“Surface Pressure
Midweek service
March 9, 2022
Click on picture to watch video of song.
2 Corinthians 12:7b-10
A little back story on the video clip. Years ago, this community in Columbia was raided by soldiers. The people fled their homes, seeking refuge. As they crossed the river, the soldiers closed in on them. One young couple had led the way, and the husband sent everyone else on while he confronted the soldiers and was killed at the river. Holding a candle—their only source of light—and her triplet newborns, the wife broke down in tears and prayed for a miracle. And the miracle was born, symbolized by the candle that continued to burn throughout the years.
The miracle was that mountains rose up around the community of people, and a large home came to life for the young mother and her babes. The people built their homes under the protection of the casita—the main home. They married and flourished. The triplets were each given a miracle as they got a bit older. One sister had the power to control the weather with her mood. The brother had the power to see visions and predict the future. And the other sister had the power to heal through the biscuits she baked. The powers and the miracle were intended to serve the whole community, and the people learn to rely on them.
The healing sister had three daughters. The oldest is Luisa. Her gift is great strength. But perhaps you’re starting to gather that these gifts also become burdens. When I first saw the movie, ‘Encanto,’ I related immediately to this song. As the oldest in my family, I am the responsible the one—the strong one, the one who holds it together when everything seems to fall apart. I’m reminded of movies and stories in which a father dies, and someone tells the son, “Now you’re the man of the house. Protect your mother and your family.” Or when someone whose family is going through crisis says, “I have to be strong for them.” No. No, you don’t.
Because the problem is that we think being strong and responsible means that we can’t make mistakes. We take the description ‘strong’ into ourselves and make it our whole identity. Luisa sings that her worth is defined by how much she can carry. But who is she if she can’t continue doing it? And it’s not just physical strength. She mentions handling all the family burden. Which is why, when the miracle begins to weaken, she’s the first to experience it. She grows weak, herself. Because she’s carrying everything for everyone…and they let her. They expect it of her.
Friends, even when strength is our gift, we are not meant to carry the loads of another. We can walk with another and help others with their burdens, but it is not our job to take it on for ourselves. What happens in the community is that everyone calls on Luisa to do everything for them. They can’t recognize their own strength because they’ve allowed her to take it all on herself. When we carry everything for everyone, we disempower others of their own gifts and strength. And then we put ourselves in peril. Any crack, any mistake, any falter, and it will all come tumbling down upon us—taking our presumed identity as the strong one with us and disappointing our community when we fall from that pedestal.
Instead, as we hear from Paul, we are strong in our weakness. And our identity isn’t about what we are capable of but what God can do through us—through our weakness. Let those burdens down, my friends. Let go of holding it all together. Even as the dominoes fall, God is there to carry it all for you. Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Place my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus came so that you do not have to be strong. Jesus is the only one who can carry it all—and he did. Already. So, breathe. God’s peace be with you.
Pastor Tobi White
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Lincoln, NE
