by Reverend Matt Harbage
Readings: Zechariah 9:9-12; Psalm 145:8-15; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19,25-30.
“Come to me,” Jesus says, “all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
I think these words of Jesus’ are some of the most beautiful in the Bible. They invite us to rest – really rest. Jesus tells us that his burden is light. So let’s pause and take stock. Do we have a sense of this lightness? Let’s check we’re not carrying any burdens that aren’t ours to carry. Because there are a lot of burdens out there. Some we are called to carry, and some we are not.
I think it’s worth naming perhaps the most obvious: The burden of lockdown, COVID-19 and the unpredictability of the future.
These burdens sadly are ours to bear: shared, with the rest of humanity. I have mixed feelings about the further lifting of the UK lockdown, and pray we would be wise with the level of contact we have with others. It’s is however exciting to make plans to see friends and to travel a little. Restoring.
There are though a lot of burdens out there that we are not called to carry: Self-condemnation. The sense of not being enough (I think that’s common for many under lockdown). The burden of other people’s expectation of us. The burden of busyness. The feeling of being unloved or unlovable: These are not ours to carry as disciples of Jesus Christ.
This morning I want to offer a word of liberation and freedom, that we might discover the truth of Jesus’ words: “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. To his disciples, Jesus asks us to carry a simple and joyful burden: To let God define who we truly are. This is the place to begin as disciples, because if we don’t let God define us then we will be crippled by the burden of other people’s views and expectations of us.
Let me explain, by turning to our Gospel and the curious words Jesus begins with:
To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.”
Jesus is here comparing his opponents to children who are playing games in the market place; they first play music and act out a celebration, expecting people to dance to their tune. Then they pretend to hold a funeral with crying and mourning, and want others to fall in line. They want to call the shots. What’s more, Jesus continues, this generation judges inconsistently. John the Baptist, who fasts, as one who has a demon and then judges Jesus, who doesn’t fast, as a glutton and a drunkard.
It’s obvious that no one can win their game and hence Jesus calls them out: They who don’t know what they’re talking about. Instead, Jesus invites his detractors to recognise wisdom by her deeds. Jesus’ words set us an example to follow: Don’t let others define who you are and how you should act, but instead let God’s wisdom be your guide. Let God the Father (whom Jesus reveals) define you, and God alone.
So how does God define us? What does the ‘easy yoke’ of Christ look like? I believe it can be summarised in three words: beloved, forgiven, sinner.
Saint Paul, two chapters before the passage we heard Demi read writes this:
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5.8)
God loves us – passionately, beyond our wildest imagination. Even while we were still sinners. Beloved, Forgiven Sinners.
Lose the first part – that we are LOVED & FORGIVEN, and we are crushed under the weight of our sin.
Lose the second part – that we are SINNERS, and we simply aren’t being real and recognising our struggles and failings.
Discipleship is about keeping the two parts together. Recognising ourselves as beloved, forgiven sinners, by following Jesus Christ, we see God’s love and grace at work. Love: Because God doesn’t want to leave us to suffer under our burdens. Grace because he wants to set us free. Love: because he forgives us and grace because we couldn’t save ourselves.
If I go back to the list of burdens I shared at the beginning, I hope you can see the power of allowing God’s opinion of us define us: Jesus does not condemn us for our failings or shortcomings. Neither should we. We are beloved and forgiven. We will never measure up to some people’s expectations of us. That’s fine. God declares we are beloved anyway.
We may struggle with addiction, or anger, or anxiety. We may feel unloved or unloveable: but God is there for us. He loves us. He wants to forgive us, and by his grace, to transform us by his Holy Spirit.
I wonder where I find you this morning as we sit with all the changes COVID-19 is bringing us. If I speak for myself, I’m tired. The uncertainty is oppressive. I wonder if there will be a sudden about-turn and a return to full lockdown. I think that’s at the heart of why our Gospel today is good news; in this world of uncertainty and change there is one thing that stays the same: God’s love for you, and God’s love for me.
God’s love is committed to our wellbeing and flourishing, encouraging reconciliation and right relationships between individuals and the rest of society. Between rich and poor, between races. Between us and the planet: mindful of the ecological crisis as we are.
So whatever is changing in your life: for good or bad, remember: As a disciple of Jesus you are a sinner but a beloved, honoured, forgiven beautiful one. You are a child of God and he will guide you through. Trust him. Amen.
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