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July 2-9, 2008

You have enough for the trip

Warm-up Question:

What burdens are you carrying?

 

Last week a group of eight women headed from their little Lutheran church in Iowa for a trip in the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota. The participants consisted of a woman in her 60’s, a 25 year old youth worker, 2 girls going into 9th grade, 2 seniors in high school, and a mother and her high school daughter. On the trip up to the Boundary Waters they listened to their iPods, talked on their cell phones, and watched DVDs on a portable DVD player. It seemed like a normal church trip.

Upon arriving at Wilderness Canoe Base, an ELCA outdoor ministry in Minnesota, the women quickly noticed that their cell phones lost their signals and service. The group’s college-aged guide joined them as they unloaded their gear from their van. As they camped at the Canoe Base the group had to ‘reorganize their gear’ to enable them to go on trail in the Boundary Waters. Each woman had to look at what they were going to bring with them into the wilderness. The guide sat with each person to help eliminate what would burden down their trip since they would have to carry everything they brought. Things that were left behind included cell phones, books, fashion magazines, watches, mp3 players, money, and extra camping gear. The women looked at each other with fear as they locked up many of the things that they carried around with them in their usual daily life.

The group headed out on trail. They had five packs and three canoes. Despite the careful weeding out of all their extra stuff they still had a lot to carry. On the first portage they struggled to get the 75 pound packs and canoes over the land to the water. They became glad that they had left behind many of the things they thought they needed for the trip. By the second day, the packs somehow seemed lighter. It wasn’t that they had any less stuff or that they got stronger, but it was that they knew they could carry them.

By the end of their trip, the group found that that they had strength beyond what they had perceived. They discovered that God continued to give them enough strength to make it through the wilderness and to get through each day.

 

Discussion Questions

  1. If you were asked to not bring your cell phone or iPod on a trip, what would your reaction be?
  2. What would be the hardest thing for you to leave behind for a week? For two weeks?
  3. Do you have an emotional burden that is difficult for you to let go? What do you carry with you inside?

Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, July 6, 2008.
(Text links are to oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year A at Lectionary Readings.)

Zechariah 9:9-12
Psalm 145:8-14 (8)
Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection
In the Gospel text Jesus tells us, “Come to me all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. 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 by burden is light.”

We are burdened with many things. The packs that we carry feel heavy, tiring, and impossible to carry. Some of us are burdened with disaster and fear, like those who have experienced flooding in the Midwest or fires in the West. Some of us are burdened with a physical burden, a body that won’t function as we would like it to. We are burdened with worry, whether we have enough or whether or not we are enough in our personal life. Everyone is fighting some kind of internal or external battle.

What Jesus asks of us is to let these burdens go to him. Let him take care of them. When our world is spinning out of control it is easy and natural to want to control it, and to be driven to frustration or to give up because it seems out of control. Jesus reminds us that we are not in this alone. We are constantly telling ourselves what we perceive to be lacking: “I’m not patient enough.” “I’m not strong enough.” “I don’t have enough time.” “I’m not good enough.” In
the middle of all these “not enough” thoughts and feelings, Jesus comes in and reminds us
that HE IS.

With Christ we are patient, strong, good, and richly blessed. We actually have all of the things that we think we lack. This lightens our burden and our load. We find rest knowing that God is carrying our heavy burdens and is with us always.

Discussion Questions

  1. What is one thing that you are carrying (metaphorically)?
  2. What messages do you tell yourself about things or traits that you feel you lack?
  3. How difficult is it for you to let things go? What do you trust God with right now in your life?

Activity Suggestions

  • What you have and what you’ve lost
    Have students create a list of all the things they enjoy and value in their world. Ask them to write these randomly over an entire piece of paper. Examples include: Individual family member names, friends’ names, soda, school, freedom, cell phones, music, pizza, etc. When completed, ask students to fold the sheet in half, then in half again, and one more time in half. Ask them to rip the folded paper in half. Following this, ask them to put the half that is in their right hand in their back pocket. Unfold the half that was in their left hand. What have they lost? How do they feel having lost it? What do they still have that they are thankful for? How will God provide a way through adversity of loss?
     
  • No money/no cell phone day
    Ask students to commit to taking a ‘no cell phone’ or a ‘no money’ day. Ask them turn off their phone or not spend any money for an entire day, see how it affects their perspective. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being easy/no sweat to 10 being impossible), how challenging was it to do without their phone or not spend money for a day? What did they notice or discover about their daily routines and habits? What did they discover about themselves?

    You can learn more about approaches to stewardship at the Stewardship 10/10/80 Web site for youth. http://archive.elca.org/stewardship/101080/index.html
     
  • Wilderness trips
    Consider going on a wilderness trip with your youth group. Talk about the benefits of what you might experience as a group in the wilderness. Go the ELCA Outdoor Ministry Web sit and look through the Journeys for Youth publication to find wilderness programs and servant learning experiences. http://archive.elca.org/camps/journeys.html

Closing Prayer
Blessed Savior, we thank you for carrying our burdens. We know that we do not always trust that you are there to make our burdens lighter. Please help us to know your gentleness and humility; that you are enough, where we feel like we lack. Teach us to appreciate all that we have and all that we have to offer, each and every day. Help us to be creative, generous, and responsible with everything you that you have blessed us with -- no matter how small or insignificant those things seem. In your wonderful name we pray. Amen


Contributed by Angie Larson
Clive, IA

Permission to reproduce for local use. Copyright © 2008 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. ELCA Youth Ministry. 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2447. To offer your comments or responses to Faith Lens, e-mail:  rod.boriack@elca.org.

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