MH May 25 2025, Ps. 84:1-4; Matt. 11:28-30

 

MH May 25 2025, Ps. 84:1-4; Matt. 11:28-30 (Proper 9A)

“Immerse in Sacred Spaces and Rhythms”

Creator God,

who makes the mountains rise and the valley low,

who makes the sea and all therein, 

You, lord God show us your power in creation, 

you show us your love in the lives we share with one another.

Give us vision, at this time in our collective lives,

when much seems so hard,

vision to see the burden that must be laid down.

Give us rest, so that we may hear your voice in the wind, the rain, and one another. Amen. 

We have heard these words from the gospel of Matthew so many times, “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’ve heard Jesus call the disciples, Andrew and Simon the fisher folk, and Matthew the tax collector. They dropped everything and immediately followed Jesus. But this passage extends that call, it is an expansive invitation from Jesus to all who can hear, including you and me, to follow. When these words fall upon my ears, I listen, but I am not sure that following Jesus is easy, or the burden is light. Sometimes, like you, I think this is really hard. It’s hard to step to a different drummer, when conforming to the values and morals of our culture seems like it would be so much easier. It’s really hard to be the voice in the wilderness that says, resist, resist all that would demean and destroy God’s creation, resist all that would raise the rich and the powerful over and above those who are poor and outcast. Resist the easy fix and the easy answers. Because when you do, when you follow Jesus, Jesus promises, I will give you rest.

And, you can do hard things.

Let’s step back just a bit and see what has happened to get us to this place in Matthew’s gospel. Matthew’s story begins with reporting the glorious works of God being done in Israel, and at this point shifts to focus on Israel’s failure to respond to those works. At the beginning of this chapter 11, Jesus was speaking to the crowds concerning John, the one we call Baptizer. Jesus was singing John’s praises at the very moment John was in prison awaiting his fate. At the same time, Jesus is railing against those who hold power, and who act against the common people. Jesus compares them to stubborn children who would not play well with others. Jesus castigates the people for being inhospitable and lacking repentance.

And then Jesus does something I hope we’ve all done, he stops what he's doing and saying, and he prays, Jesus giving thanks. In this, Jesus shows us that prayer, being present with God, is necessary especially when we are called to do hard things. It is what equips us to do hard things. Like Jesus, we are called to step away from all that is going on, to immerse ourselves in sacred spaces and rhythms. 

So what do sacred spaces and rhythms look like? In the world in which we live, a world in which information moves so fast; a world in which you can change a photo to be anything you want it to be and spread it so quickly people don’t have time to ask questions, or even know to ask - is this real; a world in which you can feed a few words into ChatGPT and get some really amazing results within moments; a world in which there is so much intentional noise to keep you distracted; in this world, what does it mean to step away? 

Many of you may have a rhythm of prayer and scripture study, individually and in community. But I would challenge you to first of all examine what your current rhythm is and how it serves your being present to God, and then wonder about the possibilities. Maybe it’s time to take a chance, to risk a messy path that may bring you to a place you’ve never been before, knowing that it’s not easy, that you can do hard things, and that immersing yourself in the rhythms of prayer is what equips you to do those hard things. 

Immerse yourself in sacred spaces and rhythms of prayer. I have a couple suggestions. 

1) Fast from the internet/looking at your phone when you are with people, because being with people is a sacred space. Remember Covid? Remember not being with people and how much we craved human interaction? Being with humans is sacred, put down your phone to be present with your people. 

2) I know many of you have a practice of reading scripture and prayer. Do you need to renew and refresh that practice? One of the ancient practices of the church is "Praying the Hours". This refers to the practice of praying regularly throughout the day, following a pattern of prayers that mark specific times of the day. These prayers, also known as the Daily Office, include Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and other offices like Noonday Prayer and Compline, for before sleep. Steeping yourself in the prayers and scriptures they contain, immerses your spirit, your body, and your mind, in the rhythms of the sacred.

3) I brought with me today some prayer beads, another way to focus your spirit, your body, and your mind on your prayers. 

These are all things you can google for more information. 

Whatever your prayer and scripture reading entails, whatever your prayer practice needs you to do, I urge you to do it in community. Community is at the heart of our sacred spaces and rhythms. We are connected to one another, we are connected to this earth, we are connected to those who walked this way before us, and those who will walk this way long after we’ve gone. You are not alone, celebrate, pray, read, grieve, with each other. No matter what you do, you need to show up and make space for something holy to flow through.

And then Jesus makes this invitation, come to me, follow me, take my yoke upon you. Jesus knows this is hard, probably the hardest thing we ever do. Jesus is asking the people he encountered, and loved and cared about, to exchange the “yoke” they lived under, which is the control of the empire of Rome, for the “yoke” that Jesus offered, the yoke of love, the yoke of reconciliation, the yoke of forgiveness.

We don’t use the word yoke much anymore. In fact, some of you probably can’t picture a yoke in your head. It’s a device for joining together a pair of animals to do the farm work of making rows to plant the seeds, in the days farming was done without big machines. The yoke was a piece that went across the shoulders of two large animals, usually oxen, each enclosing the heads of the animals. The yoke was heavy, it kept the animals doing the job the farmer wanted them to do.

When we imagine that yoke, the image becomes clear. Jesus says, leave the heavy burden that is keeping you hostage, and take on a new yoke, the yoke of love, the yoke of reconciliation, the yoke of forgiveness. Jesus was asking the people of his time to do something very hard. Jesus was asking them to risk everything, their lives and their livelihood, to be free of the empire of Rome. Jesus promises that when we exchange the yoke of the powerful for the yoke of the one who is crucified, we will find rest.

I think we live in very similar times today. The burdens are huge and heavy. Can we even do that hard thing that Jesus asks? Some of our leaders are showing us that wielding power over people is much more desirable than working with each other to come to the common good. We see and hear those who are in power that the goal is to make as much money as possible for oneself. We live at a time and place where true joy, deep satisfaction, and the realization of what we were created for is to be disdained.

But is the hard thing really laying the burden down? Or is the really hard thing believing Jesus, who says, come to me and I will give you rest, my burden is easy, and my burden is light. You see, Jesus doesn’t simply call the picture of the way we think the world works into question. Jesus doesn’t simply call our expectations into question. Jesus gives us a different picture. God is the one who bears our burdens. God is the one who shows up in our need. God is the one who comes alongside us. Nothing demonstrates this more than the cross – God’s willingness to embrace all of our life, even to the point of death, in Jesus, to demonstrate God’s profound love and commitment, love and commitment that will not be deterred…by anything.

It’s not necessarily what we want. We often would prefer a God who takes away our problems rather than helps us cope with them, who eliminates challenges rather than equips us for them. It’s not usually what we want, but pretty much exactly what we need. That’s the rest Jesus is talking about. It’s not an easy rest, it’s not usually what we want, but it’s exactly what we need.

And we are reminded that God always shows up where we least expect God to be: in the need of our neighbor. We are reminded that God shows up in the violence and the protest: demanding that we face the truth that all people are truly created in God’s image.

In our estimation, growth and change are not easy. Seeing the world in a new and different way is not easy. But ease is not what Jesus asks of us. Jesus asks us to exchange the burden of the world for the relationship Jesus offers. It is hard, and we can do hard things. And it is what following Jesus looks like. But as we undertake this new yoke, we discover God in Jesus is already there. Waiting for us, encouraging us, forgiving us, bearing us, loving us. Which is what makes the burden light, the yoke not just easy but joyful. Pick up the yoke that Jesus offers, the yoke of love, the yoke of reconciliation, the yoke of forgiveness.

It is hard, but we can do hard things. It is joyful, and love does win. Amen.

Speaking of hard things, a point of personal privilege if I may.

Even though there has been much pleading and cajoling, today is my last Sunday as your interim for pastoral care. I want to thank you for giving me this privilege of serving God with you. As I came to the decision, with God’s help, to come by your side and accompany you through this liminal time, I did so with the confidence that the Holy Spirit is active, and that who I am, could be helpful to you. You have shown forth your best selves, you have received me with love and care. What I ask of you, is that you show each other that same love and care, that you give one another your best selves, always remembering that your best self is authentic and messy, not perfect. This building is filled with really lovely people, be church for one another, forgiving, healing, reconciling. It is now my time in life to do what I please, when I please, retirement. Let’s all have some fun!