Summer is here, and like many of you, I love spending time at the beach occasionally. I'm one of those people who can't resist collecting beautiful stones during beach walks - each one catches my eye and somehow finds its way into my pockets.

But I've noticed something interesting about my stone-collecting habit. What started as picking up one or two beautiful stones has turned into lugging around a collection that's weighing me down.

Sound familiar? Not just with beach stones, but with life itself? Sometimes, we take on unnecessary burdens, making our lives heavy. Let me tell you a story.

A traveler journeyed along a winding mountain path, his back bent nearly double under an enormous burlap sack filled with stones. Each step was labored; sweat poured down his face, and his breathing came in short, gasping breaths.

He did not have time to stop and smell the roses. The beautiful mountain scenery - blooming wildflowers, singing birds, crystal streams - passed by unnoticed as he focused only on not dropping his heavy burden.

An old sage sitting peacefully by the roadside watched him approach. "Friend, why do you carry such a heavy load?"

The traveler paused, wiping his brow. "These are my stones," he panted. "This smooth one is my reputation - I must protect it. This jagged one represents what people expect of me. Here's the stone of my past failures, and this heavy one holds all my worries about tomorrow. This one is my anger at my brother, and this one is my fear of being alone."

"I see," the sage nodded. "And who told you that you must carry them all at once?"

The traveler looked puzzled. "Well... no one, I suppose. But they're mine. I've collected them over the course of many years. If I don't carry them, who will?"

The sage smiled gently. "What if I told you that the mountain path continues just fine whether you carry these stones or not?" (End of the story).

We all have our own collection of stones, don't we? Some of us have been carrying them so long, we've forgotten what it feels like to walk without that weight. We've convinced ourselves that these burdens define us - that we are our worries, our failures, our fears, our endless responsibilities. Do you feel sick and tired of the emotional or mental burdens you carry?

But what if there's another way? What if we don't have to carry it all?

Two thousand years ago, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus encountered a man who was carrying more than stones. He was carrying what the Bible calls 'Legion' - not just one burden, but thousands. His load was so heavy, so overwhelming, that he couldn't even live among other people anymore.

Yet in this encounter, we discover something remarkable about the power of Jesus over every burden we carry—no matter how heavy, how numerous, or how long we've been carrying them.

Today, let’s explore how Jesus can free us from our burdens, based on today’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!

Let me start with a familiar story; I'm sure you've heard it before. It is both lighthearted and profound.

A man lived in a flood-prone area, and when the rains came, the waters began rising rapidly around his house. As the water reached his porch, he climbed onto his roof and prayed earnestly, "God, please save me! I have faith that you will rescue me!"

Soon, a neighbor came by in a rowboat and shouted, "Jump in! I'll take you to safety!" But the man waved him off, calling back, "No thanks! I'm waiting for God to save me. I have faith!"

The water kept rising. A little later, an emergency rescue boat arrived, and the crew called out, "Sir, we're here to help! Climb aboard!" Again, the man refused: "I appreciate it, but God is going to save me! I'm trusting in him!"

As the water reached the roof line, a helicopter appeared overhead and dropped a rescue ladder. The pilot's voice boomed through a megaphone: "This is your last chance! Grab the ladder!" But the man waved them away, shouting back, "God will provide! I have complete faith!"

Tragically, the man drowned. When he reached heaven, he approached God with confusion and disappointment. "Lord," he said, "I had such faith in you! Why didn't you save me?"

God looked at him with compassion and replied, "My dear son, I sent you a rowboat, a rescue boat, and a helicopter. What more did you expect?" (End of the story.)

How often do we find ourselves like this man? We pray for God to speak to us, to guide us, and to show us His will – yet we miss His voice because we're expecting something different from how He communicates.

Perhaps it’s because we often discuss how to pray rather than how to listen. Our communication with God has become a one-way ticket—we speak to God without knowing how to hear God’s voice. To have a healthy relationship, we must learn to listen.

Last week, we discussed Philip's request to Jesus to show the heavenly Father to him and his fellow disciples, and that they would be satisfied. Jesus said, after all these years of being with him, why they still had not recognized that Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus is the answer to human desire to see and know God, but they still expect God to show up differently, just like the man on the rooftop.

Now, we live in the time of the Holy Spirit. Instead of appreciating the presence of the Holy Spirit, some might ask to see God or Jesus. God would say, I have given you the Holy Spirit, and you still ask me to show myself to you? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one!

Not only is God with us today through the Holy Spirit, but Jesus also says He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit today. Let’s develop the ability to hear Jesus’ voice so that we don’t stand on the rooftop wondering why Jesus doesn’t talk to us. Let’s begin!

John 13:31-35

Here’s one of my favorite childhood folk tales:

A farmer went to town to sell his produce and returned with a large chest of treasures. His family and relatives gathered around him to hear the story of his windfall of fortune. He said, “As I walked through the forest on my way home, I heard someone groaning in a cave. I entered the cave and saw a dying tiger with a massive infected wound on its arm.

“I was about to run away in fear and disgust, but the tiger looked paralyzed. So, out of pity, I reached for my first aid kit to bind its wound and gave it water. Since it was getting dark, I stayed in the cave overnight. The next day, when I woke up, I found it completely recovered, and it thanked me with this chest of treasures.”

Feeling envious, the sister-in-law inquired about the cave’s location and asked her husband to find the place and try his luck. The next day, he went and found the cave. Surprisingly, he heard a tiger groaning inside, so he went in and saw the wounded tiger just like his brother had told them.

Smelling the infected wound, he thought, “Yuck! My brother didn’t tell me that the tiger was so stinky.” He covered his nose and reluctantly bound the tiger’s wound because he wanted the reward. He slept in the cave, dreaming about returning home with a treasure chest bigger than his brother’s.

The next day, the tiger got better and ate him for breakfast. (End of the story).

It’s a wisdom story open to multiple layers of interpretation. On the surface, it teaches people that you cannot copy someone’s success by merely duplicating what they do. At a deeper level, it teaches that nature rewards transformational actions rather than transactional ones.

It’s natural for humans to fear tigers and for tigers to attack humans. It’s our fallen nature. If the elder brother were authentic, he would have stayed away from the tiger out of fear, as he mentioned. However, his sympathy for the suffering animal made him rise above his authenticity. John said,

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (1 Jn 4:18a).

We cannot naturally love our enemies because we authentically hate or fear them. When Jesus asked us to love our enemies, he asked us to rise above our authenticity. When we do, we become transformative. However, we cannot intentionally use love to transform others because that’s fake. Intention matters! Perfect love has no motive.

Today's culture glorifies authenticity. In the name of expressing themselves, people gratify their authentic feelings. They can be rude and say, “I am just being authentic.” Paul said that we are supposed to tell the truth in love. Telling the truth is authentic, but without love, the truth hurts rather than heals.

Since we are fallen beings, our authenticity is also fallen. John Calvin called it “Total Depravity.” If I am authentic, I would rather eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Sophie is not home anyway!) If we are authentic, we cannot love the unlovable.

The way Jesus wants us to love is transformational and not transactional. It requires us to sacrifice our authenticity and rise above it, taking the high road.

If Jesus were being authentic, he wouldn’t have gone to the cross. He expressed his authenticity to God the night of his arrest, saying:

“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” (Mat 26:39).

His prayer is very authentic; no human would go to the cross to endure that kind of suffering. It was a bitter cup that he would rather pass. You and I would do the same. Yet, he went to the cross to fulfill God’s will, not his own authenticity. Jesus went to the cross to please God by fulfilling God’s will to save us.

Jesus also taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Who would do God’s will on earth? Who are on earth? Us! Since we are on earth, we are to do God’s will on earth. That prayer is to ask God to give us the courage to take the higher road against our fallen nature.

Today, we will explore how to love beyond authenticity and become transformative. We will learn how to let perfect love cast out fear so that we can take the high road and make a difference. Let’s begin!