Baggage

The scene was enough to make any airline executive's heart skip a beat yesterday as video surfaced of thousands of suitcases and other travel bags lined up in a parking lot at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix.  A computer glitch in the TSA system caused the unprecedented backlog of bags...by some estimates, more than 3000!  That's a lot of baggage!  One man, asked to assess his experience in the midst of the confusion, said, "I've heard every swear word known to man in the last fifteen minutes."  Anger and frustration is understandable in such a circumstance.  We are righty concerned about how our baggage is handled.

Baggage is often defined as the container which holds clothing, books, or a variety of personal possessions one takes along, usually when traveling. The word baggage can also be used metaphorically to define other things we carry within our hearts and minds that speak to experiences of life that are often difficult, sometimes traumatic, and at times, unresolved.  We often want to keep such "baggage" close, not wishing others to have access to that which we carefully guard.  Like suitcases strewn across an airport parking lot, lost somewhere in transit in an eighteen wheeler, or packed onto another plane whose destination cannot easily be tracked, (all things the lost bags of Sky Harbor were subjected to) we struggle to hold onto and claim our own baggage and all that accompanies it.

I Peter 5:7 gives us sound advice in the midst of the burdens we hold close and those that seem just out of our reach.  "Cast your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." (NRSV)  British pastor and scholar, J.B. Philiips, translates this verse, "You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon Him, for you are HIs personal concern."  Sometimes this baggage we carry and struggle to control is quite heavy.  3000+ lost bags is a lot of baggage to carry.  I would guess there were several TSA and airport personnel with sore backs in Phoenix this morning.  Peter reminds us that our weariness can give way to God's comfort and peace as we let God help carry the burdens and heartaches of life that often seem so difficult to bear.  Considering the baggage we each carry and seek to manage, learning to throw the whole weight of our anxieties upon God is a practice of faith we would do well to observe. 

Sunday morning, we will celebrate Pentecost, remembering the Holy Spirit's presence at work in the early church that changed lives and gave evidence to the power of God at work in those who faithfully followed Jesus, the Christ.  The color red is often associated with Pentecost so I encourage you to wear something red on Sunday as reminder to us all of the presence of God at work in and around us. Remember also that we continue to receive a love offering for Andre Towner whose last Sunday with us will be May 22.  A reception will precede Sunday School on the 22nd from 9:15-10 a.m. in the narthex, so plan to come and let the Towner's know of your appreciation of and best wishes for them.

Finally, our 5th Sunday project for this month has been finalized.  In recognition of Memorial Day and in honor of so many who have sacrificed so much in service to our nation, we will be working with the National Cemetery at Quantico to help prepare the grounds for Memorial Day Celebrations.  We will join others on Saturday, May 28 at 9 a.m. to clean and prepare trails, place flags, and other tasks that will prepare this hallowed ground for Memorial Day remembrances.  Please sign up at the welcome center so we can have an idea of how many would like to participate and for transportation needs.

I like the last phrase of J.B. Phillips' translation of I Peter 5:7; "...you are God's personal concern."  Keep that in mind with the image of all that baggage strewn across the parking lot at Sky Harbor, and as you think about your own baggage strewn across the landscape of your life.

I look forward to seeing you in Red on Sunday.

Jim Abernathy