Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Let’s take a look at Galilee, where these words were said
Where Jesus lives and works.
After Jesus is born in Bethlehem, his family returns to Nazareth, their hometown in Galilee, and in Galilee, Jesus grows up.
His disciples are from Galilee.
He spends most of his time preaching there.
It’s to the people in Galilee that Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God.
The people Jesus knows so well, and to them, he extends this greatest of invitations, Come to me … and I will give rest.
Galilee is in the middle of everything.
Travelers and goods moving up out of North Africa or coming in from the East, on their way to Rome, pass through Galilee.
Merchants and soldiers and politicians and teachers from Europe, Rome and Greece, on their way to Egypt, or to the East, pass through Galilee.
All roads lead to Rome and back again.
Galilee the Bread Basket of the Middle East.
Rich in agricultural resources.
A summer retreat for the wealthy.
Kings and queens and emperors frequent visitors.
Multi-cultural, multi-lingual … wealth and poverty … small towns and big cities, agriculture and fishing, itinerant preachers and teachers for all kinds of philosophies and religions:
Cynicism
Hedonism
Eclecticism
Neo-Platonism
Skepticism
Stoicism
Sophism
Judaism, as well, had all kinds of competing schools of thought – Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes and Zealots, just to mention a few … sort of like Protestant denominations: Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and Presbyterians, with lots of variations in every group.
Jesus speaks to people who are bombarded every day with endless options.
And the people are weary.
Jaded.
Hard to please.
Jesus quotes a proverb to describe them:
We play the flute, and no one dances.
We lament, and no one mourns.[1]
The people were saturated with the world.
Everything at their fingertips.
Sort of like our world today!
24/7, we’re told how to keep our hair beautiful, our teeth white, our waist slim, and have a fabulous love-life.
Politicians tell us they can do better than anyone else.
TV preachers offer wealth, health and happiness.
Financial gurus tell us how to beat the odds and grow rich.
Drugs to cure all of our problems – “check with your physician to see if our drug is right for you, and if it is, we’ll give you a month’s free supply.”
Then the fine print in the ad or the quick-reading voice on TV: “this drug has been known to turn your hair purple, cause delusions, increase appetite, shorten your left leg, cross your eyes, keep you awake at night, make you drowsy during the day, give you depression, suicidal thoughts, and generally make you a horrible driver.”
The self-help section of a bookstore – how many books can there be all promising us the moon? – five easy steps to wealth and happiness … six secrets to love and success … seven steps to personal power … eight ways to build a strong marriage … nine insights that will make you rich … 10 rules to overcome anxiety and depression.
Like walking through a carnival midway … barkers on every side, doing their song and dance – wanting to separate us from our money, promising thrills and chills and a chance to “win a big stuffed dog for your girlfriend.”
We’re bombarded morning, noon and night.
Young parents are a big target for merchandising:
Guilt-inducing ads about child-rearing, early-learning, potty training; getting your child ready for college, proper motivation, choosing their career, managing their moods, eating-habits, sleep patterns … sibling rivalry … tooth decay, self-confidence … IQ development … and all the dangers that supposedly surround childhood, until parents want to shrink-wrap their children and keep them inside 24/7.
TV, radio, magazines and the internet.
Political campaigns.
Health shows and medical infomercials.
Parenting books and conferences.
It’s tough to find our way through all of it.
And all of it plays upon our fears.
We’re afraid of missing out on something.
Not having enough.
Making the wrong choice.
Premature aging and wrinkles.
We’re fearful of many things.
And religion doesn’t always help.
Hell-fire preachers and brimstone peddlers.
Punishment.
Law.
Exclusion.
Judgment.
The kind of religion that fills a child’s mind with fearful images of fire and pain.
A friend of mine grew up in Oklahoma, not just the Bible Belt, but the Buckle of the Bible Belt … tells of a time when communion was served … he took the little cup and poured the juice into his mouth, but didn’t swallow it.
Held it in his mouth until worship was over.
Ran outside and spit it out.
He was afraid of “drinking unworthily” unto his own damnation and going to hell.
Another friend tells of hiding under the pews, hoping that God couldn’t find him, so afraid was he of God.
Fear squeezes out our courage … we stop thinking, we no longer ask questions, or admit our personal doubts - hoping against hope that God never finds out what’s truly in our hearts and minds.
We can’t let our neighbor know.
And we’ll never tell the preacher … who might just tell us that we’re gonna go to hell if we don’t shape up and get right with God!
Fundamentalist hell-fire preaching in America has had a terrible influence on how people think about God and how they live their lives.
Jesus offers a radical invitation.
Come to me!
Take my yoke upon you.
Learn from me.
The invitation of a rabbi.
To become his student – that’s what disciple means.
To follow this outstanding rabbi, and learn from him.
In Galilee, to be invited by a rabbi to join him was a high compliment … young men yearned to find an important rabbi and learn from them … and women, too – look at Mary at the feet of Jesus; code language for a disciple.
When the rabbi teaches, he’s giving his yoke to the student.
Jesus says: For I am gentle and humble in heart.
In other words:
I’ll not hurt you.
I’ll not ask of you anything more than I ask of myself.
Because I came to this world not to be served, but to serve.[2]
And then, the promise, the promise of rest.
After a long hard day of work, it’s great to get home, kick off the shoes, put up our feet, get a drink, sit back and relax … and rest!
It is with good reason that God rests after creation.
Makes the day holy … commands a day of rest for all of creation.
But with Jesus, something special.
Not a day.
Not a ritual.
But a relationship … in him, we find our rest!
I will give you rest, says Jesus.
When we’re well-rested, we think better.
Our world looks better, even the boss.
Well-rested, we can more easily figure out the difference between the trash and the treasure.
Well-rested, we make better choices!
Does Jesus tell us what investments to make?
Or what video games our children should play?
Or where we should vacation?
Of course not.
He offers us something deep and powerful.
An organizing principle.
A center-point.
So that we can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
So that we can be courageous:
Courageous to love and welcome.
Courageous to open wide the widows of the soul.
Courageous to get up in the morning and make the sign of the cross over our life: In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – this is who we are!
And to Christ we belong!
What a gift to give to our families: our centeredness in Christ.
And these days, where we’re bombarded every minute of the day with medical ads … in Christ, do the best we can, of course; take care of ourselves; be responsible … but in Christ, come to grips with our mortality – that’s the real issue here – mortality; the world is frightened of death – from ancient Egyptians and their pyramids to our endless quest for youth and beauty, we’re driven by a giant fear, the fear of our mortality.
The truth be told: we grow old, strength ebbs, and one day, dear friends, “when the roll is called up yonder,” we’ll close our eyes one last time, draw our final breath, and life will be no more.
Yet in Christ, rest.
Through Christ, courage.
With Christ, peace.
We’re at peace with death, because we have peace with God.[3]
God is the LORD of life AND the LORD of death … we neither live unto ourselves nor die unto ourselves, but unto the LORD Jesus Christ.[4]
We have a gift for you today … a card to carry with you - put it in your Bible, stick it on your refrigerator … and share with a friend.
If you want more of these cards, let us know … we’ll have more next week … after worship today, come up to the LORD's Table to get a card or two.
Dear Christian Friends, Jesus your rabbi.
Let his words enter deep into your heart and mind:
Come to me all you that are weary and overburdened and I will give you rest … take my yoke upon you … learn from me … I am gentle and humble … my burden is light, and my yoke is easy.
Amen and Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment