Sure feels good to take a load off, doesn’t it?  Especially when you’re tired or hurting or weak.  At some point we all have to take a load off, do some unloading, or run the risk of being completely broken by what we choose to carry.  When the scripture says “the wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23, KJV) that is part of what it means.  The cost of choosing to keep carrying the weight of our sin is to be broken by the weight of it.  At some point, we have to do some unloading or pay the price of carrying unbearable weight.  It’s just that it’s virtually impossible to do the unloading alone.

A colleague of mine told me of going to see his doctor some years ago.  The doctor was a member of his church.  When he called to make the appointment the receptionist asked why he needed to see the doctor and he simply said he wanted a private consultation.  The receptionist said that would be fine but that the normal fee would still apply.  My friend said that would be fine and set the appointment.  The day of the appointment he was shown to the examining room and when the doctor came in he said, “Hello, Jimmie.  What can I do for you today?”  My friend said, “There’s nothing you can do for me.  I just wanted fifteen minutes of your time to ask you how you’re doing.” 

This pastor knew that those who, like doctors, spend their every waking moment giving care to others once and a while need someone to care for them.  For the next fifteen minutes, that pastor let his doctor do some unloading.  Again, unloading is not something we can do alone. 

So, how about you?  How are you doing with that load you’re carrying these days?  That load of sin or fear or grief or anxiety?  How’s the load bearing going?  Would you like to take a load off this morning?

All of this makes the pronouncement of John the Baptist about Jesus particularly meaningful.  “‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’” (John 1:29)! This is the preamble of Jesus’ ministry.  John gets to make the announcement and these are the words he chooses.  If it was your job to introduce Jesus, what words would you use?  You’re the emcee and Jesus is the keynoter.  “Here’s Jesus, the miracle worker.”  Or, “Here’s Jesus, the best teacher ever.”  What words would you use?  John chooses these words full of beautiful imagery, “‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’” 

To a Jewish audience, these words had particular meaning.  They would have gotten the connection.  In their worship, lambs were offered as sacrifices on the altar for the sins of the people.  When John called Jesus the “‘Lamb of God,’” he was saying that Jesus would be the one on whom the world could unload its sin and who would carry it away forever.  All sin, for all people for all time.  All sin.  Gone!  Forever!  So that the only sin any of us carries today is the sin we choose to burden ourselves with, not sin God intends for us to carry. 

This would be Jesus’ mission in this world, as Isaiah had prophesied more than once, centuries before John’s introduction of him to the world.  “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.  He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth” (Isaiah 42:1, 4).  “My righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11, NIV). 

Jesus came to be our burden bearer.  So, if what you would call your religious experience has been more of a burden to you than a relief, more entrapment than freedom, more rule than rejoicing, then it is not something Jesus gave you.  He said as much.  “‘Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’” (Matthew 11:29-30, NIV).  And, as Peter was passing his faith along to others near the end of his life, he expressed what he had come to know of this burden bearer personally in one of his letters to the early church.  “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NIV). 

In this interplay between the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus and the New Testament descriptions of him, something very significant is developing.  Do you see it?  In the Old Testament, God is painted in these panoramic vistas of great acts with mankind in general.  He’s God on the mountain that only Moses could talk to and report to others about, that kind of thing.  But, as the revelation of God to man matures, by the time we get to the New Testament, we have a very personal picture of God.  A baby in a manger.  A man walking with other men, touching individual lives.  And then, as Peter states, a person who knows about and cares about you, personally and individually.  Jesus came to bear your personal burden away.

I turned fifty last September.  If you haven’t sent a card, it’s not too late!  But, I think I’ve discovered the worst thing about turning fifty.  The worst part about turning fifty is, of all things, worrying about it.  Once I actually made the turn and cut the cake, I thought, “So, that’s it?!”  Not that there isn’t a price to paid as we get older.  Like using a cane to walk.  It’s been very interesting, by the way.  I’ve noticed that when you walk with a cane, people treat you differently.  I’ve had little old ladies opening doors for me.  Waitresses offering me better seats.  Someone also pointed out that carrying a cane means that no young, good-looking girls will pay attention to me.  But, that stopped happening a long time ago anyway.  Seriously, the worst part about turning fifty is worrying about it.

Which means that now I’m free to go about worrying about something else more important.  Or, said better, living a more focused life.  More focused on what matters most.  And, if I am going to accept Jesus’ invitation to learn from him, that means that now, at fifty, post-macho, I can stop pretending that I’m smart enough, strong enough or creative enough to handle this thing called life all by myself.  That it’s OK to do some unloading of some of that burden I’ve carried all of my life.  If I can do that, then maybe I will finally learn to become what I have said I was all along, a disciple of Jesus. 

That will mean, first, giving him my burdens, whatever they may be.  My anxieties, my fears, my worries, my sin, all of it.  That’s part of what it means to learn from Jesus.  Then, that will mean learning to become in my life what I have said all along I am, a disciple of Jesus – one who learns from him.

Have you noticed how the president is aging?  I saw a picture of him this week from just two years ago and he looked ten years younger.  That job must come with a lot of stress.  You’d think that with all those brains, all that power and all those resources at his finger tips he could just coast.  I guess not.  This job is aging him right before our eyes.  What’s aging you?  When are you going to cast your cares on Jesus?  When are you going to learn from him and take his yoke upon you?

When I was a little boy, in one of my earliest memories from about the time I was four, I stuck my finger in a light socket one day at my great aunt’s house in deep south Louisiana.  It bit like a snake and I cried and ran to my mother who picked me up and held me in her lap, cuddling me in her arms.  It felt so good.  In fact, it felt so good that after she put me back down I went and stuck my finger in the light socket again just so she’d hold me like that one more time.  Isn’t it amazing what we’ll do to ourselves to get the love we need from others, or what sometimes poses itself as love and acceptance?

A friend of mine is a very successful attorney downtown.  Ivy League education.  Big house.  All the amenities.  About ten years ago he told me how much he hated his job.  “What would you do if you weren’t an attorney?” I asked.  “I’d teach school,” he said.  I knew the answer before I asked the next question.  I asked it anyway.  “So, why don’t you become a teacher?”  “I can’t afford to,” he said.  He’s bearing an awfully heavy burden in order to have what this world is telling him he has to have to be happy.  And, strangely, he’s not that happy.  The things we’ll do!  The burdens we’ll carry!

Specifically, the burden of the sin of worshipping the false gods our culture declares we must.  A false god is anyone or anything to which we assign the power to declare our worth to us other than the God who gave us our worth through creation and redemption.  Again, anyone like to take a load off today?

That’s first.  Unloading our sin on Jesus.  But, listen again.  Jesus said that we are to learn from him.  I sometimes wonder these days if maybe I’m finally beginning to learn.  Even at fifty!  I’m beginning to learn that my life isn’t about me.  For these fifty years so far, God has put me here to see what I would do with all this stuff he loaned me.  My time, my intelligence, my energy, my resources.  They really aren’t “mine.”  They’re on loan from God and he’s watching to see what I’ve learned about how to use them to help others take a load off, too.

When the 9.0 earthquake that caused the tsunami occurred, satellites recorded a shock wave that traveled the oceans of the world far beyond the waters of Asia where some 160,000 people lost their lives.  Eventually, every shore on the planet felt the rippling affect of that indescribable disaster.  Indeed, thirty-two hours after the earthquake, a one-foot wave rippled ashore at Atlantic City, New Jersey.  All of which goes to demonstrate that nothing can happen to anyone in the family of humanity that does not affect everyone in the family of humanity. 

After the tsunami, it was easy to be cynical about giving to the relief effort.  Our government is spending millions and, since we pay taxes, why should we also write another check?  Except for a question a Muslim cleric asked when interviewed on Larry King Live.  The discussion on the table with ministers representing a broad range of faiths, Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Baptist and so on, was about how God could allow such a tragedy to occur.  The Muslim cleric said, “The question is not, ‘Where is God?’  The question is, ‘Where is our humanity?’”  So, I cut a check. 

I didn’t give because my paltry gift will make that much difference in the lives of the hundreds of thousands of people still suffering.  I gave because I had to do something to acknowledge that those who suffer are part of my family and I am a part of theirs.  If my brother is in poverty then my wealth is diminished.  If my brother is sick, then I am not totally healthy.  If my sister is lonely then my circle of friendship is too small.

The prophet said of the one who came to bear the human family’s burden, “He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth.”  Then, when Jesus came to establish that justice he told those who would follow him, “‘learn from me.’” 

What should we learn?  People need the Lord.  That’s what we should learn.  People are burdened beyond belief.  And, Jesus wants us to not only give him our burden but also help others do some unloading on him, too. 

A few months ago a member of our church called and asked if I would come to his home and visit with him.  Of course, I agreed and we met in his living room one day shortly after that.  I noticed that his wife didn’t join us.  When we sat down, he began by telling me that he and his wife had joined our church a few years back and that shortly thereafter she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  Since they had only been members a short while, they hadn’t gotten connected to a Sunday School class or any small group that would notice their absence.  For five years, they had been all but prisoners in their own home.  Then, he said, “All we are to our church is a mailing label.” 

The next thing I expected was a hot blast of blame.  I’ve gotten that more than once when someone felt left out.  I don’t know how that happens, how people get left out or forgotten.  It’s just that no matter how hard we try, every now and then, someone falls through the cracks.  So, I was expecting this hot blast but what I got completely humbled me instead.  This dear man went on to say, “I’ve called you hear today not just to tell you how we feel but to tell you that I want to help you help others who might feel left out.” 

I’d never heard anything like that in my life.  Here was a man who had every right to be angry.  Instead, he’d chosen to use his experience as a catalyst to find a way of helping prevent it for others.  He loves to make greeting cards on the computer.  Every week now we send him the names of the sick and lonely and hospitalized and, on our church’s behalf, he sends them a card.  If you are in the hospital, you will get a card from our church because this man chose to take Jesus at his word and learn from him what it means to help others take a load off.

How can we do that even more?  Perhaps you’ve heard about the crime in Oak Cliff lately and the latest police crime fighting initiative.  After I saw that on the news the other day, I called the deputy chief in charge of this sector of the city and offered our church’s resources to help in any way we could.  About a week later he called back and asked if we would host a Town Hall meeting for the community here in our sanctuary.  So, on Tuesday, February 15, we will invite the people of this community into our sanctuary to do some unloading.  Pray with me, will you, that it will give us opportunity to bear witness of our relationship with the Jesus who has taken our burden away.

There is something else I’m learning at fifty.  It may well be that we are saved the moment we first accept Jesus’ forgiveness of our sins and trust him to take them away from us.  That may well be the moment we’re saved.  But, the moment of our true conversion does not come until we move from just saying that we believe in Jesus to actually following him in such a way that we participate with him in the work he came to do.  Some of us were saved at eight or nine.  We just weren’t converted until we were . . . maybe fifty? 

What would happen if we really chose to take Jesus seriously about learning from him about helping people do some unloading?  There’s no telling!

Some of you may remember Wayne and Charlotte Lambert who were members here a few years back.  They recently moved to Boston.  I was talking with Charlotte the other day and asking her how she likes living there.  She said it’s just incredible, especially in the fall when the leaves change.  Not long ago, just after they moved there, she was driving around one day and got lost.  She called Wayne at the office on her cell phone and said, “Wayne, I’m so lost!  But, I’ve never had so much fun in all of my life!”

That must be what it’s like to follow Jesus into this strange new country of living to serve others, in ways that often make no sense to a culture built on self-service.  I just can’t help but wonder if it will feel like getting lost in a beautiful new country with this being our witness to others.  “I’m so lost but I’ve never had so much fun in all my life!” 

I just wanted to ask you one more time.  Anyone need to take a load off?  The Jesus who personally knows and cares for you is here, just waiting to carry your burden away.  Anyone need to do some unloading?