With God's Help
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 5, 6; Isa. 40:25-31; Eph. 1:15-23; Mark 1:14-28
A few days ago I came across an essay written by Wendell Berry in 2005. The title of the essay is “The Burden of the Gospels.” The title alone caused me to think about so many things but mostly the responsibility we each have as followers of Christ. Berry refers to his reading of the gospels as “comforting and clarifying and instructive as they frequently are, (as well as) deeply moving or exhilarating . . .’ He sees them as a burden because they raise difficult personal questions about how we live our lives and how we plan to respond to what can be outrageous demands. Such as, drop your nets, leave your wives, your children and never look back, follow me and I will give you a new life. Lose your life and you gain everything.
How many times have you honestly asked yourself, “Could I have done that?” I know I’ve thought about it, and I honestly can’t say for sure. I do know choosing to go to seminary with three young children and a marriage already on shaky ground was a huge risk, but I knew it was the only way forward for me. I lost everything and everyone for a brief time, but God led me through it, and I came out as though I’d received the gift of new life. Not unscathed, definitely bruised and battered, and with a few scars, but stronger. To quote Isaiah, “those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” For our loving gracious God does not faint or grow weary;
God’s understanding is unsearchable. And I might add the scope of God’s patience is infinite and for good reason!
We each carry so many responsibilities, burdens you might say, to care for others, to be responsible in our roles at work and in our families, with friends, to the environment, at church, the list goes on and on. What Christ challenges his followers to is a life of sacrifice, of hardship, of eternal joy and treasures that will never tarnish or fall away, and yes, to shoulder a burden, a burden in the form of a commitment. And at the same time a burden that he never expects us to carry alone.
Yesterday was one of the Sundays in the church year designated for the celebration of the sacrament of baptism or if there are no baptisms to renew our baptismal vows. In those vows we renew the commitment that either we make or is made for us at our baptism, and it reminds us that as we live our lives in Christ it is always, “with God’s help.”
Faithfully,
Sally+
Questions for Reflection: What difficult personal questions about how you live your life are raised by the gospels? How do you plan to respond? What are your personal responsibilities to Christ? How do you fulfill those responsibilities?