Let us pray: Come Holy Spirit, work through these words. Show us who we are and whose we are. In the name of the Creator, The Redeemer, and The Sustainer. Amen.
Today’s gospel is composed of two main sections and there is even a third that is omitted from our lectionary for today, verses 20-24. I will quickly address the first section, but where I REALLY want to focus is on the last section, in particular the last few verses.
In the first section, Jesus compares the generation of his listeners to kids who don’t really know what they want. It seems there’s no pleasing them! There was music, but you didn’t dance. There was wailing and crying, sadness, but you didn’t mourn, you weren’t sad at all. Speaking about his cousin John the Baptist, Jesus says, John didn’t eat or drink, he was fasting and you said he was possessed. And I, the Son of Man, DID eat and drink and you called me a glutton and a drunkard, and you accused me of keeping bad company. Which one is it? What do you want? Make up your minds! Finally, Jesus explains that wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. That’s to say, that we will know and be able to truly see WHO someone is, based on their actions. How do they treat others? This is the end of the first section and then the lectionary skips five verses, for now, and jumps to Jesus praying out loud.
“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” I take comfort in this. What is required, what we need, is NOT wisdom, scholarship or a high IQ. What we need is sometimes referred to as “beginner’s mind.” An open mind, and open heart, open to surprise, open to joy, open to new ways of thinking, doing, and being. Recall that Jesus says the kingdom of heaven belongs to children, and unless we can learn to see things through kids’ eyes, we won’t be able to understand the beauty and joy of God? Can we slow down? Can we pause to enjoy, and find joy? Find the awe of God’s creation? Allow for the unconditional love, grace, and forgiveness that God is offering us in Jesus Christ? When we do that, THEN we’ll begin to get it. We’ll begin to see who God really is.
The last section of this gospel is truly lovely. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Ahhh. Sweet, right? What are you carrying today? What’s weighing on you? Weighing you down? Holding you back? This human life can be SO hard. It’s exhausting at times. Our lives are complicated, they are tough, confusing, stressful, overwhelming. Jesus, the divine human invites us to bring our worries, anxieties, ALL of our burdens TO HIM. Jesus knows. J-E-S-U-S K-N-OW-S. Body, mind, spirit failing you? Body, mind, spirit of a loved one failing? Everything falling apart? Already fallen apart, broken? Job, Marriage, health, relationships, disease, depression, mental illness, cancer, loss of job, partner, home, hope? J-E-S-U-S K-N-OW-S, and he invites us to lay it all on him. Come to me, he says. “Here, let me help you with that, put that on my shoulder, go ahead and lay that down, I’ve got it. I’ve got you.” Jesus offers us rest. Jesus offers us relief. Jesus offers us the best solution to life’s difficulties: companionship. With Christ, and in Christ, and through Christ, we are not alone. We have a God who knows perfectly well just how hard life can be. Jesus suffered, physically, mentally, spiritually. He was mocked, betrayed, beaten, unjustly tried and sentenced, crucified. Jesus was abandoned. He saw people he loved die. He experienced the depths of human hurting, exclusion, desolation and suffering. Think of all of those people he healed and restored to community. Jesus knows.
“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.” Twice, Jesus offers us rest. He invites us to be linked, to be yoked with him. He chooses to connect himself to us to share the load, to take our burdens on his own shoulders. I picture Jesus right there alongside me, a wooden yoke connecting us, allowing us to share the weight of this human life. Together we are trudging, pushing, making our way through the mud, the uphill, the rocky routes of life’s difficulties. Jesus is there with us, pushing, pulling, providing power and direction.
This life’s weight, with Jesus at our side, is SO much lighter. Connected, we will find rest. Connected, we will find peace. We’ll find that our burdens HAVE become lighter, bearable. We are NOT alone. We CAN do this. With Jesus.
From today’s psalm 145, verse 15: The Lord upholds all those who fall; he lifts up those who are bowed down. My siblings in the love of Christ, in this life, we stumble, we fall, are overwhelmed, and bowed down, but take heart, Jesus has overcome this world. Bring your burdens to Jesus, he invites, he WANTS them, he WILL be with us, pulling us through, bringing us rest and peace. And for that, we give thanks to God. Amen.
