RELEASING YOUR BURDENS by Father Charles Van Winkle, CSC
During a flood a few years ago I was living in a farm house completely surrounded by water. And as I looked out the window at some cows standing knee deep in the water, I got to hankering for some catfish. So I put on my hipboots–you had better put yours on–and began to wade out until I came upon those cows. And sure enough, it was just as I had suspected. Some catfish–all cat relatives like milk—were nursing off of those cows. All I had to do was reach down, take the catfish from the udders and drop them into the bucket. I want to tell you, it was an udderly fabulous catch of fish!
Now you know that story is true because it is a fish story. But what you are about to consider is more fabulous than any udderly fabulous catch of fish.
This fellow phoned a psychologist friend to complain that his next door neighbor was driving him nuts; he was singing loudly day and night thinking he had a part in an opera.
“Send him to me,” said the psychologist.
Two weeks later the fellow again phoned the psychologist and said, “I don’t hear my neighbor singing any more. Did you cure him of his illusion?”
“No. I just assigned him a much smaller part.”
Although because like everyone else you will always have burdens to carry, the Lord wants to lighten your load, assign you a smaller part.
When I was teaching at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, one afternoon after school, as I stood next to Coach Joe Figler during wrestling practice, I was fascinated by the agility and finesse of our light heavyweight contender for the State championship. Turning to Joe I said, “This kid looks terrific!”
Joe’s response was, “Yeah, this kid looks terrific even when he’s losing.”
“When all earthly props give under and life seems a restless sea, are you then a God-kept wonder, satisfied, calm and free?” You can and should be. Let’s see.
“Our eyes seldom met as we talked. Her body language, twisting fingers and shifting posture shouted her anxiety. ‘Peace,’ she said. ‘I’ve got to find some peace of mind!’
“‘What must happen if you are to have peace?’
“The question froze her nervous movements. Only her eyes melted. ‘Things must change. Circumstances must be different, if I am to have peace.’
“We waited in eloquent silence. Along the path of easy fantasy, she dreamed of another world. I waited at the door of reality, knowing she must return that way. Circumstances would not change. Would she? Peace is not the magic of changing circumstances. It is the happy discovery of maturing persons. Getting things right is not the secret. Getting me right is the elusive key to peace” (Rev. Browning Ware, First Baptist Church, Austin).
“Two people looked through the prison bars; one saw mud, the other saw stars.” Everyone has the daily challenge of carrying the cross. It is how we respond to the challenge that determines whether we see the mud or the stars, no matter what the circumstance.
Merlin Carothers was a wayward youth who quit school and roamed the streets until he was old enough to join the army. After being booted from the army, he ended up in jail looking through the bars seeing the mud. But his cellmate was seeing the stars; out of desperation he had repented and had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. And eagerly wanting to share his exhilarating joy and freedom with his disgruntled cellmate, he perseveringly pursued Merlin who had no place to hide.
“Fella, you are driving me crazy! What do I have to do to shut you up?”
“Merlin, get rid of the garbage; tell Jesus you are sorry for your sins, and ask him to fill your emptiness with his love and peace. Invite Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior.”
Starved for the love and peace his cellmate was experiencing, Merlin acknowledged his sinfulness, committed his life to Jesus, and in that cell began to realize the inexpressible freedom and joy he had never known.
After his release from jail, Merlin studied to become a minister, and as a chaplain was accepted back into the army. And his ministry continues to be inspired by these challenging words recorded by St. Paul: “Give thanks always and for all things in the name of Jesus Christ to God the Father” (Eph 5:20), for “We know that all things work for the good of those who love God…” (Rm 8:28a). When, for example, he was approached by a distraught soldier with the news his wife had terminal cancer, Chaplain Carothers’ immediate response was, “Knowing that all things work for the good of those who love God, and in all things give thanks, before further consideration, we must praise and thank the Lord.”
Accordingly, concerning the release of your burdens, the first of the four steps is to have that spirit of resignation inspired by the Holy Spirit and manifested by Jesus; that is, you are willing to carry your cross as is if God so wills.
In the following words Jesus reminds us that anyone who has committed his or her life to him need not worry about self, relatives, friends, bad habits, poor health, financial problems or whatever: “Come to me all of you who find life burdensome, and I will refresh you” (Mt 11:28). And so, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act” (Ps 37:5).
However, some who do go to Jesus when challenged needlessly suffer, which maybe was true of the Apostles when the storm arose with Jesus asleep in the boat. Since most of them were fishermen, they may not have been inclined to seek the help of Jesus who they supposed knew nothing about sailing through stormy seas. They were the sailors; they would be in control. As is so often with many of us when challenged, it was perhaps only as a last resort that they frantically retreated to Jesus, who immediately calmed the raging sea and admonished the Apostles for their lack of faith. But previously Jesus had told them to “Seek first his kingship over you… and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33). Assuming they did not, if they had first gone to Jesus when challenged by the storm, they could have avoided needless consternation.
Therefore, the second step for releasing any burden is immediately to take it to the Lord and to claim the victory in the name of Jesus.
Regarding the third condition, Jesus says, some people “look but do not see, they listen but do not hear or understand” (Mt 13:13b). Also, Jesus wept over Jerusalem and said, “If only you had known the path to peace this day; but you have completely lost it from view” (Lk 19:42)! That is, in childlike faith you must be open to the release of your burden in the time and manner in which God determines. Accordingly, after taking your burden to Jesus and claiming the release in his name, also claim openness in the name of Jesus on the part of yourself and anyone else who might be instrumental in the relief you are seeking.
The final step is for you, at least with a general intention, to offer your suffering of carrying your daily cross for that greater openness in faith to accept whatever relief God wishes to grant. Subsequently, any time the burden comes to mind, simply praise and thank God for the victory, for the relief, for the healing he wills for you.
“As children with tears brought their broken toys for me to mend, I brought my broken dreams to God because he is my friend. But instead of leaving him in peace to work alone, I stayed around and tried to help with thoughts that were my own. Finally I snatched my burdens back and cried, ‘Why are you so slow?’
“‘My dear child,’ he gently sighed, ‘what could I do, you never did let go?’”
As stated in a “Christopher News Note,” “The inner peace that comes from trusting God helps us deal calmly with whatever life brings. Freed from needless anxiety, we can experience the joy of life. Pray for the faith that brings peace which not only heals, but helps us heal others.”
If in steadfast childlike faith you let go and let God, you will not be anxious or afraid; you will have the peace he bequeaths to you. “Faith is to be sure of things hoped for and certain of things not yet seen” (Heb 11:1) because the God of love is who he is for you and for everyone.
On one occasion ten lepers called out to Jesus that they might be healed. But Jesus did not immediately heal them. Rather, he told them to go show themselves to the priest, which was what he ordinarily told those he had already cured to do. However, rather than be discouraged, the lepers exercised their faith in Jesus that resulted in their being healed on the way to see the priest.
In 1949 I had an emergency appendectomy. Three days after the operation I was in such intense pain that I thought the doctor had botched the operation. The truth was that even though the symptom of pain had not subsided after three days, I was in the process of being healed. Likewise, sometimes you may give a burden to the Lord and matters seem to get worse. Jesus is testing your faith, which is the only way you can prove your love for him; that is, to be willing to trust he only wills and allows what is best for you no matter how he may disguise the reality.
The longer you persevere in faith, the more you prove your love and increasingly become more whole, holy, happy, human, free, mature in control, a lover, Christlike, who you are called to be. “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Jm 1:2-4).
If tempted to “snatch your burden back,” just interiorly say, “No, in the name of Jesus,” and praise and thank the Lord for the victory. Also, be mindful that time is brief and look for the ultimate victory: “Happy the person who stands firm when trials come. That person has proved him or her self and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (Jm 1:12) through steadfast faith in him.
For example, occasionally I have distraught parents come to me regarding a daughter or son who is incorrigible and/or has run away. After hearing them out, I tell them they have no reason to worry if they will accept the truth that our God of infinite love necessarily loves their child more than they, and only wills what is best for him or her. Also, that through their anxiety, often expressed by constant nagging, and perhaps lack of unconditional love–”We want nothing to do with you unless you abandon your evil ways!”–they themselves may be obstacles to their child’s being open to reform. In other words, although it is important to let the wayward child know they disagree with his or her lack of conformity with objective truth, it is equally important to convey the unconditional love Jesus has for every person: “We love you, and we will always be here for you.”
Accordingly, it is necessary to let go and let God and have intercessory faith in Jesus on behalf of the loved one, the faith that is often manifested in the Gospels: The centurion comes to Jesus on behalf of his servant; the parents approach on behalf of their daughter who has died; others bring a person on a pallet to Jesus. The people who were raised up may never have heard of Jesus, but the intercessory faith of loved ones was their way to the healing power of Jesus.
It is recorded in the book of Acts that Paul and Silas were in prison in Phillippi. After a severe earthquake shakes open the prison doors and everyone’s chains are pulled loose, Paul prevents the jailer from committing suicide. Falling trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, the jailer pleads, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” They answer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved and your household” (Acts 16:30,31). Then he and his whole household are baptized. Again, it was a manifestation of intercessory faith that resulted in the salvation of others.
As always, no matter what the nature of the burdens, Jesus says, “Bring your burdens to me, and I will refresh you” (Mt 11:28). Therefore, even if a wayward loved one apparently continues to be unrepentant, if you persevere in steadfast childlike faith in Jesus on his or her behalf, you will finally be united with the loved one in heaven to experience the eternal refreshment that Jesus promises through your intercessory faith.
“She waited for the call that never came. Searched every mail for a card or letter that bore his name. And on her knees at night and on her feet all day, she stormed heaven’s gate in his behalf.
“‘Be still and wait,’ the word God gave. And so she knew that he would do with, in and for him that which she never could. Doubts ignored, she went about her chores with joy, knowing his word is true: ‘Come to me with your burden, and I will refresh you.’
“No, the prodigal had not returned. But God is God and God is love; and there was work to do.”
In summary, as you exercise your unconditional love through steadfast childlike faith in Jesus, no matter what burdens you release to him, you will be refreshed. And as your faith continues to grow stronger by daily praying for an increase, by practicing it in living the Faith-Love Principle, and by meditating on your success; increasingly you will be able to experience and witness to others that there is no such thing as a personal crisis because “All things work for the good of those who love God …” (Rm 8:28a).