I was at church on Sunday with no responsibility for the service other than to be there. It’s great to simply be a worshipper without any need to quietly rehearse your sermon opening, or to second guess it and wonder if you should quickly come up with an alternate. Perhaps it was because I was in that place of settled calm that I was more thoughtful when the service leader invited us to a time of prayer that focussed on the hidden burdens that people carry. He expressed it beautifully. Hidden burdens are – well hidden. Often no one else knows about them. They can be things from the long past which still weigh on us. A relationship that went badly wrong, an injustice that still leaves us fuming in indignation. Or it could be a health worry, or fear of losing a job, or a mental health issue or concern for a parent drifting in and out of dementia, or – well, you’ve got the point. We were invited to reflect on our own hidden burdens, and to reflect on those which others carry, and to pray for them.
I reflected on some of my own hidden burdens. I didn’t have much trouble identifying them. They are long standing acquaintances, at times they are almost friends. Just because something is a burden it doesn’t mean it is wrong. I’ve gone to the gym often enough to know that you have to put some weight on those machines if they are going to do you any good. Carrying heavy things doesn’t have to be harmful.
Though we were praying, I broke the rules and had a peak around the congregation (after all, I wasn’t preaching, so could get away with it!) There were a few hundred people present. I know most of them, and as I looked at each I thought to myself, “I wonder what your hidden burden is?” Almost without exception I could name it – often I could name several. Many are facing major health challenges. For some family life has become a bit of a nightmare. Others are deeply distressed over children who are struggling to fit in. Yet others are depressed because they feel they don’t fit in. Several have faced a significant loss. OK, if I could name each of the burdens perhaps they aren’t so hidden, but that misses the point I am trying to make. Pretty much everyone is carrying something. And when I say carrying something, I am not talking about the disappointment of delaying too long to get seconds of dessert but genuine gut wrenching stuff – the sort of stuff that leaves a deep ache in the heart, or the kind of sorrow that sneaks up on you unexpectedly, leaving you vulnerable and exposed because you thought everything was ok, but you’ve just been reminded that it is not.
The service ended and as is usual, most people stayed behind for coffee and a chat. There we were – all burden bearers – swopping stories, laughing, talking about our plans for the rest of the day. Just because you carry burdens doesn’t mean that life can’t be beautiful.
Most weeks I am at work Tuesday to Friday. When possible I take a walk during my lunch break. There is a beautiful park the other side of the parking lot – a loop of about a kilometre and a half. I try to pay no attention to the “Caution: Snakes have been spotted on this path” sign and focus on the rich bird life and water features along the way. Almost always at around the half way mark I pass a man who prefers to walk the loop anti clockwise (to me, that makes no sense, but I pass no judgment). We always greet each other and comment on the weather. He is younger than I am – probably in his early 50’s. And he almost always does and says the same thing. He opens his arms towards the heavens and says “Look, look. Beautiful. So beautiful.” He says it slowly. His speech marks him as “perhaps not really one of us”. I’ve seen him try to pass that message on to other walkers, but they usually rush on by, often with a look of alarm on their faces. But I always stop. And smile. And agree with him. For it is beautiful. Even today, with the temperature a scorching 38C, the sky was the deepest blue, and there was enough shade on the path to make the heat bearable, and I hadn’t spotted a snake. And this man whose name I do not know, and who I suspect carries some near intolerable burdens, was reminding me of how beautiful life is. And it is… Just because you carry burdens doesn’t mean that life can’t be beautiful.
I’m reminded of the invitation of Jesus in Matt 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” I’ve read that so often without noticing the significance of the promise Jesus makes. “I will give you rest.” Not a solution – just rest. The invitation is not, “come to me and all your problems and hurts will disappear” but come to me and you will find rest. Rest – the ability to pause awhile, to break away from the swirl and to answer the invitation: “Look, look. Beautiful. So beautiful.”
My prayer for you this week is that you will find the rest that comes from being in the presence of Jesus. All are welcome, but you are especially welcome if you are weary and burdened. And if your hidden burdens are feeling overwhelming, why not rest in the love of Jesus and in the bigger story of life – that God is, and God loves and God is the rest giver. And when you return to your burden carrying, this God is not far away…
Nice chatting…
Photo by Pat Whelen: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-grass-field-with-trees-10022603/
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Thank you, Brian.