Gospel: Matthew 11.28-30
28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
SERMON: Someone to lean on.
Listening to today’s Gospel and looking at the Bulletin cover of a weary exhausted nurse, - I think we can all agree on that we often are weary and often carrying heavy burdens through life – and we often long and pray for rest.
The weary and the burdens can be so different depending on our life circumstances:
· Weary and tired like the nurse on the cover from hard work and emotional toil. Like the exhausted nurses during the Covid Pandemic.
· Weary and tired like the single mother of 3 small kids trying to getwork ,school, economy and family to balance
· Weary and tired like the 70 old man who can finally retire after a long work life, but is worried about pension, healtcare and financial security
· Weary and tired like the young College Student who works 2 jobs in order to pay tuition and still will be burdened by student loans
· Weary and tired like the cancerpatients doing their second chemo treatment
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens.”
Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11 may be one of the most comforting passages in scripture: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
It is an invitation to sabbath living. It is an invitation to Sunday Living.
Eugene Peterson helpfully paraphrases this invitation to the modern world in The Message:
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
As always I am amazed by Eugene Peterson translation and interprepation.
This invitation to Sunday living calls us to find the unforced rhytyems of grace. To get away. To recover. To rest. To walk and work with Jesus. To be in company with Christ so we might learn to live freely and lighty.
We long to find the unforced rhythms of Grace, don’t we? We strive to find a work-life balance and a Sunday living.
But rest almost seems like a is a countercultural concept these days. It seems wrong, almost indulgent and selfish to rest.
We glorify busyness, admiring those who seem to juggle so much at once. The standard answer among my pastoral colleagues when I ask, “How are you?” is not “fine” but “busy.” Business implies value and worth, a contribution to society and to life. Also, it is usually the truth. We are busy.
I still remember my Danish Dean when I was ordained and installed in my first pastor position, who pointed out in his address to me : “there is nothing more pathetic than a busy pastor. Meaning of course that a pastor should have time to listen, to pray and be present, a pastor should have time to rest and rejuvenate through studying and learning, - that is true. But guess what: most pastors are pathetically busy as there are so many tired and weary people, so much sorry, so many meetings, so many calls, so many emails, so much to plan. So, I guess most pastors I know are pathetic busy pastors, as we definitely no just works on Sundays.
And yet, Jesus invites us to rest. Rest is vital to our productivity, to our well-being—and to our faith. In the Bible, God rests on the seventh day, and Jesus regularly retreats by himself to pray and rest.
Yet in our society, rest is often viewed as a privilege rather than a necessity. Something we have earned, not something that we need.
We look for jobs that offer vacation days and sick days, personal days and weekends and holidays.
But even when we are paid to rest it’s hard to do it. Even if we take vacation or time away from work or family demands, we have the ability to be constantly connected through texts, emails, and news alerts. What’s more, at the tip of our fingertips are mobile devices that stimulate and engage our minds through games, entertainment, and social media. It can take work and real commitment to truly rest.
Those of us who have the privilege to rest should do so. We should also uphold the value of rest for all who work. Perhaps justice comes when all who are weary and heavy laden can finally find rest. When we get equally access to rest.
Yet we can all respond to Jesus’ call to a way of walking and working in the world that is less about striving and more about gratitude.
We can advocate for systems that create space for real rest. We can keep company that helps us learn to live more freely and lightly.
This fall we will start a new Sunday Series called Lie and Listen. Pause and Pray. A monthoy Sunday Evening you are invited to come to church to rest. Bring your mattrees, your favoirte pillow, your comfy blanket – and make yourself comfortable in the pews, on the floor and rest.
The services will be filled with good music, prayers, poems and silence.
“Come to me, all you that are weary….”
Slide 19 There is a wonderful inspirational song by Bill Withers that I truly tells us to dare to lean on somebody when we need help, rest or comfort.
“lean on me,”
1. Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow
2.Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill
Those of your needs
That you won't let show
[Bridge]
You just call on me, brother,
when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem
that you'll understand
We all need somebody to lean on
[Chorus]
Lean on me when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on
2. If there is a oad you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load
If you just call me
A load to bear. To much to carry. Heavy burdens. Heavy yokes.
I am sure Jesus would have hummed along on this song, if he could have done so. Cause Jesus constantly and consistently asked us to share each other’s lives and burdens, to be good Samaritans and kind neighbors, yes even to love our enemies. And Jesus constantly, consistently and comfortingly asked us to come to him, to leave our burdens and worry on his shoulders, to walk with him and rest with him. To lie and listen. To pray and pause.
As the last verse of “Lean on Me.” Says:
When there is a load so heavy to bear, when it feels impossible to carry alone, Jesus is right up the road, he will share our load, if we just call on him.
So remember to lean on Jesus when you are weary, tired and weak. Because we all need somebody to lean on. Thank God, Jesus is right up the road for us. AMEN