4-26-2020
“Come and Rest”
(1 Peter 5:5b-11)
Cast your burden onto Jesus
He cares for you x2
Higher Higher Higher Higher Higher
Higher Higher Lift Jesus Higher
I learned this song almost twenty years ago when I worked with a children’s choir as a student pastor. I liked the tune and rhythm of the song, but I wonder if I fully grasped the meaning of the lyrics at that time.
How do we actually cast our burdens unto Jesus?
The other day after cooking a nice meal and having a full lunch, I got tired and needed a break. I was thinking of ordering or picking up something for supper. Yet, I said in passing with the slightest hope, “It would be nice if someone else can cook dinner.”
“Ok. I can do it.” All right! It was my daughter who volunteered unexpectedly.
Hours later, she started preparing the meal in the kitchen. There were some options from frozen food to make something from scratch. I should have let her choose whatever she wanted to do. But I kept telling her, “There’s chili you can heat up … or how about ravioli? Want to add salad?”
My act of irritation did not stop there. “Don’t use that dish. That is too nice for just washing the vegetables … Are you sure that you are supposed to boil like that? …”
I was nagging her and meddling as she was doing things differently from what I usually do in my kitchen.
Once I put her in charge, I should have stepped away and simply enjoyed the meal presented at the table.
I know I was not wise. My ego still wanted to be in control.
It’s no surprise why I am the cook most of the time.
I think I often react the same way in dealing with my burden. I say in my prayers that I surrender all my worries and concerns to God. But not long after, I willingly take them back. My heavy baggage of burdens are constantly back and forth between letting go and holding on.
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28) But it is so hard to believe in that promise. Is it possible to fully trust in God? Can we live carefree as humans?
In our passage from 1 Peter, the apostle said, “Cast all your anxiety on [Jesus], because he cares for you.” But really? When I lose my employment, my husband, my friend, is Jesus going to care for me? When I fall into the deep black holes of negativity and fatigue, is he still caring about me? Why are there so many sufferings in the world?
Between the original context of 1 Peter and our current circumstance, I find an interesting juxtaposition.
A New Testament scholar, Jeannie K. Brown explains the background of 1 Peter like this: “some of the most vulnerable persons in these house churches of Asia Minor [were] being pressed to give up their newfound faith and return to their former gods (4:3-4), the gods of their masters (2:18), and husbands (3:1). In this difficult situation, Peter calls them to remain steadfast to Christ and to persist in doing what is right, trusting in the faithful God who has created them (4:19). By doing so, they will be sharing in Christ’s sufferings, with the promise of sharing in his glory at his future revelation (4:13).”
(www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3262)
According to this message of 1 Peter, when we strive to live a life centered around Christ and face hardships, it is not a result of God’s punishment or something we consider as displeasing to God. Rather, when we suffer, we join the suffering of Christ who “was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). In difficult and challenging situations, the believers of good news in Jesus are to stand firm and have the living hope that God of all grace will “restore, empower, strengthen, and [reestablish]” (5:10) us indeed.
The audience of 1 Peter was going through a different kind of suffering than ours that was persecution and persistent cajoling and pressure to give up their faith in the risen Christ. We are under a pandemic and stay-at-home order that feels endless and like it’s taking away our freedom and our choices to do whatever we want to do with our own bodies.
Some people are losing their patience and protesting in the streets. I even saw a shocking sign of “Sacrifice the Weak” in their recent anti-lockdown/re-open rally, which was as bad as calling the novel virus a “fake” one and the videos of reckless acts like licking food in grocery stores, or spitting on Asian neighbors. Others feel frustrated with the lack of clarity in the guidelines, the shortage of supplies and test kits from the government, and an uncertain future that we cannot plan or prepare appropriately for.
Sometime later in history, we will remember this moment, and, hopefully, we will be wiser from the lessons we learn. Yet, living in the midst of it, it is getting hard to remind ourselves that this will not be forever and we are still cared for. I feel more exhausted than usual. It is hard to think creatively and pick up the next thing and move.
On Monday, following Easter Sunday, I read an article on the webpage of Parasol Wellness Collaborative – a psychotherapist professional group that is based in Otsego, Minnesota.
The article defined our current situation as a “chronic state of community trauma.”
Other traumas like hurricanes or tornadoes are generally time-bound. Once the incident is over, people can turn their focus on rebuilding and recovering. Hope can be restored. In the case of the Covid19 pandemic, however, there is no timeline. This is our first time to face it. We do not know exactly when we can go back to our ordinary daily living or when we can have a vaccination.
The writer in the article says that uncertainty is the most stressful condition for our bodies. While we are waiting for a test result, our stress hormones level is higher than when we actually live with a disease. Once we know what is upon us, we can shift into action, into hope. But when we are living in an unprecedented time like now, our brain is on high alert mode – all day long in ‘fight or flight’ status. Our energy is diverted away when we are in a survival mode. We cannot function optimally.
That is why we do not feel well-rested after spending lots of extra time napping or on the couch.
Another very informative thing that I found in the article is that we are collectively experiencing the loss of our “normal.” Anger, frustration, exhaustion, confusion, depression, anxiety … all of these fall under the umbrella of grief. We are grieving the missing parts of what used to be and what should have been. And on top of it, we feel more irritable than usual. We can experience a wide range of feelings that are conflicting. One moment we are hungry, but in a second we can lose appetite. Wanting to hang out with friends but cannot talk to one more person over the phone or another Zoom meeting. These seemingly conflicting odd emotions are common and normal under the circumstance as well.
The conclusion of the article advises us to lower our expectations of ourselves and our families while we are coping with the pandemic and stick with ‘grace’ than anything else when we care for and love ourselves.
(https://parasolwellness.com/why-am-i-so-tired/)
Grace.
We need grace not only from one another but also from God – the God of all grace – who bids us to come and rest. And we need to cast our anxiety and burden to the Holy One who sustains us; we need to let go and trust in the power of love that is a mystery yet a real experience for those who believe in it and live by it.
May we believe in the promise of Jesus and respond to his invitation.
Let me read Matthew11:28-30 in the Message version for us all:
“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.”
So be it. Amen!