FROM THE PULPIT: WEIGHING IN ON PEOPLE'S WOES

The strongest man, according to the Guinness Book of World Records 2000, is Ronny Weller of Germany who can "snatch" 205 kg (roughly 451 pounds.) and "jerk" 262 kg (roughly 576 pounds.) That's a little more than half a ton of combined weight!

Mr. Weller, however, is no match for the common ant. Ants have proportionately more muscle and can carry up to 50 times their weight. Mr. Weller, who weighs in at a minimum of 105 kg (231 pounds.) would have to lift the equivalent of almost six tons!

Yet neither Mr. Weller nor the ant can compare to the weight-carrying capacity of the average human being. I've seen the average person carry huge amounts of pain, guilt and anger. I watch people heap literal mountains of regret upon themselves for past mistakes. Every day I encounter people bowed low by burdens they can't seem to unload, and in some cases, refuse to put down.

The movie, "The Patriot," starring Mel Gibson is a classic example. He plays Ben Martin, a former soldier whose military atrocities were legendary. Yet the graphic horror and the reality of what he had done weigh heavy upon him. Throughout the movie, we see him wrestle with the burden of his past. He looks for some way to feel God's forgiveness, yet always fearing that his past sins would catch up to him.

Ben Martin is an example of a person weighed down by the burden of unforgiveness.

Yet, Jesus died to release us from that crushing load. In Jesus Christ, all is forgiven, not by something we need to do, but by what Christ has done on our behalf. It's called grace.

A second example of people weighed down by the burden of unforgiveness are those who refuse to let go of their anger over the pain inflicted by others. In my confirmation class, one of the students asked, "Should we forgive those who won't apologize?" This prompted a second question, "Do we forgive those who don't deserve to be forgiven?" That question moved us to ask, "Who deserves to be forgiven?"

The bottom line is no one deserves to be forgiven. Jesus makes no conditions that others must abide by in order for us to forgive them. If they deserved to be forgiven, it wouldn't be grace. God freely forgives us and takes the burden of guilt from our shoulders. Likewise, God enables us to release ourselves from the burden of our grievances that we hold toward others when we forgive them.

But like so many things in life, it is our choice whether we accept God's forgiveness, or whether we forgive others that our pain may begin to heal. It is always our choice to shoulder the burdens or allow the bitterness and venom to eat away at our insides.

There's an old story about two monks walking in the woods. They come across a substantial stream, and a pretty young woman standing on their side of the stream hoping to find a way across. One of the monks picks her up and carries her across to the other side. The other monk crosses the creek with them, but in disbelief that this first monk violated their vows that forbid contact with women.

Upon reaching the other side, the first monk set the woman down. She thanked him with a polite bow, and the two monks continue their journey through the woods. After a long period of silence, the second monk comments with a perturbed tone in his voice. "You know our vows. And you were not supposed to carry that woman across the stream."

The first monk replies. "It was an act of charity, and I carried her across the stream and set her down on the other side. You, however, appear to carry her still in your mind."

Whose transgressions are you still carrying in your mind?