Sam: Do you still remember the Shire, Mr Frodo? It will soon be spring there. All the fruit trees will be in full bloom. And the birds will build their nests in the hazelnut thickets. And they will sow the spring barley in the lower fields and eat the first strawberries with whipped cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?
Frodo: No, Sam. I’ve forgotten every flavour. Even the sound of water and the feel of grass. I am … naked in the dark. There is nothing left, no veil between me and the wheel of fire. I can see him in front of me, eyes wide open!
Sam: Then let’s finally get rid of it! Once and for all! Come on, Mr Frodo. I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you! Come on!
I found this scene from „The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King“ towards the end of the film very inspiring. I thought of a few aspects of it, three of which I want to share with you today.
I can carry/ bear you!
In his letter to the Colossians, St Paul writes, among other things, about how Christians should treat each other (Colossians 3:5-17):
Bear with one another and forgive each other if anyone has wronged you. For Christ has also forgiven you.
Colossians 3:13 (HfA)
Paul realises that there will always be conflicts when living together on this earth. There will always be someone we „can’t stand“ or people who get on our nerves. Especially when you live together in a close community such as a family, a club or a church congregation, you will rub up against each other. It’s not for nothing that everyone has their sore points, which are called that because it hurts when someone else gets on your nerves. And the better you know each other, the better you know the weaknesses of your fellow human beings and the more you open yourself up to people, the more vulnerable you become.
However, Paul is not writing: „Leave as soon as things get unpleasant for you and only hang out with nice people and those who build you up“. That’s what the world would do. I keep reading advice like this on social media (apparently/ supposedly quotes from film stars). At some point, the end of the story is that many people will be very lonely, no longer experience love and become even more unbearable. It’s their own fault, you could say. Escaping is an easy solution, but not necessarily the right one. Life doesn’t work like that: you can’t escape everything that is unpleasant.
Sometimes you have to put up with it – especially people. The solution is to bring the matter/people to God in prayer in order to have the strength to endure everything, including power-sapping relationships. We get that from Him. God doesn’t say, „Now get on with it on your own. I have to take care of something else.“ No. It is precisely in those situations in which we need help and get stuck that we learn to trust in Him and develop further in our personality.
Carry our burdens
Every one of us has to „carry our own baggage“. Some people’s marriages are not going well, others have financial problems. Still others are in poor health or have lost a loved one. Our burdens are as varied as we humans are. One person has more strength, another less to cope with everything. So it’s good to know that we are not alone. On the contrary. God has created us as beings who need a counterpart and has provided us with fellow human beings (Genesis 2:18).
In another of Paul’s letters, the one to the Galatians, chapter 6 deals with carrying burdens (Galatians 6:1-10):
Each one should help the other to carry his burden. In this way you fulfil the law that Christ has given us.
Galatians 6:2
Each of us should be there for the other because that is what God wants. This is how charity works: I look out for my fellow human being and help him where he needs help. Sometimes an open ear is enough, sometimes you go shopping for someone. Everyone probably has a few euros to spare for the beggar on the street. Or you pray for and with each other. But it can also be exhausting if you have to stand by a friend for a long time because he is completely devastated that his wife has suddenly left him.
If everyone just looks out for each other a little and not just for their own gain and advantage, the world becomes a better place. And besides, it’s nice to know that someone is there for you when it would be good to have a friend by your side.
See also on Salt’n’Light: Condensed Charity
Bearing the sins of the world
The sentence „But I can carry you!“ made me think of how Jesus bore our sins on the cross because we could never pay for them ourselves.
The next day John [the Baptist, editor’s note] sees Jesus coming to him and says, „Behold, this is the Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world!
John 1:29
And this burden was not light. Before His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to His disciples:
„I am almost breaking under the burden I have to bear. Stay here and watch with me!“
Matthew 26:38b
Today is Easter. And it is precisely this burden-bearing of Jesus that we celebrate today: He has taken all guilt – yours, mine, that of all people! – on himself. A truly extreme burden. He went to His death for it. We are free from our guilt when we accept Him as Lord and Saviour. For His death was not all: He rose from the dead on the third day! The tomb was empty!
