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| "feathers" by Yamanaka Tamaki, on Flickr |
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
[Jesus spoke to the crowd saying:] “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.”
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Friends, before we can go much further today, the first thing we have to do is acknowledge that Jesus sounds a little bit crazy today, or at least a little bit forgetful.
Because the last few weeks have been Jesus telling the disciples how hard discipleship is going to be, how they will be as vulnerable as sheep in the midst of wolves, how following Jesus will cost them safety, security, possessions, relationships, even their lives.
And then today, Jesus gets all zen and says, “Come to me, my lovelies, and rest, because my yoke is easy, and my burden is light, and you will find rest for your souls.”
What gives, Jesus?
Is the life of faith and discipleship hard? Or is it easy? Will it kill us? Or will it restore our souls? Will it shake the foundations of the world? Or will it bring us peace? Are you the one swinging a sword? Or are you the one who is gentle and humble of heart?
The answer, of course, is “yes” to all of the above. Jesus is both comfort and challenge. He came to earth to establish a kingdom full of promise and good news, but kingdom-building takes a lot of work. Jesus is good but he is not tame. The life of faith is life-giving but it is not safe.
When Jesus says “follow me,” he is extending two invitations to us. One is an invitation to relationship with him, and one is an invitation into a new way of life as his disciples.
Jesus makes no bones about it; the life of discipleship is bumpy at best. It is demanding. The life of following Jesus is a life of following his example of self-giving love, boundless forgiveness, extravagant grace, boundary-crossing service to neighbor, and bold commitment to justice for the powerless. The demands of discipleship are simple in concept but challenging or even dangerous to carry out.
Jesus also knows that the world is a rough and broken place, and that keeping faith in God’s promises of cosmic restoration and reconciliation sometimes puts us at odds with the selfishness and cynicism of the world. Sometimes the clashing of hope and despair can make us feel like sheep in the midst of wolves. Sometimes our commitment to serving others can shove us to the margins. Sometimes showing grace can leave us open to the ridicule of children throwing taunts back and forth across the street.
The life of a disciple is life-changing and world-changing, but it is far from easy.
Which is why Jesus does not simply invite us to be disciples and then bail on us. Because before Jesus invites us into the work of the kingdom, Jesus first invites us into relationship. “Come to me,” Jesus says, “and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, my burden is light.” The most important part of his words is that invitation, “come to me.” Jesus can only invite us into a life of discipleship because he first invites us into relationship with him. It is our relationship with Jesus that keeps the yoke of faith from becoming a heavy burden. It is our relationship with Jesus that gives rest to our souls.
The rest Jesus gives is a different sort of rest than taking a nap, drinking a cup of chamomile tea, or binge-watching your favorite show on Netflix in your pajamas on a Saturday afternoon. The rest Jesus offers our souls is peace that passes all understanding, holy rest that can only come through being yoked to the abiding and eternal presence of God.
Matthew’s gospel is bookended by Christ’s promise to abide with us. At the beginning of Matthew, when Jesus’s birth is foretold to Joseph, the angel in the dream identifies Jesus as Immanuel, God-with-us. And at the end of the gospel, Jesus commissions the disciples, sending them into the world to make more disciples, and he promises them, “I am with you, even to the end of the age.” So when Jesus extends the invitation, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,” Jesus is saying that our hearts can trust and rest in him, because he is Jesus-Christ-God-with-us-to-the-end-of-the-age.
Christ promises us his presence always. He guides us, he gives us strength, he helps us carry out the work of faith. Christ accompanies us through life’s trials, and we are not alone. Whatever tempests are swirling around us in the world, Christ is the eye of the storm.
Relationship with this abiding presence of Christ is the cup of cold water that our souls thirst for. It is the bread of life that our hearts hunger for. Relationship with Christ gives us the rest and reassurance that we need to continue as his disciples in the world.
And what does it mean to have a relationship with Jesus? It means getting to know him. Learning to love him. Devoting ourselves to him. Being loved by him. Talking to him, listening to him, understanding him. It means taking joy and delight in him, even as he takes joy and delight in us. Relationship with Christ means trusting his promises of love. Of grace. Of belonging. Of restoration. Of transformation. Of resurrection.
Having faith in Jesus, being in relationship with him, is as simple as accepting Christ’s invitation to “come and see, come and rest, come to me.”
I mean, if we’re being honest, relationship with Jesus is as simple as believing that the invitation “come to me” actually extends to you, in this moment, where you are, just as you are.
Come to me, you who are tired and overwhelmed.
Come to me, you who feel like you don’t measure up.
Come to me, you who are anxious.
Come to me, you who are rough around the edges.
Come to me, you who are weary with the weight of the world.
Come to me, you who are sick, or heartsick.
Come to me, you who have been denied justice.
Come to me, you who have been denied love.
Come to me, you who have been denied your identity.
All you today who are limping and all who are joyful, all you today who have minds filled with doubts and all who have mouthes filled with praise, we have all come to this place at the invitation of Christ. Wherever else we bump into the abiding presence of Christ in our lives, we know that here, in this space, we will meet Jesus and find some rest for our souls.
We come to the table and we come to the font because we want to touch Jesus. We come to scripture, praise, and prayer because we want to know Jesus. We come to this community because we want to see Jesus in the face of one another. We come, again and again, to the means of grace that help us draw close to Jesus, so that we can be renewed and sent out all over again.
Whatever life throws at you this week, whatever the demands of the world, whatever the work of the Holy Spirit, whatever it is that will make you frustrated or tired or overwhelmed, even if you are exhausted because of good things, know that Chris loves you, and know that Christ’s invitation is for you when he says,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, for it is easy, and my burden is light. I am gentle. I am humble of heart. I will never leave you or forsake you. I will be with you to the end of the age. Rest in me.”
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