Fr Mike's Message - 7/9/23

The Gospel: ​Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Jesus said to the crowd, “To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that you have inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation, and that you will empower our application. Amen

The Message: ​“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 25-30

This must be one of the most quoted and referred-to sayings of Jesus. It really resonates, doesn't it? I mean who at some point in their lives has not wanted this quote to be true? We all, at times, feel the burden of our lives and long for this Scripture to become an active reality in our experience.
 
The difficulty with taking an individual quote and building a theology on it, or around it, is that we often find that we are depending on the promise rather than depending on the person behind the promise.
 
We need to be aware that this is what I am going to call for the sake of this message: "snapshot theology." You know, the kind of thing that we do when we take a few snapshots on our cell phone to help people back home understand how much we are enjoying the vacation we are on. These pictures capture glimpses, but there is no way that they tell the whole story of what we are seeing and experiencing.

Now, don't get me wrong, these are powerful verses from Matthew's Gospel, and the promise is a dependable one, but it is part of a much greater experience. 

In some ways, what I am talking about this morning is similar to what was known as "Fox Hole" theology during WWI and WWII. This theology was particularly evident during WWI and it carried over into WWII. A phrase was developed that described what happened for many who served: "There are no atheists in foxholes." The horror of trench warfare meant that the majority of those who served there made a firm decision about what they understood about God.
 
In fact, many of those men made promises to God about how they would live their lives if they were saved from that horrific experience. Some of them, like J.R.R. Tolkien, went on to use that experience and their newfound convictions about God to influence generations of others. Unfortunately, for many though, the experience they had was just a short-term emotional reaction that they walked away from. They did not develop a long-term understanding of God or their relationship to the eternal, loving creator of all things. 

Snapshot theology and Foxhole theology have many things in common and they can, unfortunately, have a similar result. We come to the Lord and ask for our burdens to be lifted and for our weariness to be relieved. Often the Lord will intervene and we will see our circumstances change. Sadly we often forget how we pleaded to the Lord and sought his activity in our situation. We also have a tendency to neglect to remember or forget altogether the promises or agreements we offered to the Lord.
 
I am going to digress slightly at this point to bring out an important point. I want to go back to what I said earlier: 
The difficulty with taking an individual quote and building a theology on it, or around it, is that we often find that we are depending on the promise rather than depending on the person behind the promise.
 
You may be aware that at this time in the RCL we have alternative readings that we can choose from. They are known as track 1 and track 2. The Psalm we heard this morning, Psalm 45, is from track 1 and it supports the themes of the Genesis reading. We heard how Rebekah had to leave home and family and start a new life with Issac. 
The Psalm alternative, Psalm 145 from track 2 actually ties in with remembering who it is we are depending on. It focuses on the God who is making the promises we are relying on.  This is what it says:

Psalm 145:8-15
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, *
 slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 The Lord is loving to everyone *
 and his compassion is over all his works.
10 All your works praise you, O Lord, *
 and your faithful servants bless you.
11 They make known the glory of your kingdom *
 and speak of your power;
12 That the peoples may know of your power *
 and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; *
 your dominion endures throughout all ages.
14 The Lord is faithful in all his words *
 and merciful in all his deeds.
15 The Lord upholds all those who fall; *
 he lifts up those who are bowed down.

Unfortunately, more often than not we forget all of that. Once the crisis, we are facing, has passed we want to return to control of our lives. We like to think that we are the "masters of our own destiny." 

We really are not all that different from our brothers and sisters of the Old Testament. As we have followed the story of Abram and Sarai - who become Abraham and Sarah - we have seen how they have struggled to hear and follow the Lord in their relationships and their obedience. They go in and out of taking control and allowing the Lord to control their lives.

In our reading from Genesis this morning Abraham's servant is an example of seeking the Lord's guidance and inspiration. As we read this story today it may seem strange to our ears, with our current understanding of love and relationships. But at its heart, this is a story about seeking the Lord's direction and then following through on what the Lord guides. The servant and Rebekah both are great examples of remembering the one who we are depending on. They follow through and they trust the one who has made the promise to them.

Aren't we grateful for those examples we find in Scripture for those who are able to maintain their commitments?  I have to admit that I find myself identifying with Paul. 

He expresses his struggle in the reading from Romans 7 this morning:
"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."

Paul makes one statement after another about his inability to succeed in this struggle. You can hear his weariness and the burden he is carrying because of this battle. Aren't we all glad that Paul ends that passage in Romans with these words:
"Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

That is the key, isn't it? We are back to Jesus and his promise. But it can't be a snapshot or a foxhole prayer. This is a situation where if and when we are rescued we must follow through in gratitude, and in a loving response to our rescuer. 

It is vitally important that we know what we are promising and to whom we are making that promise. 

When we call out to Jesus and ask for his help, for his strength, and for his empowerment, then we find ourselves coming into relationship with the person of Jesus. 
 
Now this Jesus is a warm, loving, and caring person, but he is also the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. When we make promises to him we are coming into a covenant relationship with the Almighty. 

We have to remember that just before Jesus says he will come to the weary and to the burdened that he has said, in Matthew 11, that: "All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

So, as we call out in our weariness and under the burdens of our lives we have to acknowledge that we are calling out to this awesome being who has deigned to come to earth, to take on human flesh, human emotions and to live among us. 

He doesn't just take away the weariness and the burden but he responds by giving us the desire to live our lives through him and for him. "Take my yoke upon you..... and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." 

This week as we go out into the world at the end of this service may we have been encouraged and uplifted for the life before us. May we be willing to share the message of Jesus with anyone who seeks to know why we can continue in our life with optimism and perseverance?

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

May the Lord bless our endeavors for him this coming week.