Easter - 28 Apr 1963

The text taken from the prophecy of Isaiah refers to a period in the history of Israel when the Israelites were still in captivity in Babylon, about 586 BC. It was on the eve of the capture of Babylon by Cyrus. The people had heard of his coming and consequently there was great confusion. The idol factories were busy turning out more and more idols. Foolish people! Instead of letting God help them through this crisis, they turned to dumb idols for help and strength. What will happen to these idols when Cyrus enters the city and conquers the people? When they take to flight in confusion they will have to carry these idols with them. So instead of being a help in a crisis, these idols will become a burden, because they will have to be carried. In contrast to these dumb helpless images the prophet sees the God of Israel coming to save His people.

The God of Israel has been the God of their fathers who has been guiding and leading His people throughout history. He delivered them from bondage in Egypt and He has been the only source of strength throughout. Now too though they had forgotten Him and worshipped other gods, He is coming to save them and lead them through this crisis. So He pleads with his people through His servant Isaiah to turn away from the idols and turn to Him. “It is I who made you,” God tells His people, “and therefore I have a responsibility towards you. I will deliver you.”

How do we look upon religion? What is the place of religion in our lives? Is it something that we carry, or is it something that carries us? There are many people in the world who will have nothing to do with religion, because they consider it a great burden. If you are a Christian you have to spend some time every day in prayer and study. You must go to church on Sundays. After working hard on six days of the week one would like to stay at home and do nothing on Sundays. Then there are so many things you are prevented from doing if you are a Christian. It is all a trouble and a burden. I think this is due to a misconception of religion. The misconception in the minds of those people is due to the wrong impression we Christians have given them. The Christian religion is not a burden we carry; on the other hand it is a faith that relieves us of the burden of life. It is a faith that brings us joy and peace and rest. It becomes our duty to show this to the world by our attitude towards religion and by our life.

Now let me tell you some of the ways in which religion, our Christian faith, bears our burden.

The world is full of temptations. Our conscience tells us we must do the right thing, and we do want to do the right thing. But we are constantly presented with the attractions of the wrong path. We are tempted to err. To the man who has genuinely set his face towards God, and the things that belong to Him, there is no greater burden than the burden within all the time. But to the Christian there is the consolation that he is not bearing the burden alone. There is Christ by our side. In the thick of a battle, we know, how a leader is able to infuse himself into his followers and the battle is won because, because the courage and strength of the leader has given strength and support to the followers, and they have given of their best. So does Christ come into our lives and lift us above the habit and depression of sin, above the weakness of the flesh, and enables us to successfully fight against temptations. Have we shown in our lives how our Christian faith has enabled us to overcome our temptations?

Then again in times of sorrow and disappointments in life God comes to our aid and lifts the burden of sin from us. When we have lost someone dear to us, and no human being can heal the wound, what greater consolation can we have than the thought that God shares the burden with us.

Thirdly in times of sickness when all bodily strength has left us, God sustains us in most mysterious ways by giving us his power and strength. Several years ago, I went to see an old student of mine who was suffering from an incurable disease. His figure had changed. He was young and as far as we could say, there was no hope of his recovery. I had a chat with him and then spoke to him some words of consolation. He said to me at the end that he was not unhappy. He said that his mind was filled with peace – a peace that passes all understanding. I was very much impressed by his great faith. His faith came to me as a challenge to my faith. I was happy to see that his faith was upholding him in his hour of trial. There was nothing else in the world that could come to his support at that time of crisis.

When I read the 46 th chapter of Isaiah and the chapters before and after, I always think of the worship of our Hindu brethren. If you want to understand fully the type of religion Isaiah was attacking, you cannot do better than study the place religion occupies in the lives of some of our Hindu friends. I am not speaking of Hindu worship in general, but of the worship of some people. From time to time they have festivals in their temples. With great pomp and show, with much shouting, music and dancing they take the idol of their worship from the Holy of Holies, and carry him on their shoulders along the streets. They perform several ceremonies. They offer him gifts and sacrifices, and finally deposit him in his proper place. When festivities are over, they go home, and the God whom they have worshipped has no part in their daily life. They worship him because they fear him or because they want some favours from him. It is true to say that their worship, their piety, and their fear of God are a real burden to them. Religion is a big weight that they carry through life. Perhaps they would be happier without their God.

Not only Hindus, but there are also Christians too doing the same. They attend church services, they go through the rites and ceremonies of the Church, they give their offering, but God has no part in their daily life. He does not lift their burdens of sorrow, cares and worries of this world. He is no help to them in their time of temptation. God does not carry them through life, but they carry Him.

I have tried to say how in many ways the Christian religion, the faith we profess, may come to our help and lift our burdens through life. Religion is not a burden to us, but it serves to lift our burdens. Have we as Christians had the experience of our faith lifting up our burdens? Every time we meet for worship we stand reverently, and join in the creed. We say most solemnly, ‘I believe in God.’ In so doing we publicly acknowledge and hold up our faith. We have to ask ourselves whether the God in whom we believe comes into our daily lives and carries our burdens. If in church we join in the creed and say, ‘I believe in God,’ and then behave like people who do not believe in God when we are confronted with difficulties, then we will be like the idol worshippers who carry their idols on their shoulders, make a parade of their God, and then forget all about him after depositing him in his place.

Is our religion, the Christian faith we profess, something that we carry, or does it carry us? That is what we have to ask ourselves this evening.

It was the voice of God that spoke to His people through the prophet in those early days and invited them to come to Him to have their burdens lifted. It was the same voice several centuries later that spoke to the same people: “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” It is the same voice that speaks to us today and offers to lift our burden.