351. St. Nicholas's Secret to Finding Rest in a Weary World

A cave near Bethlehem. Stone, straw, and a light that still reaches us. We follow Saint Nicholas’s quiet pilgrimage and find our own footing in a season when headlines blur, and hearts grow tired. The story of Emmanuel, God with us, becomes more than a lyric—it turns into a lifeline you can hold, a place you can enter, a presence you can trust when love feels heavy and the calendar won’t slow down.

We open with Nicholas’s years near Beit Jala, exploring how a humble cave shaped his generous life. From there, we turn to the liturgies of Doug McKelvey's Every Moment Holy, to name the ache of too much information and too little strength. What if the most faithful move is to honor creaturely limits? What if justice and mercy begin with yielding the unbearable to the One whose shoulders can carry it? That shift reframes compassion, helping us respond to real needs that intersect our actual lives—family tensions, impatient lines, neighbors on edge—without going numb.

Along the way, we offer simple prompts to list your griefs, discern your small share in God’s redemptive work, and carry a single phrase of Scripture through the week. The goal isn’t to escape reality; it’s to live it with Emmanuel—fully God, fully human—beside you.

If this speaks to you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs rest, and leave a quick review to help others find this space. What burden are you ready to place on God's stronger shoulders today?

Chapters

• 0:00 Nicholas’s Pilgrimage And Bethlehem Cave
• 4:48 Emmanuel: God With Us
• 8:08 Opening Prayer For Nearness
• 9:36 Welcome And Advent Framing
• 12:41 Turning To Liturgy For Weariness
• 17:29 Too Much News, Too Little Strength
• 22:42 Grace, Limits, And Discernment
• 29:20 Saint Nicholas’s Hard Times

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:05

A reading from Praying with Saint Nicholas by Matt Mikelatos. A prayer for God's presence. The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. From the book of Matthew, chapter 1, verse 23. Less than two miles from Bethlehem is a small town called Betjalah. And in that little town there were monks who had come into possession of a few small houses and a handful of caves. It was in one of these caves that Nicholas lived, we're told, for three years, as he ranged out to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. He visited all the places you would imagine, the site of Christ's crucifixion, the tomb where they laid his body, the bank of the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by his cousin. He stood in the place where the Beatitudes were taught. He put his hands in the pool where the paralyzed man waited to be healed. Perhaps he drank from the well where the Samaritan woman drew water. But less than two miles away from Nicholas's home base, there was a cave, cool and dark, a cave that had once been used as a stable. Twenty years after Nicholas's pilgrimage, a church would be built here. But in Nicholas's day, it was just a cave, not unlike the one where Nicholas spent his nights. Simple, unadorned, a hole in the rock where God became human, and a brilliant light appeared to those who had been walking in darkness. Nicholas loved God and he loved children. And here was the strange and wonderful place where those two things intersected in an unexpected way. Here is the place where the eternal God became a human baby, held in his mother's arms where he was wrapped tight and laid to sleep in a feeding trough. No doubt Nicholas sometimes reflected on the places where his own story and Jesus's intersected. Like Jesus, he had come to Bethlehem with a mission to serve God and help humanity. And he too had left behind his wealth and privilege and power to live in a cave. In the years to come, many stories would be told about Nicholas doing miracles in the town of Vejala, even centuries after his death. How Nicholas helped an old woman get out of a locked church, or turned back invaders, or how he appeared in the modern day and caught bombs that threatened the village. But here is the miracle that Nicholas dwelled on, meditated on, found himself drawn to over and over. The miracle of God with us. Emmanuel, fully God and fully human, coming into the world in this place. A place that could be seen, a cave that could be entered and experienced. A place that could be touched. A prayer. You are beside us in our everyday lives. Sometimes it's hard to see that you are near. Open our eyes to your presence. Remind us that you are God with us. Let us see you in this season and in this place. Amen. Hello and welcome to today's Heart Lift with Janelle. I'm Janelle, your guide for today's continuing conversation on the beautiful work of Matt Mikelatos in Praying with Saint Nicholas. And today I'm going to add some beautiful thoughts and written prayers from Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey. And some additional thoughts from his prayer journal for Every Moment Holy. These two leather-bound, gorgeous books have been a place of peace for me. Sometimes we don't have words. Imagine that. I'm a wordsmith, I'm an author, but there have been times, and I'm in one of those times again, where I can't find the words for what I'm feeling. So I turn to liturgical prayers, prayers that are written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And I really love every moment holy. I'm in volume one today, and then the prayer journal. So he has an entry on page 13 that I think is quite suitable for where we are on our Advent journey this week. I had something else planned, but as you know, I try to be in tune with what's going on in the world and what's going on in the kingdom of God on and in this world. And this has been a very difficult past ten days. So many alarming concerns and shootings happening around the globe that I just had to stop. Because in his prayer journal, Douglas McKelvey on page thirteen has an entry entitled Rest in the Midst of World Weariness from his liturgy in every moment holy, a liturgy for those flooded by too much information. Well, they're just too perfect. I have to go here. I know the last couple weeks we have been really delving into Saint Nicholas and his generosity last week, his unconditional love, and how we too can have a generous love where we love others well. Last week I heard was a little was a little deep, a little tough, but that's why we're here. We're here to grow, to learn, and to listen and to become spiritually mature human beings who walk this planet as heartlifters. And so I hope that you re-listen to last week. And then on Thursday of last week, I published the beautiful 1 John 4, 7 through 21, a meditative reading for you. And I just hope that you can soak in that. And then on Instagram at Janelle Reardon, I am posting, I'm a little behind, forgive me, a daily reading, a daily verse from 1 John 4, 7 through 21 that will take us all the way to the end of the year, I think, if not a little bit past Christmas, and then I have a bonus episode for us to close out the year. So rest in the midst of world weariness also speaks to being weary in love. We can become very weary in loving the other, whether that's our partner, our husband, our wife, our children, whatever age they are in this season of your life, loving our neighbor, loving our community, loving someone in the UPS store that's not too happy about the line and the weight and having to be there in the first place to mail packages. So I thought that it would be really good to take this time today as we are moving into the most frantic, most busy, most wearying week, because we're moving into the week of Christmas Eve and the week of Christmas Day. As of tomorrow, we're just a week away. Where are you right now? Where do you find yourself? Where are your feet? Ground them on the floor, or maybe if you're driving the one foot on the floor, one on the gas pedal, wherever you are, you might be taking a walk, you might be closing out your day with this. Let's place our feet on the ground, and if you can, place your hand over your heart and speak these beautiful words. I notice today that my heart is a bit weary. I offer it to you, God, because you tell us, you invite us to come to you, all of us who are weary and burdened, and you say to us that you will give us rest. You say, Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke, this is Jesus speaking, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light, as recorded in the book of Matthew 11, verses 28 through 30. Learn from me. That's what I see today. That's that is resonating with my spirit today. Because the only way that I can understand that Christ's yoke in my life, his call, his work, his invitation, it's easy. And his burden is light. Well, I am sure that I still don't understand that. So I'm coming again today as a student, and I am anxious in all the right ways to learn from God and to learn from this reading in every moment holy. Rest in the midst of world weariness, a liturgy for those flooded by too much information. McKelvey writes, I am daily aware of more grief, O Lord, than I can rightly consider, of more suffering and scandal than I can respond to, of more hostility, hatred, horror, and injustice than I can engage with compassion. But you, O Jesus, are not disquieted by such news of cruelty and terror and war. You are neither anxious nor overwhelmed. You carry the full weight of the suffering of a broken world when you hung upon the cross and you carry it still. When the cacophony of universal distress, there it is, unsettles us, let's make this personal. When the cacophony of universal distress unsettles me, remind me that I am but small and finite, never designed to carry the vast abstractions of great burdens, for my arms are too short and my strength is too small. Justice and mercy, healing and redemption are your great labors. I repeat, justice and mercy, healing and redemption are your great labors. Because I was never designed to carry the vast abstractions of great burdens because my arms are too short and my strength is too small. In every moment holy, he writes even a little bit more about that and says, Yes, it is your good pleasure to accomplish such works through your people, but you have never asked any one of us to undertake more than your grace will enable us to fulfill. Well, I add here, I ask, then why does it feel like I don't have enough grace to carry the situation I am in now? Is that on my part or on God's part? McKelvy continues in Every Moment Holy, page 158. Guard us then, guard us then from shutting down our empathy or walling off our hearts because of the glut of unactionable misery that floods our awareness. You have many children in many places around this globe. Move each of our hearts to compassionately respond to those needs that intersect our actual lives, that in all places your body might be actively addressing the pain and brokenness of this world. Each of us liberated and empowered by your spirit to fulfill the small part of your redemptive work assigned to us. Now, Saint Nicholas, going back to Saint Nicholas, lived in an atrocious time. I tell you, as my husband and I are reading through uh the praying with Saint Nicholas, we have just been, ooh, our breath is taken away by what he lived through, Diocletian's severity towards Christians and then Christian leaders. Uh, so much so that when I have read this on the podcast, Apple is saying it is explicit. And I have taken some things out, but it is still ranking our December readings through the prayers of Saint Nicholas as explicit, which means it will raise the rating and eliminate a lot of people in the search. Typically I'm rated clean. But it was a dark time when Saint Nicholas lived. And as we read today, there was a time in his life when he went back to Bethlehem and then spent time in a small town called Beit Jala, and I'm not saying that right. It's B-E-I-T, capital J A L A. So two miles outside of Bethlehem, and he spent a considerable amount of time, about three years there, and he wanted to walk in the footsteps of his savior. And we know that he was imprisoned many, many times, as we have talked about in our other episodes. And he left behind himself a very privileged life in a very comfortable, gorgeous mansion, castle. And in this chapter, we're talking about how he lived in a cave. But at the end of this time, the the one consideration that I want to bring to us today, that maybe we can focus on this week and hold near to our hearts and allow it to soak into our souls, is this one paragraph in the praying with Saint Nicholas book. But here is the miracle that Nicholas dwelled on, dwell. That word means make a house and live in it. It literally means a tent. Here's the miracle that Nicholas dwelled on, meditated on, found himself drawn to over and over. Here it is, lean in with me. If you can, write it down. I'll put it in the show notes. The miracle of God with us. Oh, many of us are seasoned followers. We have been following the yonder star for decades. We have heard ample sermons, sang so many beautiful Christmas choruses and worship songs. Emmanuel, God with us. But I am praying it takes on a new passionate love relationship with you right now, this week. Emmanuel, God with us. This is how Nicholas, I'm assuming, because he lived so long ago, we do have the beautiful historical narrative that Matt Michelodus has brought to us. This must be how Nicholas attuned to the devastation and the horrific acts of Diocletian and the Roman Emperor in his life. How he could have been imprisoned and endured, how he slept in a cave, how he endured, how he saw what he saw, and yet he kept the faith, he kept being generous, he kept loving beyond measure, unconditionally, with the grace and mercy of God. Emmanuel, fully God and fully human, coming into the world in this place. None of what's going on in the world is taking God by surprise. Not one horrific act is taking God by surprise. He neither sleeps nor slumbers, the word says. Tells us. So as we understand the movement towards the birth of Christ that we happen to celebrate in the month of December all over the world, let us keep in the forefront of our mind Emmanuel, fully God and fully human, coming into the world in this place, a place that could be seen, a cave that could be entered and experienced, a place that could be touched. Douglas McKelvey continues, give us discernment in the face of troubling news reports, give us discernment to know when to pray, when to speak out, when to act, and when to simply shut off our screens and our devices and to sit quietly in your presence, casting the burdens of this world upon the strong shoulders of the one who alone is able to bear them up.

unknown: 21:13

Wow.

SPEAKER_00: 21:15

Shift from our shoulders to God's strong shoulders are burdens.

unknown: 21:24

Wow.

SPEAKER_00: 21:26

Come to me, Matthew eleven, twenty-eight through thirty. All of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. A few reflective prompts in Every Moment Holy, the prayer journal, for this reading on when your heart becomes weary. Take time to list those griefs wearying you in this moment. I think this is a beautiful exercise as we continue to move forward in Advent. Lift each one to the Lord in prayer as honestly and specifically as you can. You know, writing things down does something in your brain and activates powerful healing mechanisms. A second prompt, now consider what part of God's redemptive work you might fulfill in these things. Again, be specific. Pray for Christ to guide your discernment as you weigh your role and strengthen your hands for the tasks ahead. And thirdly, he invites us to read through Matthew 11, 25 through 30. I thought it would be a good idea for us to read that here. I'm reading from the voice translation. And then Jesus began to pray. I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You have revealed your truths to the lowly and the ignorant, the children and the crippled, the lame and the mute. You have hidden wisdom from those who pride themselves on being so wise and learned. You did this simply because it pleased you. The Father has handed over everything to my care. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal the Father. Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Put my yoke upon your shoulders. It might appear heavy at first, but it is perfectly fitted to your curves. Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. When you are yoked to me, your weary souls will find rest. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Okay, I'm gonna read it again. If you can, close your eyes. Let the words from the amplified Bible version speak to you. Notice, notice, heartlifter. What is resonating within you? You will feel it in your soul, your gut. It'll come alive. What is the Holy Spirit breathing on in this passage just for you? As you prepare for Christmas week, and all that that's going to bring, gathering with family, gathering in church, gathering. There's a lot of gathering. School parties, perhaps, neighborhood parties. Where are you gathering? Prepare your heart, your soul, your mind so that you can go there knowing Emmanuel is with you. He's walking beside you. And he's most of all in your heart. Come to me. At that time, Jesus prayed, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I openly and joyfully acknowledge your great wisdom, that you have hidden these things, these spiritual truths, from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants, to new believers, to those seeking God's will and purpose. Yes, Father, for this way was well pleasing in your sight. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father. And no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son deliberately wills to reveal Him. Come to me, all who are weary and heavily burdened by religious rituals that provide no peace. And I will give you rest, refreshing your souls with salvation. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, following me as my disciple. For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you, you, you heartlifter, will find rest, renewal, and blessed quiet for your souls. For my yoke, Christ says, is easy to bear, and my burden is light.

unknown: 27:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_00: 27:46

Douglas McKelvey, his prompt for us is consider the reading from Matthew. How does the revelation to children and the relationship between the Father and the Son lead to an easy and light burden for those who choose Christ's yoke? How might this passage help you grow more receptive to true rest? Three beautiful prompts to just spend some time with. I know you all are probably all doing your own beautiful Advent devotionals. Don't forget to download the great glimmer hunt from JanelleRarden.com. When you go there, you will see it come up in a little box. I created that just for you for this season. And actually, it's beautiful for any time of the year because who doesn't need a daily glimmer in their life? I know that I do. Okay, I have a glimmer, something fun that will also uh bring us some beautiful, beautiful peace in the midst of all that's going on in this world of ours, is I have a little giveaway, an advent glimmer giveaway. So fun. All you have to do, this is it, to be eligible for the drawing, for this incredible gift of books that I'm sending your way. Tyndall House has been so, so kind and is giving me some books to offer to you. They are amazing books and they can be yours. So all I need you to do is leave a review of the podcast. A rate and a review. I'll be able to see who has left a new rate and review. You can also email me and say, Janelle, I left a rating and a review to Janelle J A N E L L at Janelle J-A-N-E-L-L. R-A-R-D-O-N.com. I've made it so easy for you to leave a review. You just go to JanelleRarden.com, click on podcast, and scroll all the way down to at the end of that page, and I step by step tell you how to do that. I thank you in advance for doing this. It will take you no more, I promise, than five minutes. You don't have to leave a paragraph. You can leave one sentence, two sentences. But I will see who's left these and I will put them in a lovely little fun hat and pick out uh the winner. The deadline's very important because I want to get these to you before the end of the year. I'm giving you ample time. So by Friday, December 19th at noon, I will be checking. I will be doing a drawing, and I will be choosing a winner, and I will be packing up these goodies and getting them your way. Thank you to Tindal House once again. Okay, I'm gonna close with a beautiful reminder from this prayer by Douglas McKelvey, In Every Moment Holy. When the cacophony of universal distress unsettles us, remind us that we are but small and finite creatures, never designed to carry the vast abstractions of great burdens. For our arms are too short and our strength is too small. Justice and mercy, healing and redemption are your great labors. Thanks be to God.