I heard someone recently
talking about the many disappointments and struggles of life that seemed to be
piling up. There was no one thing that had set her concerns off, but the
compilation of so many things around her that she had little if any control
over. "Sometimes," she said, "you just feel like giving up!" I understand
her frustration and will confess that there are moments when it is tempting to
just pull the covers up over your head and forget the world. That momentary
luxury cannot be sustained, for isolating ourselves from the world is not the
answer.
Today, I have been hearing the
wonderful soprano aria from Handel's Messiah, based on Matthew 11:28, over and
over in my mind. Perhaps it is because we have been spending time in our
Wednesday night seminars on the book, "Messiah: The Gospel According to Handel's
Oratorio," by Roger Bullard that this is so fresh in my mind. Or perhaps it is
simply the assurance of God's word that comes to us again and again through the
words of Jesus that are so significant for our time. "Come to me, all you
who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." These words have
been the basis for my pastor's notes before, but somehow, for today, for our
world, they bear repeating.
I offer them again to you today for whatever you are facing...frustration,
disappointment, perhaps simple weariness; our struggles may vary, but the
solution is still the same. "Come to me...I will give you rest."
May you find rest in the comforting, compassionate presence of
Christ.
Jim Abernathy
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