The yokes on you.
(Free Version)- Sixth Sunday After Pentecost- Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
You can find this week’s readings here.
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Sometimes, when I prepare sermons, I see faces: some in my congregation, others I have known throughout the years. This week, I think of the burdens they carry. Check that: the burdens that we carry.
Some of us carry heavy expectations to be good, or to be excellent, to never make mistakes. Some of us carry the burdens of performance, needing to be seen as “something” in the world. Some of us carry burdens related to safety, making darn sure that we can withstand the next natural disaster, a hypothetical attack, a loss of job, or downturn in the market. Of course, there is nothing wrong with excellence, performance, or safety. It is the pursuit of these as a final goal, their achievement a definition of “the good life,” or the underlying fear that is a problem.
Some of our burdens are inherited. We were taught growing up what it means to be a “good girl” or a “good boy,” which is supposed to translate in being a good citizen, good wife, good husband, or good friend. Many of our burdens are religious in nature. We are told that there are certain things we can do or be which will make us more acceptable to God or to the religious community.
Still, some burdens are systemic. Our economic, political, and educational systems erect structures which create more burdens for those on the underside of power than those who have wealth and privilege.
For these who carry burdens, those who have been trampled, shamed, and name-called: the gospel is good news.
Our Old Testament reading (Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67) follows Abraham’s servant in his quest to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac among the Aramaens. On the surface, this story appears to be a bridge, a simple transition from one important event to another. Sarah has died, and the family needs a new matriarch. However, a close hearing shows us God’s faithfulness working underneath the story. The servant seems audacious in what he asks of God. He wants to make sure he chooses the right wife for Isaac, so he asks God to reveal it to him in a very specific way. And…God is cool with it! In another fortuitous turn of events, Rebekah is clear-eyed in saying yes to his decision. The word “blessing” appears in meaningful ways in this reading: Abraham is described as “blessed;” And the family blesses Rebekah as they send her.
Perhaps most significant is the way in which God’s activity is ascribed to Him only after the events unfold. We are constantly surprised by God working in our lives in ways which we do not see in the moment. It is only when we make space to reflect that we see it. I do not think it is a coincidence that Isaac, at the end of the reading, first meets Rebekah after he has been in reflection.
Our epistle reading (Romans 7:15-25a) is a tongue twister. Paul goes on for sentences about the ways in which he wants to do good, but can’t seem to; and the ways in which he doesn’t want to do what is wrong, but keeps doing it. It is likely that the “I” is a rhetorical device. He is not speaking of himself in the present moment, but those who try to find salvation from sin and death by obeying the law. The “I” may be Israel, or it may be anyone who is attempting this futile endeavor.
The law is good, and it is good to obey it. Likewise, it is good to be God’s chosen people. Yet, those who try to find salvation in the law are frustrated because it only reveals how broken they really are; the evil which is working against them. It almost seems like there are two laws at work, and one is waging war! Who can rescue from such a burden? Paul immediately gives us the answer: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Rescue comes only from him.
In our gospel reading (Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30), Jesus is telling John the Baptist’s disciples how the people have rejected the kingdom of God in rejecting both he and John the Baptist. “This generation” can’t seem to make up their mind. John is solemn and serious, calling them to repentance, and fasting faithfully. Yet, they call him a demon. By contrast, Jesus has come liberating, celebrating, throwing a party for those who have been cast aside, rejoicing in what God is doing. Yet, they say that he is a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners (words describing of a “rebellious son” in Deuteronomy, who was to be stoned to death!).
The good news is that it is not Jesus’ opponents who get to say what God is like. Only Jesus can do that. The truth is that those who think they are so wise and intelligent as to know God are blind to what he is doing. It is the “little ones” who know what’s up because it has been revealed to them.
Those who are comfortable in the world as it is will react to the way of the kingdom of God, to the love of God with violent rejection, because it does not make sense in such a world. But those who are weary and burdened by the world, by its expectations, by it’s calls to keep up, will find an easier yoke. It is not easier because it makes less demands, but because of who we are yoked to. He is the humble one. He is not like those who manipulate to get their way. He is good, all the way through; and he can be trusted.