Wounded Healers and Burden Bearers

March 23, 2022
Midweek Study with Pastor Edith
Matthew 4:14-15, Galatians 6:2

I have been hosting a Lenten weekly gathering I call my Simple Soup Supper and Study at the Lanesville Church every Tuesday evening at 5:30 during this Holy season. I am so grateful for all who participate and how folks not only bring food to share, but are also willing to read scripture and share some of their Discipleship experiences. It is during gatherings like this, that I am reminded that I am not alone in my worries and fears for the condition of our world and the trouble so many of our families’ face.

This past Tuesday we talked about what the Bible has to say about the importance of prayer, and specifically our prayers for others. I experienced recently a prayer time between one of my Lay Leaders and a troubled family. They all knew each other well, and have known each other much longer than I have known them. I was leaving the Sanctuary when I looked up and saw this little circle of prayer. It was unmistakable that the prayer of the Lay Leader was so inspired by the Holy Spirit for the good of this family to shine as a witness for Christ, I had to stop and bow my head at a distance. Guess who got blessed as well? You see, everyone in that prayer circle had experienced similar situations of pain and burden, so they prayed and agreed together.

In the passage from Matthew 4:14-15 Jesus has just instructed the Disciples in what we now call the Lord’s prayer. He goes on to say how important it is to forgive others. In fact, Jesus says, “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”. Ouch! There’s that old familiar sting again. Gil Duchow, in the Lenten devotional Drawn To The Cross writes; “Sometimes our burdens may seem to be more than we can bear, especially when they are exacerbated by someone who makes our life almost unbearable. When we are overwhelmed by our own burdens and cares, how can we be expected to bear the burdens of others?”.

The Apostle Paul writes to the Galatian church that they are to “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. I sense he is referencing the loving of God fully and the loving of neighbor as self. I have to remember that being a disciple of Jesus Christ is to walk the way of the cross, which means for me a decision to let go of myself more each day and seek to follow his way of healing and bearing burdens. How heavy his cross must have been! Surely I can help heal wounded hearts with such a great love as Christ’s, which I believe begins with forgiveness and then I am strengthened to help carry the burden of someone who needs help.

AMEN!