The Posture of Praise

August 27, 1995

Luke 13:13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

In the House of Worship on the Lord's Day is probably not the the first place we would be looking for people bent out of shape. But there she was, all bent over, looking down because she couldn't look up. Jesus was there in the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and when Jesus touched her, she stood up straight and tall for the first time in eighteen years!

At the very beginning of his ministry (Luke 4:18) Jesus declared that he came to preach good news to the poor and to set captives free. Here in the synagogue in Capernaum Jesus found a woman who was weighed down by a burden that had bent her over for eighteen years. True to his word, Jesus touched her and set her absolutely free, and she stood up straight and tall and began praising God..

If we could look around this sanctuary with spiritual vision, we might be surprised by the various kinds of burdens that bend us over, by the kinds of weights that make simply carrying on from day to day a near-impossible task. Every one of us will have to go through hard places, and carry heavy burdens. But is it possible that some of us carry unnecessary burdens? Are there spirits of heaviness that have any of us weighed down? Do you think it is still possible that Jesus is still in House of Worship ready to touch people who are bending under heavy loads?

THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF BURDENS THAT SHOW UP EVEN IN THE PLACE OF WORSHIP.

There are legitimate burdens of care for elderly parents, or for wayward children. There are burdens of responding to God's call in spite of opposition.      

Then there are burdens we have brought on ourselves through foolishness or sin. There are burdens of secret sin, of leading double lives. Burdens of envy and jealousy, of hatred or malice. And there are burdens of unresolved hurt feelings, There are burdens of fear of the unknown. It sounds simplistic, and it is, to say 'Jesus is the answer' to all these kinds of burdens. Still, coming near to God, coming to where Jesus can touch us, is the beginning point, whatever your burden this morning may be. . . .

SO— WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THE BURDENS THAT BEND US OUT OF SHAPE?

WE BRING THEM TO THE SANCTUARY IN HOPES OF MEETING JESUS WE LOOK FOR THE TOUCH OF JESUS REGARDLESS OF THE SOURCE OF THE BURDEN WE DO WHAT WE CAN DO . . . AND GOD WILL DO WHAT WE CAN NOT DO . . .

Look at some of the BURDENS OF LIFE The (complicated) burdens that involve others, relationships, damaged emotions can best be ministered to by counsel and community. But ministry which treats the whole person, including body, mind, and spirit, needs to begin with a prayer for help to Jesus. Jesus cares whatever our heartaches may be. He is not deaf. He said he came to make us free men and women. We may have to bear burdens, but we do not have to be slaves of our responsibilities and cares. If you are here this morning with a burden involving heartache and sorrow, don't avoid counselors and normal channels of help. But begin by laying out your sorrow before the Lord. He cares! He will help guide your path to freedom. Jesus does not want any of his people captive by anyone or anything except love to Him.

Do you realize that there are BURDENS OF FAITH ? It may sound strange coming from a pastor, but religion itself can be an unbearable burden. The spiritual burdens of doubt and faith and inner struggle are burdens that Jesus loves to remove.

The LAW, the Ten Commandments, the word from Sinai, is GOOD. But God's original Law has been "improved" and "interpreted" with ten thousand 'shalts' and 'shalt nots,' that are impossible to keep. I know that heavy burden of being told what is right and what is wrong, of seeing salvation supposedly reduced to a rigid code of conduct which is interpreted and re-interpreted until the juice of compassion and grace is all but squeezed out of it, totally missing the heart of the joy and peace that knowing Jesus is all about.

The Ten Commandments are true and good. But God intends that we be able to keep them by loving Him, and loving each other. Being "religious" can be a burden. But true religion comes when we quit trying on our own to be Christians, and invite Jesus to live in us and forgive our sins, and when we start living to please HIM. I don't know any heavier burden that trying sincerely to live the Christian life apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit!

[Finally ...]

The teens coming back from Camp and testifying last Sunday night gave me food for thought. They were unanimous in saying "I need to witness! But I am afraid!" Do you ever think about

THE BURDEN OF GOD'S CALL [?]

The prophet Jeremiah was just a very young man when he felt this challenge to 'do something important' with his life. He seemed at the same time to be wrestling with one of the most common ailments known to modern human beings: the Low Self Image. (It is there in the first chapter of Jeremiah's prophecy:)

Jeremiah woke up one morning to find a great big burden ready to weigh him down to the ground. It was a burden he would carry for the rest of his life. But in carrying that burden Jeremiah was not bent down to the ground— he is one of the sweetest, kindest, most faithful prophets this world has seen.

Jeremiah heard God say: "I know you! I am calling you to be my special man!" He said, "Ah! Lord God! I am only a young person ... I can not possibly do this task! It needs someone great!"

But God answered back:

"Don't ever say 'I am ONLY! Never say I am ONLY anything!
"Because I AM has called you!
"Because I AM expects you to say ONLY what I tell you to say— and you can do that!
"Because I AM expects you to go ONLY where I tell you to go...
"And not only that, I AM COMING ALONG WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!"

[ I am a thousand miles from being Jeremiah— but this happened to me on the way to ENC: I discovered Isaiah 41:10! It is still mine. I need it right now! ]

Coming full circle, back to where we began:

On the Lord's Day in the sanctuary of the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene might not be the first place we would go to look for people bent out of shape. Jesus is in the business of setting captives free— of taking away the burdens of sin and shame and selfishness, and as He did with Jeremiah, making burdens redemptive when they are burdens of the cross.

There will always be burdens as long as there is life. But Jesus is in the business of setting us free, so that we are not hostages to those burdens. When we bear the cross for Jesus, we do not have to be captives to anyone or any thing. Amen.

Prayer - #607 - Just a Closer Walk With Thee