It’s
not the burden that weighs us down …
“Are
you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and
you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me
and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I
won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll
learn to live freely and lightly.” ~ Matthew 11:28-30
There is an old legend about
three men and their sacks. Each man had two sacks, one tied in front of his
neck and the other tied on his back. When the first man was asked what was in
his sacks, he said, "In the sack on my back are all the good things
friends and family have done. That way they're hidden from view. In the front
sack are all the bad things that have happened to me. Every now and then I
stop, open the front sack, take the things out, examine them, and think about
them." Because he stopped so much to concentrate on all the bad stuff, he
really didn't make much progress in life.
The second man was asked about
his sacks. He replied, "In the front sack are all the good things I've
done. I like to see them, so quite often I take them out to show them off to
people. The sack in the back? I keep all my mistakes in there and carry them
all the time. Sure they're heavy. They slow me down, but you know, for some
reason I can't put them down."
When the third man was asked
about his sacks, he said, "The sack in front is great. I keep all the
positive thoughts I have about people, all the blessings I've experienced, all
the great things other people have done for me. The weight isn't a problem. The
sack is like sails of a ship. It keeps me going forward. The sack on my back is
empty. There's nothing in it. I cut a big hole in its bottom. I put all the bad
things that I can think about myself or hear about others in there. They go in
one end and out the other, so I'm not carrying around any extra weight at
all."
What are you carrying in your
sacks?
My grandfather used to say,
“It’s not the load that weighs you down, but the way you carry it.” That phrase
always reminds me of Jesus’ offer to carry our burdens.
It’s easy to feel weighed down
during the holidays. Of all the times of the year, this one seems to magnify
our emotional burdens by its repeated calls to rejoice! Be happy! Be merry.
Those around us seem to enter the season’s festivities wholeheartedly, while
some of us wonder why we cannot. While families gather, many feel alone,
separated by distance, or estrangement, or loss. We might begin to feel as if
our burdens unique. We might be tempted to think we must bear those burdens
alone. As we think about sacks that weigh us down, let’s imagine the burdens
that different characters in the Christmas story carried. The ways they carried
their loads may not be so different from our own.
The first to appear in the
Christmas story are the priest Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was
old, and far past the age of childbearing. She lived at life’s edges,
marginalized by being a priest’s wife but nobody’s mother. She had no place
when neighbors congregated and chatted while indulgently watching children
play, or when mothers complained about a child’s behavior. Before her stretched
an old age unsupported by husband or children. Both faced a life of dwindling
possibilities, all bleak. Both wondered what sin might have caused them not to
have children, and whether the sin lay with self or spouse. Both faced the
infirmities that age brings. Both faced a crisis of faith. Then they get news
that Elizabeth is pregnant. Her son will be named John. We call him John the
Baptist. We know him to be a reclusive desert preacher, the cousin of Jesus and
the enemy of Herod’s court. I tried to imagine his parent’s burden. Here is a
miracle baby, born to elderly parents, who lives in caves and eats locusts and
honey for his meals. Have you ever seen your children turning down a reckless
path, and worried yourself sick? Have you ever seen a child not live up to the
potential and aspirations you dreamed about? Imagine the disappointment.
Perhaps, in their advanced age, Elizabeth and Zacharias died before they had to
watch their son John get arrested and murdered by Herod.
The second couple we meet is
much younger. Joseph and Mary were part-way through the traditional year-long engagement
prior to marriage. Mary might have been no more than a child herself, forced to
grow up very quickly with a surprise announcement from an angel; she was going
to give birth to God’s son. Mary faced the burden of being an unwed, pregnant,
teenage mother in a small-town. She carried the burden of not being able tell
her story. A virgin carrying God’s child? Who would believe her. She would be
shunned. She might even be killed. Mary did not even tell Joseph right away.
Imagine rehearsing exactly what to should say when faced with the necessity of
revealing a virgin pregnancy. Months later, Mary faced the physical burden of
carrying a child, and journeying to Bethlehem very shortly before delivery. Mary
accepts her circumstances with grace, but I wonder if she ever felt like life
was unfair. She had a harsh wake-up call
to reality when she should have been filled with the dreams and idealism of
youth.
Joseph had burdens as well. A
good man facing an impossible choice, Joseph is caught in a dilemma. Does he
stay faithful to a woman who looks like she has been cheating on him, or follow
religious law and call of the wedding? He is torn between his family duty to
Mary and his religious duty to the law. Does he ignore the law and show mercy,
or follow the law and lose his fiancée? Joseph decides to let her go quietly,
not make a big deal over this pregnancy, so she doesn’t have to face the
punishments for pregnant unmarried women.
Imagine the burdens of
parenting Jesus. Imagine as the child grows, Joseph tells Jesus stories about
the Romans. We can almost hear him muttering about the way the Romans treat the
Israelites — the heavy taxes, the hillsides crowded with crosses, the arrogance
of Rome’s unlimited power. Imagine Mary planting in Jesus a passion for
justice. Imagine his parents sharing their longing for peace with their child. These
are the burdens and responsibilities of raising the next generation.
How about those shepherds? The
first ones to hear this message are sheep herders, a marginalized peasant class
who experienced the oppression and exploitation of the Empire. Once the angels
appeared, they faced the burden of choice: should they leave their sheep and
seek the Child? Should they the listen to the angels and risk irresponsibility
for a great reward. Should they ignore the angels? Instead of following a
summons to Bethlehem, should they follow the worn yet predictable routine of
their lives?
We can’t have a Christmas
scene without the Magi, even though they were not technically there at the
manger, despite what all our nativity scenes depict. In an era when travel was
more chancy and time-consuming, they faced a considerable investment of time in
their journey, time away from families and their usual pursuits on a quest that
would eventually take at least four years. They were burdened with the
journey’s cost, with carrying enough money to supply their needs over time.
They were alo burdened with finding, carrying, and safeguarding the perfect
gift — a gift fit for royalty.
Then there’s King Herod, sitting
in his castle, making sure government runs. His job is to ensure that life runs
smoothly for the Empire. The Roman empire was about peace through war,
division, and oppression. Unfortunately, Herod is also paranoid and maniacal.
Into his world come three magi who turn it all upside down with the news that a
new King has been born. There goes order. The world was already filled with
religious fanatics and people who look to saviors to solve their problems. When
confronted with the strange and unsettling possibility of revolt, Herod strike back
with murder.
Then there’s the Innkeeper, the
owner of the motel who opens the door to see a bedraggled man, a pregnant wife,
and no place to house them. I sometimes wonder if the innkeeper gave Mary and
Joseph room in the cattle barn because he was compassionate or greedy. Both are
burdens in their own way. He either pitied the young travelers and did what he
could to provide them shelter, or he rented out a barn to make a few extra
bucks from a desperate couple.
There is one more who carries
a burden. The donkey. A literal beast of burden who, at the birth of Jesus,
probably just stands around and chews on hay. The Christmas donkey did his
work. The donkey delivered Jesus, so Jesus could be delivered. The donkey
didn’t gallop or giddy-up. The donkey did what donkeys do. Plodded. The donkey
steadily stepped in the direction of the journey. And, upon arrival, the donkey
stepped to the side. It demanded no recognition, expected no compensation. It did
the job and let Jesus have all the attention. The donkey isn’t even mentioned
in the Bible. But, as we insist here at CCC, there is a place in God’s story
for everyone, even for the one who plods along, expecting no applause, bearing
up under the weight of the long haul, and bearing the load the Christ who will
carry us all.
What burdens do you carry
today? What load is weighing you down? What are you carrying in your sacks? How
could you carry them differently? You don’t need to carry around heavy burdens of
doubt, or self-contempt-or inadequacy. Jesus says drop them and take the burden
of love upon your shoulders instead.
We are not meant to carry our
loads alone. We are not meant to walk alone, to dance alone, to mourn
alone. We don’t walk this journey alone.
Christ walks with us, often in the appearance of a friend, a neighbor, a fellow
church member, the one who offers to stay with us, listen to us, pray with us,
hold us, bring us a cup of cold water. I
like to imagine that right now Jesus looks at you and me, and sees our pain. He
knows the weight of our family problems. He knows what it’s like when we feel
no good. Jesus understands loneliness and feeling like nobody really cares
about or understands. He experienced it all himself. And through that Jesus
says, “Just leave it behind for a while. All your striving to find love and
acceptance is just a distraction. They are detours which lead you farther away
from God’s love.” Jesus says, “I’ll carry all those burdens and distractions
for you. That’s how much I love you.”
Sources:
http://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2000/september/12628.html
12-2001 Christmas: The
Burdened Season S. Ray Granade Ouachita Baptist University
https://maxlucado.com/lets-donkeys-christmas/
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