With Meghan’s rounds of “Happy Burfday America” (insert Bushism here) still ringing in my ear I turn to thoughts of preparation for church tomorrow and how I plan on honoring my particular religious freedoms I receive by living in this great country of America.
This week’s scripture comes to us again from Matthew 11 (16-19 & 25-30) and Roman’s 7 (15-25a) {if I am so bold to think that you are going to follow along}. We hear Paul’s voice telling of his all be it, complicated view of sin. ”7:15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Paul is talking about his relation to sin and how it is something born within him that he hates to do but realizes that it is something he is inescapably caught in. Sin burden’s us down, it mires us in the mud, it places weights upon on shoulders. So, Paul asks “7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Well we all know the answer to that, and it is the life death and resurrection – the freedom we receive in Christ Jesus.
OK Bryan, freedom, Independence day, we get it so what’s up with the Dependence Day theme? Well I will admit that it wasn’t my idea, but it seemed so incredibly fitting that i had to borrow it. The Gospel for this week contains many ideas that I thought i would write about this week, but the largest principle that seems to keep coming to the surface is the idea of the yoke bearer. And i wonder how may times in our lives do we get bogged down with burdens and sins that we forget to cast our burden’s unto the one who relieves all of them.
As i start this journey to seminary I am reminded constantly about my “un-godly” like actions in my life. “Well a pastor wouldn’t do that” or “Is that anyway a pastor should be doing” – which is not to say that i relish in my sinful ways, it just is a constant struggle for me to live up to societal expectations of what “is” a pastor. I take great comfort though in knowing that Jesus didn’t really live up to his societal expectations either, he ate and dined with the sinners, cast out demons, and still offers to us all the greatest gift imaginable. We all struggle with living up to a “good” and “perfect” life, we have times when we slip up and need to be forgiven, we struggle on with trying to do the right thing – and when we feel we have no strength left, Jesus is there at the table, in the waters to give us new life, to take our burdens. How liberating… how freeing…. how independent of us….
Christ becomes what idealistically America was at the turn of the century. Inscribed on the Statue of Liberty are what I think are the most idealic of the American people…”Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” This great country is also ready to take on the burden’s of the world’s sins. In our great American spirit we band together to take on the wrongs in the world. We seek out those who can not fight for themselves, we honor those individuals who through self giving service have given their lives to this calling for America. We are in great debt to those individuals who take up the yoke for other people – who go without question. We are truely dependant on the actions of these individuals.
We are also dependant on Christ. We all fall short of the Glory of God. We constantly mess up, “get dirty” like little kids and from time to time need to be cleaned up. We are DEPENDANT on Christ – we need him to lighten our loads, help us to become clean again, and walk with us in our daily struggles.
So happy “burfday America” and Happy Dependence Day.
Living up to the social expectations of a pastor…wow…I know that one well. For the 14 years that I was a pastor, I constantly struggled with that. And because of that struggle, I kept a lot of things to myself. I didn’t want people to know the struggles I had. I didn’t want to let them down. I felt that I had to be “spiritual enough” to earn their respect. The last 6 years of my pastoral ministry was a process of my shedding the pastoral guise that I had worn and trying to integrate the real me into my ministry. It was tough. I felt more and more free during those final 6 years, but I still struggled with living up to what I thought were everyone’s expectations. I suspect it is something every pastor deals with. But like you said, it is all about dependence on Christ. Be yourself and be dependent on him. You’ll have a tremendous ministry as you allow people to see the real you!