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Come and RestJuly 06, 2008 Eighth Sunday after Pentecost I was at dinner with some friends recently and they had also invited several other persons to join us for the evening. We were having a wonderful time and somehow the conversation got around to the topic of what we do for a living. I was somewhat reluctant to say mine, not that I am ashamed of what I do, but as is often the case, upon learning that I am a minister the conversations shifts and people find themselves being somewhat reserved. One of the persons who had been particularly lively and entertaining saw this as an opportunity – unsolicited I might add – to confess his faults and to "bare it all" – far more than I cared to hear, especially since this was our first meeting and we were in the company of our common friends. And to be honest, I really didn’t feel like being a “minister” that evening. It wasn’t very long before the conversation became a dialogue between just the two of us. He went on to tell me about his career as an assistant principal at one of the local high schools and the good work he does in the community and with his alumni association. He declared himself a role model among the teenagers, and coaches his sons little league team. “Only one thing Reverend, only one thing,” he said, “I’m a good man, I work hard, I bring my money home, I take care of my wife, there’s just one thing that gets in my way; one thing I just can’t seem to control." I imagined that in his own mind he was speaking the truth. I was aware of the potential devastation for him and for others if this “one thing” were ever exposed and what a tragedy it would be given all the good things going on. It seemed that the benefit of it was not worth the risk but that was my opinion. It reminded me of the inner tension that often exists between the person I think I am versus the person I really am. Between what I want to do verses what I actually do. The person I want others to think I am verses the person I truly am. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of our [man’s] earthly pilgrimage.” [1] It begs a set of profound and chilling questions and honest introspection. It reminded me of the inner turmoil and personal conflict we all face at times – that yes, there is some good is the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. It is not simply an abstract intellectual debate but an ongoing inner personal struggle. Hear again a portion of the Epistle that Carolyn read earlier: "I do not understand my own actions,” writes the Apostle Paul, “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 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. for I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” Paul talks about this divided self in terms of sin and the law. Certainly he understands the necessity of the law and does not want to eradicate nor question it’s validity. Yet Paul also knew that the “living out” of it, the day to day practicality is a whole other matter. Like him, we understand the need for governances to provide order and safety in our society. At their best, laws are designed for the good of all people. Can you imagine if there were no laws governing traffic on Park Avenue? If there were no laws of social protocol? Just a few days ago we celebrated the birth of our country and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The original intent of the declaration was to provide a framework; a set of laws that would ensure that the government of the United States would be just and would protect its citizens from within and without throughout its history. It held the hopes and dreams of those early fathers and set forth a set of truths "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” [2] Likewise, the laws of the Old Testament were never intended to bind up the people or to hold them hostage. They were not intended to portray "a celestial tyrant imposing his will on an unwilling world and unwilling human beings, cramping heir style, squashing their individuality and their very humanness, requiring them to conform to arbitrary and hurtful laws and threatening them with dire consequences if they resist.” [3] Rather they were intended to bring us into a deeper relationship with a loving God and one another. Jesus said that all the Law could be summed up in these two: love God and love neighbor. Instead of the law being a noose around our necks we have been set free. And so we love God and we choose to love one another not because we have to but because we want to. Not because the law makes us or because God will strike us down but because God has set us free to choose and we have decided! There is a new law written on our hearts. We are motivated not by fear but by love – the overwhelming radical love of Jesus Christ has gotten a hold of us and claimed us in a new way. And so we choose love rather than hate. Peace rather than violence. Forgiveness rather than anger. Truth rather than lies. Even so, Paul says it’s not easy. And he has a valid point. The reality of loving is far more difficult than we allow ourselves to admit. It is not some "passive commitment but requires constant attention. Think about all the things you want to be and do in carrying out the mission of loving God and your neighbor. Made up your mind about. Things that would be beneficial to yourself personably but also to others. You have good will. You want to do them. But you don’t. And think of all the things you tell yourself you are not going to do – at least not any more. And think about all the things you tell yourself you have outgrown; you have let go. You are "bigger" than that now. You would never find yourself thinking those thoughts about any one; doing those things; feeling that way – until your own welfare is at risk; until you are threatened. Until you are confronted face to face. In a day when we pride ourselves about being in control we are reminded that we really cannot control very much and there are days when we can’t even control our own selves. Stark reminders that we are the creation, not the Creator. We are becoming but we have not yet arrived. That is why we need something and someone bigger than ourselves. Paul, would also ask, “do we continue in sin that grace might abound? Absolutely not!” [4] But thanks be to God for a measure of grace that allows us not only to forgive but to also be forgiven. One of the great myths about being Christian is that once we make the decision to embark on the journey we are somehow exempt from the moral struggles of life. Martin King also noted that "At times we may feel that we do not need God, but on the day when the storms of disappointment rage, the winds of disaster blow, and the tidal waves of grief beat against our lives, if we do not have a deep and patient faith our emotional lives will be ripped to shreds.” [5] Our gospel lesson also reminds us of this truth. It follows Jesus’ own stringent demands about what it means to follow him. Just a few Sundays ago he was demanding, saying "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worth of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Today’s gospel has a different tone: "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." We hear the invitation “Come, step out into a new pattern. Learn something new. Put on a new yoke and set a new standard for what it means to be human. Come – be free. We must ask ourselves what are the yokes that weigh us down; what are the chains that enslave us and keep us from living as free sons and daughters; that lock us in and others out? What are the heavy loads that prevent us from knowing the freedom of forgiven citizenship? Take my yoke, and I’ll help you carry the load. I got to thinking about that yoke. In Jesus’ day a yoke was a U-shaped wooden crosspiece that was tied around the neck of a pair of oxen . It was this big bulky thing that was used to bind the oxen to one another so they could pull the plow. You put the two oxen’s’ heads in it, and they were tied together. Where one went the other went, and they pulled together. Well, I think Jesus said “Come” because he wants to carry the load with us. Not for us. We must do the work. But he shares the load. That’s good news for the church. Hear his invitation: Come to me. Find rest. Thanks be to God. _____________
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