Book of John chapter 19, verses 33 and 34 from the contemporary English Bible. "But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead and they did not break his legs. One of the soldiers stuck his spear into Jesus' side and blood and water came out.
Our prayer time, it comes from the second chapter of Colossians. It is our theme for this lent season. If you find it there, let us let us recite it together again this morning. Let us begin. "Christ has wiped out the damaging evidence which hung over our heads by nailing it over his own." Amen. Also I wanted to remind you that still
A little child goes to his mommy one morning and says "Mommy, I don't feel well. I have a tummy ache." Mommy responds by saying "Well, your tummy is empty. That's why you don't feel well. If you put something in it, you'll feel much better." So they ate breakfast and the little girl came up and said, "Mommy you're right. I do feel better."
Later that morning, the pastor came to visit them in their home. And after a few remarks, the mother went into the kitchen to get some coffee. The pastor confided in the child, "Well, I really have a bad headache this morning." The child said, "Well, that's because your head is empty. You'll feel better if you put something in it."
I know that feeling sometimes. Isn't it a neat hymn we just finished singing, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"? It's an old familiar hymn, but many of us cling to it, I think, in times because we can relate to the words that are in there. "Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."
This is a hymn of a desperate person, isn't it? This is a hymn of a person in a great deal of pain, a person whose spirit and emotions have been broken. Sometimes we sing that and don't realize that this is a prayer of someone has reached a point of hopelessness.
"Are you weak and heavy laden, cumbered with the loads of care? Do thy friends despise, forsake you?" These are some desperate times described in these words. And yet we read them or we sing them, and we cling to them because there are times when our spirits are broken, when our emotions are overwhelmed, when we feel like we have no other place to go. What this hymn does is it reminds us of the words of Jesus. He says "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."
I'm going to share with you a story of Eve. Eve is 60 years old. She's active in her church. She's a generous woman. Active with the mission group and the United Methodist Women. Involved in Bible study, prays regularly, has the sweetest disposition. Her husband George would describe her as the person who would give you the shirt off her back. Everyone is always comforted in everyone enjoys seeing Eve.
But what none of them are aware of is that Eve on the inside is broken, is in a great deal of pain. Eve is filled with bitterness, self shame, unresolved anger and guilt. In fact, several times a month when she can't make a meeting or when she doesn't show up at worship, it's because this pain has gotten so bad that it's been unbearable for her to do anything but stay in bed.
But no one knows that because Eve never shares. You see, Eve was the product of divorced parents. When she was 20, her parents divorced, and she always blamed herself for that. Now, her parents would still get together even though they were living separately every Monday. And on Mondays, Eve's brothers and sisters would gather, and the whole family would have a supper meal every Monday night. And as time went on, that meal included children. And so it was a time to see grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a time Eve treasured.
And then came the time when her husband, George, was transferred away from home. She had to take her kids away from all of that to a strange land called Illinois. Separated from family and friends, Eve's bitterness continued to grow inside of her. She was still ashamed of what her parents had done, still blamed herself for what had happened and now blames herself for taking her kids from their family.
Her bitterness and anger continued to fester, and it began to lash out against George so much that George three years later left the home, abandoning the family and the children. Eve's children were juniors and seniors in high school by this time. But they couldn't understand why dad just disappeared and didn't come home one day. It wasn't long after that that her children became involved in drugs. And now Eve, a single mother, was thinking about divorcing George, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. And now with her children gone amuck, with her family away from her family in this strange land of Illinois, she just didn't know what to do. She thought God was leading her from time to time, but she wouldn't listen. She just couldn't believe that God would help her in anything.
After about six months, George returned home. But when he came home, the children were so angry they left. So now Eve is in the home with her husband, whom she can't forgive. And her children gone, each trying to make their own way in life. Time continues on, and George retires. And so they move back home to Maryland. Eve is still bitter and angry towards George, unable to forgive him, unable to forgive herself for not getting divorced.
And now recently her daughter has moved back home. She's divorcing her husband, and she brings her two children. And her daughter in law comes home with their three children because her son is so involved with drugs and the violence that accompanies that that she came home for the safety of the grandchildren. But George doesn't like a house full of kids. He becomes irritated and pretty soon lashes out. He doesn't want them there. And so because of his attitude, it isn't very long before they leave. And still more, Eve blames herself for that. She's angry because she's not taking a stand. She's angry because she didn't get rid of George a long time ago. And yet she's so afraid of being alone that she couldn't even divorce him now.
She feels powerless and helpless. Convinced that God is beyond reach. Why would God ever forgive her? She's never done anything right. She's always done the wrong things and always continued to provoke the same wrong behavior. And now the shame is overwhelming. She's not only shameful of her parents, or her own life, but also of her children's lives that are in ruin. She's the biggest sinner she can think of, the biggest sinner she ever new. God would have nothing to do with her. Now, she would go to church on Sunday morning, and she would lay her burdens at the cross. But before she left, she just knew that God didn't want them, and so she would pick them back up and take them home with her.
Eve now is trying to function using chemicals prescribed by a doctor and talk therapy, but still a couple times a month things just become so overwhelming that she can't function and she stays home in bed. Eve's emotions are wounded. They are broken. You see, it's those viruses in her head that are telling her she's not good enough. She has unresolved anger. She has unresolved guilt. She feels like no matter how hard she's tried, it's always been the wrong thing. No matter what she does it's never going to be okay. She is filled with bitterness because that is what happens when anger continues to fester inside a person. Pretty soon it develops into a bitterness that's overwhelming. And she's filled with shame, which is that unresolved guilt that, again, in time begins to fill a body until where they're ashamed of everything they are. She feels out of control, her emotions swerving up and down. She's still trying to put on that face for everyone at church, trying to give everybody the shirt off her back when the truth is she can't even take care of herself.
Eve's spirit is also broken. She's broken because constantly she's being beaten down over these last 60 years, beaten down by all those viruses, all those voices in the world telling her she's not good enough, what she does isn't right enough, what she tries isn't adequate enough. Until finally she's at the end of her rope. Her spirit feels helpless. She's been responsible for her parents, her family, her husband, her children, her grandchildren, and all of them are a mess. She hasn't been able to do one thing right. And because this hopelessness has continued so long, because this helpless necessary has continued so long, it's developed into hopelessness. Even though now she shows joy to everyone, happiness and peace, it's far, far, far from her. She doesn't even see what that would look like anymore. And now her goal each and every day is just to try to make it through. Try to make it through.
"Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer." This series is about realizing the wounds that Jesus suffered, the pain that he took on with our lives in mind, with our names on his hands so that we can have hope. Because he died, the victory is already won. Because he died, we know we are a people of worth. We can't say no one would die for us because someone already has. We can't say that no one wants us because there is somebody with us all the time. We can't say no one cares because Jesus weeps with us each and every time.
In your bulletin, there is a worksheet or a little sermon note sheet. And it lists there all of those pains, all of those wounds in our spirit. This morning I want to encourage you to look at that list, identify the ones that are in your life. And then I am going to ask that you not be like Eve. Instead, take those pains and those wounds and bring them here to the Lord in prayer so that Jesus can redeem them, can heal them, can make you whole, can give you the victory.
One of Eve's greatest problems was she brought them here, but she took them back home as well. Don't do that. Give them to Jesus. Surrender them, because they are forgivable and you are forgiven. That is the good news of today, that it doesn't matter what you've done or what you haven't done, Jesus says, "I love you more than that. And because of that love, you are forgiven. You have been made new this day. In my name you are made whole."