abundance of caution, we grabbed our personal items, baby necessities and everything we would need to work remotely and off to grandparents’ house we went. After a night of creating two temporary workstations in the old living room, we went to bed with baby enjoying her brand new Pack N Play, courtesy of grandma Jenny.

I woke up on my birthday in my old room. My time in that room defined my young adulthood. This was the room that I lived in for my first and second moves to California. It’s where I built my relationship with my dad’s side of the family and formed my own notions of who I wanted to be as an individual. I’ve woken up in that room a thousand times, but this time, I was with a brand new family of my own, celebrating my first birthday as a dad.

We spent the day doing our best to juggle work and the baby. This was done with me on a makeshift workstation, sitting on top of a white plastic lawn table, and Stephy, working from her laptop, sitting with the baby in an improvised couch enclosure. I don’t really know how to express my gratitude for a wife who works so hard while doing so much for the baby, often at the same time. I try to shower her with kisses, but that strategy has it’s limits. The simple fact of the matter is that what we’re tasked with is difficult.

Before this impromptu field trip (AKA evacuation) to my dad’s, Stephy and I were grappling with a couple of things. Last week was our first week without a nanny, and we were still adjusting to working from home with a baby sitting in a pen between us (Shelby naturally crawls over to Stephy’s side and tries to play, ignoring me). Questions arose around getting a bigger place for the baby to run around in, or navigating child-care for the foreseeable future. And lingering questions can be stressful.

It turned out that a little 13,000 acre fire helped to put some things in perspective for us. Mainly, it helped us to appreciate our home—the shelter it provides and the opportunity it affords us to be a family together. We came back to Tustin yesterday, after a day spent in San Gabriel and we were relieved to be in our home, and suddenly empowered by the ease of functioning in our own space that we’ve crafted to fit our needs.

The place in San Gabriel was my home for many years, and the family there will always be my family. But I’m building a new home and a new family. Or rather, a continuation of the family. A franchisee, so to speak.

During one of Stephy’s work meetings on my birthday in San Gabriel, I took the baby out for a walk. We ended up over at grandpa’s (my grandpa) with my dad (Shelby’s grandpa) and Jenny. Four generations of Liu’s were gathered in a room and a family history that stretched across centuries and continents could be found huddled around the tiny baby sitting on my shoulders.

It was clear that my role in the family had changed. A baton grandpa Liu passed onto my father had wordlessly passed to me. Within it lies the legacy of our family’s past, the weight of responsibility to my ensure a comfortable present for Stephy and Shelby, and the imperative to forge a better future Shelby and the world she will come to inhabit.

Usually, on my birthday, I try to reflect on myself and write something that sums up the themes that pervade my life at that moment in time. It is fitting then that my birthday this year was immersed in my family, from the 100+ year old patriarch to the 10 month old that actually rules over me. While I can selfishly indulge by eating my cake (and I do) and dreaming dreams of Nobel Prizes in Literature AND Peace, it is fitting that my first birthday as a dad would have me reflect on my family and not just myself. I mean, after all, it’s hard to navel gaze when the world is literally on fire.

sleepy musings on public service and the courage of young people in my instagram feed.

Yesterday, I fell asleep on our floor between the dining area and the babys new play pen. I did this because I was tired and since we had gone to the beach, there was a good chance I was tracking sand into the house. And as we know from the prequels, sand gets everywhere.

As a result of the midday nap, I stayed up all night thinking about the future. Not necessarily mine; mine will mostly be filled with spreadsheets, weight-loss and throwing kisses at the wee baby, Shelby. The Future with a capital F. Maybe it’s because I keep seeing ads for the West Wing reunion (what’s next?) or maybe because like everyone else, I’m watching our country come apart at the seams.

I’m preoccupied with the future because I want to believe that our best days are ahead of us. I’m hopeful as I look forward because like many others, I’m growing disenchanted with the past. I can feel inside myself a swelling refusal to believe that the good ol’ days could have been that good when they were had at someone else’s expense. And as I watch millions of voices rising up on behalf of those who need it most, I’m not depressed, I’m proud. I’m proud of my country, not necessarily for our history, but the future that we are forging through disruption and compassion.

And I think disruption is the operative word. In a broken system, the only language reform can take is disruption. You need people who are willing to say, “umm, that’s not ok,” or “can we do things differently this time,” or bang on the tables and rattle the walls, demanding change. It’s an uncomfortable position to be in and a wearisome responsibility to bear, but I see people taking it upon their shoulders everyday to make a better world for all people. How do you not get sentimental about the world that these people will help to build for us, our children and their children?

I insist on a stubborn optimism that says, no matter what 2020 looks like, we will make 2021 better than 2019. We’ve lost many heroes this year, but we can’t let the loss of our heroes cast a cloud that darkens the brightness of their legacies. Sure, we can stay up at night, tossing and turning, scrolling through the horrors of the day, but then, before we fall asleep we ought to think, and dream in our waning moments about what tomorrow CAN look like. We ought to spend just a little bit of time thinking about what’s next.

08.24 a short piece about the zombie apocalypse or maybe a pandemic

A little while back, I entered a micro-fiction (100 words or less) challenge. It was fun to spend time in a short prose medium. Less hassle than novels or even short stories, but more satisfying than poetry. I’m thinking I’ll try to post pieces more often but probably with a different limit (the piece below is 300). There are some skills I need to work on, especially plotting and pacing, which can be aided through this sort of practice.

08.24 a short piece about the zombie apocalypse or maybe a pandemic

I was sleeping when grandpa came into my room and told me to put my coat on. I found it wedged in a gap between the wardrobe and the wall. For the first time in months, we were going outside.

On Z-Day, the reporter on the radio said to hunker down, so we stayed and waited. Dad made the rules, but one loomed above every other: Grandpa and I were forbidden from going out. “We can’t take the risk.” Dad said, and that was the end of that. There were no more reports on the radio.

If grandpa resented being inside, he never said so, but tonight he led the way as the two of us tip-toed silently through the back door. Outside, a crisp wind was blowing in from the North, one that would stay. It marked the end of the summer. Without speaking, grandpa gestured towards the path, which looked clear as day under the full moon even before our eyes adjusted to the dark.

Silently, we made our way down to the pond as we had every summer for as long as I could remember. The path looked the same as it always did, although tonight it felt unfamiliar, like it was harboring some unknowable, invisible danger.

When we finally reached the pond, we dangled our legs over the dock. This year, I could reach the water with my tippy toes.

“What are you thinking about, grandpa?”

He breathed deeply and said, “Out here, you can almost imagine the world without the monsters.”

“That world’s gone, grandpa. There’s no use dwelling in the past.” I kicked at the water and watched the ripple stretch to the far edge of the pond.

He looked over at me and smiled. “Not the past, son. I’m thinking about the future.”

“Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly.” – Neil Gaiman

It was after midnight. All she needed was to be flipped over and given a pacifier. The wee baby is in a phase where sometimes, she’ll roll over, prop herself up, and then not know how to go back to a sleeping position. I had just wrapped up a lovely novel with a wonderful, satisfying ending (Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere), and wasn’t quite asleep yet, so I stumbled out of my sweat soaked side of the bed and went to tend to the little one.

About five feet from our room is hers. Between the light coming through our drapes and the little leds on her humidifier, the path is never dark (even after a good Neil Gaiman book). A quick flip and her Elephant WubbaNub had her out like a light. Rolled on her side (like her mother does) with pacifier in tow, you could just make out where her chest rose and fell with each breath. I looked down at this child in her crib and thought about the stupid soul-wrenching love I have.

It’s the same love that compelled my parents to cross an ocean in hopes of a better life, to make their way in a land that was foreign and inhospitable. The same love that compelled their parents to fight against communist radicals or devote a life to working the land under the beating sun. I only wish my love manifested in some nobler fashion.

For me, it’s just a ridiculous, inexplicable feeling. Like now, when I watch old episodes of Pokemon, I find myself getting irrationally defensive of Pikachu because it is roughly the size and shape of the little baby. Does that count as courageous parenthood? I’m singing along to these inane nursery rhymes and babbling an infantile baby speech that I once vowed never to employ. And most recently, it seems that I’m making another career change (or two) to take my best shot at providing for my growing little family. Is there some nobility to be found in a cubicle someplace?

At some point, I crossed a river and I don’t know that I can get back across. Some days, it feels like I’ll lose who I am if I’m not careful. In the past few weeks I’ve found myself pining for, praying even, for a job that the 20 year old me would be shocked to have. But if I could speak to the twenty year old me, I would walk him five feet down the hallway, point towards that little bundle sleeping in that crib and tell him to shut the f*** up. I’d pull him close so he could hear my voice behind his ear and tell him, “this perfect creature is in our care now and she deserves more than we have ever wanted. Not everyone can live in a bivy or a van. Not everyone can subsist on caffeine and paperback novels. We’re going to make her proud, but first, let’s make her comfortable.”

A Peaceful Protest, Why I Love Police & Other Nuances and Unanswerable Questions

This weekend, dozens of protests sprang up all throughout Orange County. This morning, I went to one held in Irvine, the textbook definition of the suburbia. It was a peaceful march that led to a demonstration at Irvine Civic Center where the Irvine Police Department is headquartered. I have five quick reflections from my time, and then I’d like to expound on what I spent the rest of the day thinking about.

1. He shouldn’t have been, but my favorite person at the rally was a South Asian dad. He was there with his daughters. They must have been in their early teens and they had these beautiful, ornate signs and portraits while he had half a piece of oak tag on which he hastily wrote a slogan. He would run ahead of them, so he could take pictures of them in the crowd and he kept his distance so as not to embarrass them. But you knew he kept his eyes on them the whole time. This was very moving to me and he was not the only one proud of his kids today.

2. Towards the end of the rally at the Civic Center, many people shared from a central bullhorn and spoke passionately from their personal experiences. I was struck by how many mentioned being kicked out of their homes and ostracized from their families due to differences in opinions. Families are being torn apart, and when you see the depth of the passion of the people who are involved, you can understand why. It’s just heartbreaking to see, and I want to believe that there’s a better way to deepen understanding and find common ground.

3. There was a moment before the march as the crowd was still gathering. I was sipping on my watery coffee and looking around when I thought I saw one of our church kids. Now, there were a lot of young people at the demonstration, but there was one who looked like a specific church kid. A certain small one, who wears her hair shoulder length and carries a Fjallraven backpack. From far away, a dead ringer. And a thought hit me with a great deal of emotion. I thought about how sorry I am that we’re asking our children to fight the battles we should have already won. I didn’t know what to do with that feeling. I sipped on my coffee.

I have lots of thoughts about the demonstration. But those were some that resonated on a very emotional wavelength with me.

***

Now, despite what people may think, I try to make it a point not to persuade people to my point of view. I like to think that my goal is to educate on both sides. If you can’t find the humanity in someone’s argument, you can’t build consensus. Without consensus, there’s no sustainable progress.

I’m sure that it’s apparent by now that I agree with many of the things that the Black Lives Matter movement. Namely, I believe that black lives matter. I believe that bad policing needs to be held to account. I believe that steps need to be taken to undo systemic bias and injustice. I believe that policy and reform have the power to reshape the relationship that the general public has with law enforcement for the better of our entire society. I believe lots more stuff.

As I marched alongside different people, It was clear that people’s convictions are as diverse as the stories that they carry with them. Our thoughts and feelings are nuanced and while hashtags have their purpose, they could hardly capture a full story. Today, I wanted to expand on a little more of mine.

Like the rest of the country, I am appalled at the actions of many law enforcement personnel. Still, I love the police in principle. These are some reasons why.

1. When there is danger, they run towards it.
I grew up in New York City, and I’m old enough to remember what the smoke looked like on 9/11. You could see it rising all the way up from where I lived in Queens. Police are not predominantly bullies and villains, they are the type of people who can see a building on fire and run towards it. There is a special kind of bravery that compels these brave women and men to see innocent people, danger and say “I’m going to stand between.”

2. It’s An Impossible Job
A while back, I listened to a TedTalk about the impossible task that soldiers have overseas. On one day, they give out aid and build rapport with local citizens. On the next day, they have to stop heinous criminals with lethal force. We praise the police when we see them breakdancing with kids or shooting hoops, but the fact of the matter is that in the next moment their job could involve taking down a violent criminal. Everyone they meet during the day is experiencing the worst day of their lives. It takes a saintly level of composure to do that with fresh patience and poise every day.

3. They Get Spat On By The People They Protect
There are police on the front line who are just as outraged as the protestors. Yet, they put on the uniform, stand on the line and endure abuse by the people they’ve come to protect. Believe me, I’ve seen every video of when a cop snaps, but there are unheralded heroes who bear the weight of guilt for their colleague’s sins despite deserving none of abuse themselves. I think next to cops, maybe lawyers and IRS agents are the most hated occupation, but they don’t have an awesome NWA song for people to blare in your face.

***

I’m still thinking through some things. Here are some of those things.

Unanswerable Questions

Chokeholds & Strangleholds
When I first read this, it was very clear. Don’t choke people to death. Easy. But there’s some nuance here. First, there’s a difference between a chokehold and a stranglehold. A chokehold is meant to restrict air by compressing the windpipe. When this is applied, people stop breathing and die. A stranglehold, while sounding more horrific, is the equivalent of rear naked choke, a move that applies pressure to the blood vessels in the neck and renders someone unconscious. It sounds scary, but if you’ve done Jiu Jitsu, it’s something you’re very familiar with. Rendering someone unconscious, can be incredibly valuable, especially when doing with someone who is dangerous and/or someone whose drug use or mental capacities make them incapable of logical/rational thought. A stranglehold can be a very safe and effective tool, but the margin very error is slim. If I’m to err here, it’ll be on the side of

My concern here is not necessarily for the particulars of this method, but for the idea of limiting which tools are available to law enforcement. I’ve had to teach in a number of different contexts for different things, including a New York City public school. In all of these situations, I did not have the power to change a student’s grade levy and kind of penalization for disruptive behavior (I wasn’t looking to choke them out, I promise). And while you don’t need tools of control/enforcement in most situations, when the situation does arrive, it sucks not to have them. I’m not saying that I think it’s happening here, but it can be a slippery slope if people outside of the field begin to legislate HOW people can do their jobs. There’s a need for external oversight, yes, but micromanagement would be counterproductive.

A Division of Responsibility
An interesting proposal I’ve read/heard about includes a separation of responsibilities. It’s an idea based on data that shows the majority of police calls don’t involve violence. It may sound counter intuitive, but what if we increased the size and scope of, lets say, SWAT teams to include violent crimes that typically local police respond to. If that’s the case, then could we limit the scope of your average police officer to your run-of-the-mill police response. This would be non-violent crimes, traffic stops, etc. It could eliminate the need to switch back and forth between kill-or-be-killed, and you have a broken tail-light. It could also very well eliminate the need for these officers to carry lethal weaponry and make it more clear that their responsibilities don’t include the use of lethal force.

The reason this is in the unanswerable question category is that police who are set on killing people will continue to do so and have done so in the most mundane of interventions. There’s another problem if we remove guns from the typical police officer. In America, it’d likely that the person they pull over or confront in a theoretically non-violent situation might very well be armed. We’d be asking police to be sheep in a world of wolves. To be honest, I don’t know if I rule that out, but that isn’t a decision to be made flippantly.

Accountability / Qualified Immunity
Of course police brutality should be held to account. Of course heinous acts should be met with criminal punishment to the full extent of the law. But, the police are trusted to go into the most dangerous situations in our society. They have to make impossible decisions and they have split seconds to do it. How many of us would handle a dangerous situation well. How many of us would get 100% right if we had multiple a day. What about multiple per day over the course of a career. How do we legislate this well?

I feel that there needs to be some grace when it comes to the responsibilities of a police officer, just as you would have for soldiers. Not because the police are militant, but because their job requires discretion at the most consequential of levels. If we punish every good cop who makes a mistake like a villain with a pattern of abuse, I think we do those cops and ourselves a disservice. Qualified immunity in theory isn’t supposed to protect every officer in every situation, no matter how heinous, but it’s been used that way. This is a systemic problem with implementation that needs to be addressed, but qualified immunity on face value isn’t necessarily a bad practice.

Closing Thoughts
I suspect that there will be many aspects of this post or others that upsets the people reading it. Some progressives will be appalled that I more or less posted something akin to Blue Lives Matter. Some conservatives will be shocked that I marched in support of Black Lives Matter. My better friends will know that I’m a complicated sort of a person, that I try to give careful thought to things, that I really do try to listen, not just to the words someone speaks, but the human behind the words. My friends will know that the cognitive dissonance I’m holding in my brain could fill the Grand Canyon. They’ll know that I’m trying my best out here. It might not be good enough, but it’s all I got.

Protest and Pentecost: Acts 2 in the Year of Our Lord 2020

The Briefest of History Lessons:
For those of you who don’t follow closely along with the Christian liturgical calendar, yesterday was Pentecost. Pentecost takes place seven weeks after Easter and as Christians, we celebrate because Pentecost also marks the day that the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and the power of God began to fuel the early church. The Spirit falls like a fire onto the people and they are united, speaking plainly and celebrating. What a contrast to what we saw around the country.

Before Pentecost, there was Shavuot. Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks, was (and is) a Jewish celebration that mirrored the journey of the Israelites to Mt. Sinai. A people, weary of travel and generations of slavery, come upon a new land and they receive something very special. A wandering people receive direction, a forgotten nation experiences God’s face smiling upon them and right there, on that mountain, they hear the very word of God. A snapshot of focus and direction, leadership and clarity. Does it feel like we could be any further from that?

Reflections on a Nation Afire
I’ve been spending way more time than I should be on news sites, social media and Reddit threads covering the protest. I ought to be playing with the wee baby Shelby, and giving her a million kisses because she is the cutest of all babies, but I’m hunched over my phone watching grainy, unverified videos of protests. I’m find myself looking to be outraged. I’m out for blood and I want to see swift justice fall on people’s heads.

I have an itch that needs to be scratched and a hunger that needs to be met, and after days and hours searching, I’ve yet to find something that does it. Yesterday was Pentecost. Yesterday was Shavuot. Where is our unity? Where is our guidance?

When I read about the longing of the Israelites to hear from God, I see my own desire in them. I spent some time reading Exodus, Joel and finally Acts 2. It felt like something was sated and for my brothers and sisters out there, I’d like to share. I’ve written down some reflections but I didn’t want them to overshadow the Good Word, so I looked up some HTML and I’ve set them side by side below. This isn’t exposition and it isn’t meant to be. It’s just pausing to explore how the living word of God might still be speaking.

Acts 2 (NIV)

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!

16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women,I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below,blood and fire and billows of smoke.20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand,I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Some Reflections

vv.1-15. The beauty of this gathering and the power of the Spirit to unite them should not be lost on us, especially in this time. People gather from regions and backgrounds that should shun and hate one another. They are united BY the power of God and FOR the glory of God. You see here a foretaste of the hope of Revelation 7, “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”.

vv.16. The Apostle Peter starts to quote the prophet Joel. The book of Joel is certainly a good read, given the times. Joel speaks of the locusts that have ravaged the land and the injustice of the rulers who govern the people. Joel urges people to place their hope in God–His Judgement and His Righting what is wrong.

vv.22-24. We should not forget that Jesus was arrested, “tried,” and executed with unimaginable cruelty under an unjust system. His innocence was unquestionable and only amplifies the wickedness of his captors. What I experience in these verses is the permanence of trauma and death. When I think about what would even the scales for something like the horrific execution of Jesus, there is no punishment severe enough to make up for it. When I think about what I’d do if someone harmed Shelby or Stephy the way we see marginalized people harmed in this country, no arrest, indictment or incarceration would be enough. How could you possibly look at generations of subjugation, dehumanizing and fear and even those scales? How could you think that accountability would be enough to make it up a mother who has lost her son. Of course we want justice, we want accountability and change, but the cup of wrath that is due on our society could fill the oceans. That’s why the anger is spilling out into the streets. If God condemned the whole of the human race for what we did to His Son, I think I would understand. How do we even begin to address the pain of trauma that runs so deep.

But in this passage we see something shift. We see that God raises from the dead. God frees from the agony of death and God removes the hold that the permanence of death had on Jesus. In doing so, God gives a path for us to be free as well.

vv. 25-36 Peter goes on to describe the victory that God has over death and strife. He quotes King David who knows that he can “rest in hope, because [God] will not abandon [him] to the realm of the dead.” Peter speaks hopefully and triumphantly about Jesus, who has conquered death itself. Anything less is not enough to undo the sting of pain and loss.

vv. 37-41. The men ask Peter what they should do. At this point when I was reading this passage late, last night, I was just as eager as them to know. All over the place you find people asking what they should do, and here Peter lays it out. Peter says to repent – admit your transgressions and turn away from them, never to return. Be baptized – die to your old self and rise anew. Be forgiven and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Peter doesn’t condemn. He doesn’t play gate-keeper for who gets to enjoy the “new normal.” He invites people in and gives them a chance to repent and be forgiven.

vv.42-47. Then, and only then, the church begins to take on shape. They’re devoted to teaching and fellowship. They share and love and experience joy and blessing. They bring others to know the goodness of God. They begin to experience the community that churches around the world model themselves after. People love this passage but perhaps we forget that it is born out of a tragic death, a fractured community, humble repentance and a commitment to love others as themselves. People forget that it was only possible through the power of God.

Some Closing Thoughts
I’m appalled by what’s going on in our nation. I’m embarrassed by this country that I love so much and I resent that I have to be ashamed. But I am clinging onto hope. Not merely in justice, because there is no proper restitution here. How do you pay for a murder, or compensate for lives lived in fear and humiliation. You can’t undo death and you can’t wipe away suffering, there is someone who can, there is a Just One. In Him, I have decided to hope.

And in the meantime, I will take a page out of Joel and I will mourn. I will mourn the death of George Floyd. I will mourn the deaths of too many just like him. And I’ll repent. I’ll mortify prejudice in myself. I’ll embrace the forgiveness of a good God and I’ll pray to be a part of his power falling on the people– uniting them under God, indivisible, with justice for all.

The Only Real Movie Recommendation to Make During Covid-19

It’s been a long (figurative) winter and you can feel the people getting antsy and restless. All of our old memes about wanting to laze about at home can’t make up for the undeniable truth—We aren’t meant to be cooped up, and we aren’t meant to be without human interaction.

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Like many others, I feel like I’ve watched all of Netflix, and indeed, the binge-watching has been out of hand for weeks now. I’ve rewatched the whole Sorkin television library, most recently Newroom (the ethics of Newsroom are laughable when compared to modern reporting), Sports Night, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and West Wing (twice). I rewatched Parks and Recreation, Avatar: The Last Airbender and half of the stand up specials on Netflix.

What we watch and listen to can inform us, inspire us and help us to not only get through these strange times, but to come out on the other side better, more whole individuals.

The whole library of history is available to us, but I need to tell you that I’ve found the perfect thing to watch right now. The perfect thing to watch right now is: basically anything by Jean-Claude Van Damme.

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I want a lot of things out of what I watch. I like to be challenged—intellectually (Black Mirror), emotionally (Bojack Horseman), civically (West Wing).

But right now, I just want to watch Jean Claude Van Damme fight in a bloody, no holds-barred tournament known as the Kumite (Bloodsport 1988).

It’s “Based on a True Story”

I want to see JCVD star opposite HIMSELF as displaced identical martial artist twins out to avenge the death of their parents (Double Impact 1991).

Watch carefully to see how they explain how two men growing up in Hong Kong and Los Angeles both have identical French accents.

I want to see him team up with DENNIS !@#%ING RODMAN as he escapes a prison colony, jumps out of a plane and fights a tiger to save his family from an international terrorist played by Mickey Rourke (Double Team 1997).

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Just look at those posters and tell me that’s not what the world needs. Just look at any plot synopsis from a JCVD classic and tell me it won’t give you the strength to face the day. Now go forth and enjoy (a lot are on Amazon Prime Video). Enjoy a break from the weariness of the world. Relax and take a split and smile.

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Taiwan, the World Health Organization and the Extraordinary Voyage of an Unmanned Ship Called Galileo V.

A lot of our mornings in Quarantown start out the same. Stephy wakes up first while I laze about in bed. She feeds the baby and then presses Shelby’s butt and full diaper against my sleeping face and asks, “does this smell like pee to you?” It always does. Then, the baby and I nap together for a little as Stephy goes to work early because she’s a superwoman. On weekends, we all nap together.

This morning, while feeding the wee baby Shelby, Stephy was grumbling about something. It was a prepared statement by a group of Taiwanese activists to be published in the New York Times as a response to the World Health Organization’s treatment of Taiwan in the past few weeks. For the past few days, Stephy has been updating me on the ongoing back and forth between WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Taiwan. Some Taiwanese celebrities are spearheading a project to publish a public reprimand of the WHO by taking a full page ad in the New York Times (to which, I responded, “newspapers are dead.”).

Stephy was grumbling because the proposed statement was poorly written and unclear in it’s goal. My ears perked up.

Then I read the statements and made faces.

…right?

***

Then Stephy saw something that she doesn’t often see this early in the morning. She saw me leap out of bed, grab my laptop and get to work.

For a moment, I channeled my inner Sam Seaborn. I was in a daze, redrafting a letter that was equal parts indignant and patriotic—polishing the existing statement s like a proper speech-writer should. I stole from other great speeches. I made sure I didn’t quote Tolkien verbatim. I quickly revised and then I built an overarching motif like scaffolding around this piece. It was like scratching an insatiable itch, and then I felt better.

I rushed back into bed to show Stephy. I had this idea that she would share it on that group page, it would get recognized, and this epic speech would propel my career as a speech writer to statesmen, presidents and world leaders. She looked it over, said it was fine, and that she was hungry. I got back out of bed and made some French toast.

In case you were curious, this is what I ended up with:

TAIWAN: ALIENATED, NOT ISOLATED
Taiwan is an island in many regards.

We are a small island of about 14,000 square miles in the midst of the vast Pacific Ocean, divided by a narrow strait from the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis. Millions travel between China and Taiwan, but we have defied all expectations, minimizing the rate of infection and serving as an example around the world for preventing the spread of this deadly virus.

Yet now we find ourselves on an island again, isolated, on the world stage, excluded from many agencies, including the World Health Organization.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ refusal to recognize the efforts of the Taiwanese people and his blatant China-centric policies are not only disrespectful to the people of Taiwan, but dangerous to the people of the world who can gain from the experiences of Taiwanese health officials and front-line workers.

The spirit of the Taiwanese people is one that cherishes community. Our people are warm and generous, quick to lend a helping hand to anyone we come across whether in our native homeland, or abroad as we make our homes in countries all over the world. We seek inclusion into groups like the WHO because we believe we have earned our place there, but more importantly because we believe we have something to offer.

Our history has been devastated by diseases like COVID-19 and SARS, and now we believe that it is our duty to prevent it, not only here in Taiwan, but for all people, everywhere. We are bound by fellowship to the rest of the world and we will do everything in our power to come to the aid of those in need.

In the past three months, we’ve shared our knowledge and experience with the U.S. and the E.U. in an effort to improve testing for COVID-19 and hasten the development of a vaccine. Our government and kind individuals have donated over 16 million masks and other supplies, even as we face discrimination or exclusion overseas. We pen this message because we want the world to know that no policy or lack of recognition will stop us from sharing what we have with our friends around the world.

We may be an island, separated from the rest of the world by water and distance, but during a time where isolation is the norm, we have chosen solidarity.
#TaiwanCanHelp
#TaiwanIsHelping

This message is supported by over 27,000 contributors who participated in the crowdfunding project to publish this article.

Easter, This Year

This marks the first time in many years where I am not observing Easter as a professional clergy member. It feels strange not to prepare the prayers, embroil myself in those familiar passages and ruminate on the timeless truths of this somber, but joyous season. Ordinarily, this is the beginning of a mad stretch that includes major events revolving around Easter, graduations, summer retreats and mission trips. I am usually bracing myself for the brutal grind from March to September. This year, however, the season snuck up on me. Ash Wednesday appeared when I saw a coworker with a sullied forehead. Good Friday popped up suddenly without any fanfare. I’m accustomed to walking more slowly and more carefully through the season but this year, it feels as though I’m on the outside looking in.

Every year, I’ve had the obligation to examine this season and personalize it. I’ve always tried to make it a point not to do ministry by going through the motions, so if I’m preaching the resurrection, it’s a matter of integrity that I experience it as I invite others to do the same. This year, I haven’t had that same pressure. I’ve spent a lot of the lenten season getting fat on Postmates and binge-watching Yu Yu Hakusho.

Great moral lessons to be found here.

As a result this Easter feels distant and abstract. Today, I’ve tried to spend some time examining this, but deep down, I already know that for the past few weeks and months, I’ve been frustrated and disappointed with God. I don’t ask God for much. I mean, of course I do when I’m praying for other people, and for causes and other things. But I have to admit, with a lot of prayers, I am a cheap date and a quick apologist. I can see how God works for the good of his people, not causing, but utilizing the worst of situations towards the ultimate goal of human flourishing and properly allocated glory. And then I’m cool with whatever the Big Man decides.

But there’s a special type of prayer that spills forth from the guts. Every now and then, I ask something of God and I can’t see how he’s gonna work his magic otherwise. In short, I become a brat and I don’t take no for an answer. There are some things that I’ve been asking God for and his answer has been no.

And thusly scorned, I’ve been pouting. This is where I find myself this Easter.

***

I’ve never really been a Lee Strobel fan. It’s not that I don’t condone or appreciate his work. It’s just that I never really needed a case to be made to me about Christ. Christ was my lifeline when the only thing I was destined for was despair and misery. Christ is the lifeline for me still. I often recommend Strobel’s books, but they were never my personal cup of tea. That being said, there’s an exchange in A Case For Faith where Strobel is interviewing Chuck Templeton, a peer of Billy Graham’s, a gifted evangelist, and at the time of the interview, a vocal agnostic. Templeton rails against shoddy Christian scholarship, apparent contradictions in scripture and the seemingly irreconcilable reality of a broken world. But then, when Strobel asks him about Jesus, his face softens, his voice grows nostalgic. Then Templeton raves about the character of Jesus and tearfully admits, “I miss him.”

This conversation has always stuck with me. I don’t remember much else when I rushed through Strobel’s books on the 7 train while commuting to Brooklyn Tech, but I remember this. “I miss him.” That’s how I was feeling, how I often feel when I’m a bit wayward.

That’s how I was feeling today when I crawled up to the loft holding the wee baby Shelby. She was getting a little fussy, so I decided that I was gonna read something to her. Stephy was making dinner and my mission was vital because 1. If I don’t get Shelby unfussed, Stephy doesn’t eat the food while it’s hot. 2. You smell everything more clearly in the loft and Stephy’s cooking smells good (curry and grilled chicken today). Unfortunately, a large portion of my library consists of crime novels, literary fiction or other genres of books inappropriate for tiny babies. So I decided on some poetry. We started with a little Rupi Kaur, because sometimes I’m a basic b****, and also because I want to introduce the tiny baby Shelby to female poets she can look up to like Rupi Kaur, Maya Angelou or Joy Chen.

Then I stumbled onto what I certainly needed today. I pulled out The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God. I knew it was right the moment I held it in my hands. I was in need of some truth, but I wasn’t going to hear it from a theologian or a pastor. I needed to hear it from a poet. Sometimes it’s just like that.

So I began reading Rilke poems to Shelby and ultimately, myself. I reminded the tiny infant child that they mention Rilke in Jojo Rabbit and that’s where she might remember the name, but Stephy yelled from the kitchen that Shelby didn’t watch the movie (she slept through Jojo Rabbit, can you imagine?). Shelby was very quiet and contemplative when I read the original German (my butchered, surely racist, German), but she got fussy and inattentive when I read the English. Sort of rude, actually. But it’s ok, I love her to death and I could kiss those cheeks forever and ever a hundred years.

I read this poem.

In tiefen Naechten grab ich dich, du Schatz.
Denn alle Ueberflusse, die ich sah,
Sind Armut und armsaeliger Ersatz
Feur deine Schöenheit, die noch nie geschah…

Und meine Häende, welche blutig sind
von Graben, heb ich offen in den Wind,
So daß sie sich verzweigen wie ein Baum.
Ich sauge dich mit ihnen aus dem Raum
als hättest du dich einmal dort zerschellt
in einer ungeduldigen Gebärde,
und fielest jetzt, eine zerstäubte Welt,
aus fernen Sternen wieder auf die Erde
sanft wie ein Frühlingsregen fällt.

In deep nights I dig for you like treasure.
For all I have seen that clutters the surface of my world
is poor and paltry substitute
for the beauty of you
that has not happened yet…

My hands are bloody from digging.
I lift them, hold them open in the wind,
so they can branch like a tree.

Reaching, these hands would pull you out of the sky
as if you had shattered there,
dashed yourself to pieces in some wild impatience.

What is this I feel falling now,
falling on this parched earth,
softly,
like a spring rain?

Rainer Maria Rilke – The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God “The Book of Pilgrimage: II, 34”

For what it’s worth, it rhymes in German. It’s also deep and evocative and along with others in the book, this poem sums up the feeling in my guts as I enter into Easter this year.

I’m not predominantly mad. I mostly just miss God, and I feel stupid for letting my disappointment get in the way of returning to the only well that ever gave me life-giving water. It feels stupid to wander, but it’s reassuring to know that the moment I turn around and head back to Him, he’s there.

Important treatise on repentance

In the end, Resurrection Sunday isn’t supposed to be about me and how I feel about it, it’s about a good God who did everything in His power to break the walls between Himself and the ones that He loves. It’s about the life He volunteered to give on our behalf. It’s about triumph over the death that spreads it’s stench over every dimension of life. I love this Jesus God. He is risen indeed, and it feels like He rises again and again, every morning to find ways to remind me of those things I already know and always forget. Passover, the OG Easter, was established as a time where we pray the prayers, eat the meals, and most importantly, remember— remember the one who brought us out of Egypt, out of bondage, into a better life, not a perfect one, but one where we are free.

Sunroot Liu

work in progress