July 9, 2017: Burdens

THE WORD IN THE GOSPEL
Matthew 11:25-30

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you’ve hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have shown them to babies. Indeed, Father, this brings you happiness.

“My Father has handed all things over to me. No one knows the Son except the Father. And nobody knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wants to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.”

THE MESSAGE   “Burdens”

Ah, it’s so peaceful out here, isn’t it, here in the shade of this lovely old catalpa tree? There’s something about being outside that’s very comforting and soothing. It’s almost as if, for just a short while, we can forget our troubles and leave our burdens behind as we bask in the peace of God’s presence in this beautiful place.

Isn’t that the point of the Christian faith? To escape the problems of the world and let God’s peace fill our lives?

Not exactly.

In our society, the Christian faith is often presented as a “blessing,” and the gospel is described as mostly a means of making our lives easier and less complicated. And today’s gospel reading from Matthew is often used to support that idea. “Come to me, all of you who are struggling and carrying heavy loads,” Jesus promises us, “and I will give you rest.”

Many people have heard this verse in the famous oratorio by Handel, The Messiah. In the soprano solo, a lovely voice sings, “Come unto him, all ye that labor, ye that are heavy laden, and he will give you rest.”

It’s a lovely sentiment: going to Jesus when we feel that the burdens of life have grown too heavy to bear, and trusting that he will relieve us of those burdens and give us rest.

Now I won’t deny that there are times when Jesus does deliver us from some of the burdens that weigh us down. There are times when we feel so weighed down by grief or pain or fear that we can’t see a way forward, and yet our faith in Jesus keeps us going, step by step, day by day. I imagine that each of us could think of a time when we felt overwhelmed, when life was really beating us down, when we felt like you were carrying the whole world on our shoulders, and then, when we prayed for help, God gave us peace and rest and comfort.

But I believe that when Jesus told those who are carrying heavy loads to come to him to find rest, he was talking about something a little different.

If we look at the next verse in the passage, right after Jesus says, “I will give you rest,” he says, “Put on my yoke and learn from me.”

Now I don’t know about you, but the idea of putting on a yoke doesn’t sound peaceful and restful. As I told the children, a yoke is a big wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and then attached to the plow or cart that the animals are supposed to pull. For farmers and for the people of Jesus’ day, a yoke would conjure up images of hard work, not rest.

So why did Jesus use this image of a yoke?

Jesus was talking about what we can call the “Yoke of Obedience.” That is, Jesus was talking about his relationship with God, which was a relationship fully grounded in Jesus’ obedience to God’s ways. This kind of obedience is more than just following commands. It’s about freely choosing to follow God and respond to God not out of a sense of obligation, but out of love.

So maybe, when Jesus was talking about those heavy loads that we struggle under, he wasn’t talking about all the burdens that life throws at us, like when we lose a job or a loved one, or when we feel overburdened with the responsibilities of our daily lives.

Maybe, he was talking about the heavy loads that we make for ourselves – the burdens we create by the ways we fail to follow God’s ways and respond to God in love.

For instance, I have a couple of friends who are very judgmental. They are very quick to criticize and even condemn people who don’t agree with them. And they do this all the time. It’s like being judgmental is a way of life for them.

Then I know some people who love to get into arguments. They spend a lot of energy looking for something that someone else has said or done that they can pick a fight with. And they argue until they win, or at least until the argument reaches a draw. They never give up and they never give in.

And I know a few people who are always angry. No matter what happens in their lives, they blame and lash out at other people for their problems. Or they spend a lot of time and energy plotting how to get back at people who have hurt them, or daydreaming about the day when they’ll get even and others will get what they deserve.

And of course, I know people who are very proud and self-centered and don’t spend much time thinking about the needs or concerns of other people. And they wonder why their lives seem so empty and why they don’t have any friends.

And I have friends whose entire lives are driven by a sense of competition. They don’t just want to “keep up with the Joneses,” they have to be better than everyone else. They have to have a better car, a better job, more money, more friends, they have to be the best at everything.

Now, I have to admit, there have been times in my life when I’ve fallen prey to these same attitudes and behaviors. I think we all have felt the weight of these kinds of burdens.

And you know what? Carrying around these burdens is exhausting. Being judgmental or angry, or vengeful or confrontational, or selfish or extremely competitive, are such incredibly heavy burdens to carry. They really wear down a person’s body, spirit, and heart. So much so, that a person wouldn’t have much energy left to work on his or her faith journey, or to do God’s work, or to love and care for others.

Jesus said, “Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light.”

Maybe the kind of rest that Jesus promises is not an escape from the normal trials and tribulations of life. Perhaps it’s the kind of rest we experience when we find a different way of engaging life, under his teaching and direction, instead of struggling under the compulsive and destructive burdens that we put on ourselves.

I believe Jesus’ promise is true: we will find true rest for our spirits when we can learn to let go of these self-imposed burdens, and put on the yoke of Jesus: the yoke of humility, gentleness, forgiveness, compassion, service, and love.

Jesus invites us to accept his yoke of faithful obedience to God’s ways, a yoke which is indeed lighter and more bearable than those burdens we place on our own backs.

Listen to Jesus saying, “Here, take my burden; wear my yoke. They are light, easy.”

I invite you to take a moment to reflect on how putting on the yoke of Jesus helps us find rest from those burdens we have created for ourselves.

I invite you to think about a time in your lives when you found the strength and faithfulness to take up that yoke and put down those burdens, to let go of anger or hatred or judgment or pride or whatever burden you may have been carrying.