SunJul32011
Sermon by Dan DeWeese
Date: July 3, 2011
Title: Rest Stop
Scripture: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
16 "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17 "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon'; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
25 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 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."
Let us pray.
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."
As we reflect on these words of Jesus from Mathew’s gospel this morning, I would like to focus on two similar, but slightly different things Jesus says about finding rest: First he says, “Come to me…and I will give you rest.” Then he says, “Take my yoke upon you…and you will find rest for your soul.”
Come to me. Take my yoke upon you.
We are, you might say, a rest-less or sleep-deprived society.
• Shortage of Sleep (PD Article by Evelyn Theiss). This past week Evelyn Theiss began a Plain Dealer article on sleep-related issues with these words: Americans are used to taking a pill for what ails us -- especially when we're feeling desperate. And insomnia seems tailor-made for making us desperately anxious for the sweet release of sleep. That's why some 30 million people in this country turn to sleep aids, with brand names like Ambien, Lunesta and Sonata at the top of the list. (PD, Jun 28)
Theiss goes on to quote former Secretary of State Colin Powell who was being interviewed by an Arabic newspaper reporter in 2003. The reporter asks Powell if he uses sleeping pills "to organize" himself, and Powell responds: "Yes. Well, I wouldn't call them that….They're a wonderful medication -- not medication. How would you call it? They're called Ambien, which is very good.
You don't use Ambien?” he asks the reporter. Then goes on to say, “everybody [in the United States] uses Ambien." (PD, Jun 28)
The truth is that Colin Powell had a heavy load on his shoulders in 2003. Two years after 9/11 the world was in turmoil and the United States was entangled in conflict in Afghanistan and in the early stages of an increasingly violent war in Iraq. Today we continue to have troops on the ground in both countries and a world full of turmoil.
In this country many worry about a sputtering economy, high unemployment and a housing market that seems unable to pull out of its slump. The local TV and print media constantly remind us that violent crime is never far removed from us.
Closer to home we deal with personal or family illness. broken or breaking relationships, unemployment or underemployment, the stresses of raising children or concerns about aging parents. We carry heavy burdens.
• Carrying Heavy Burdens. Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis is probably one of the more popular players on the team. He had a great season last year and loves playing football in Cleveland. In addition to a great attitude, Hillis has a great work ethic. PD sports writer Mary Kay Cabot wrote recently about what he does in the off season. “On any given day in the town of Conway, Ark.,” she writes in a recent PD article, “Browns running back Peyton Hillis can be seen trudging through his neighborhood with a half-ton truck harnessed to his chest.” (Jun 25 PD article by Mary Kay Cabot)
I think that’s what you call a heavy burden. A lot of people in our 21st Century culture feel they are pulling an equally heavy load. To those people, to us people, when we find ourselves burdened by the stress of modern life, Jesus says come.
I. Come to me
Come worried people, come guilt-laden people, come financially stressed people, come sick people. Come, all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.
Not long before his own death, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, Jesus was endeavoring to prepare His disciples for what was to come. In his parting conversation with them, a dialog found in the 14th to 17th chapters of the Gospel of John, Jesus says,
“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (Jn 14:25-27)
Illust: Getting My Ankles Taped. Many of you probably watched Green Bay beat Pittsburg in Super Bowl 45 last February. There was another football game, perhaps you missed, around the same time, a game between the big animals and the little critters. The big animals were (pardon the slight pun) crushing the little critters and at half time, the coach made a passionate speech to rally the little critters team.
At the start of the second half the big animals had the ball. On the first play, the elephant got stopped for no gain. On the second play, the rhino was stopped for no gain. On third and 10, the hippo was thrown for a 5 yard loss.
The defense huddled around the coach who asked excitedly, "Who stopped the elephant?"
"I did" said the centipede.
"Who stopped the rhino?"
"Uh, that was me too" said the centipede.
"And how about the hippo? Who hit him for a 5 yard loss?"
"Well, that was me as well," said the centipede.
"So where were you during the first half?" demanded the coach.
"Well" said the centipede, "I was having my ankles taped."
Jesus invites us to come with our wounded spirits and bruised bodies and sore muscles, to come and get our ankles taped in order that we may be ready for the game of life.
And so, the first words we hear in this passage is the invitation from Jesus: 28 "Come to me, weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Which brings us to a second, and slightly different invitation from him:
II. Take my yoke upon you.
Take my yoke upon you
learn from me
I am gentle and humble in heart
my yoke is easy
my burden is light
you will find rest
It seems Jesus is saying to them, “together we can bear the burden, together we can carry the load, together we can resolve the concern.”
A well-fitting yoke.
One of the things that made Jesus such an effective preacher was his ability to take the common, ordinary things of life and use them to illustrate important spiritual principles. He does that in this passage, when he speaks of yokes: “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me,” he says.
Jesus, as you’ll recall, was a carpenter. He undoubtedly learned the trade from Joseph. Working in the carpentry shop, Jesus would have frequently been involved in crafting yokes for area farmers. For them to get the most out of their animals, it was important that the yokes be well made.
Jesus would have been involved in designing and making yokes that fit the shoulders of his customer’s animals perfectly. That was important, because to pull a plow with an ill-fitting yoke would have made the farm animal’s task considerably more difficult. Have you ever owned a pair of ill-fitting shoes? Someone has suggested that a sign might have hung over the entrance to Joseph’s carpenter shop which read: “Well fitting Yokes.”
[Q4] You will find rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me. My yoke is easy, my burden light and you will find rest for your souls.
In the storms of life that are part and parcel of our daily lives, we can find rest in the Spirit of God, in the presence of The Helper, the Advocate of whom Jesus spoke. All of us need a place where we can go to find rest, to recuperate and gain strength for the next day’s battle.
Jesus invites us to find rest, calm and healing in him. We need that place of inner healing. This verse is an invitation to enter into God’s presence and unburden our souls. A song we sometimes sing around here says:
“I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh, I’ll laugh with you. I will share your joy and sorrow till we’ve seen this journey through.” (Servant Song Lyrics)
We are invited to experience God’s strength, to be united, yoke together, if you will, with God.
Yoked with God
Canoeing in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario Canada. In the summer of 1979 I was pastor of St. Paul’s Church of the Nazarene in Duxbury, MA on the Boston South Shore. A group of single adults who were part of that faith community had planned a 10-day camping and canoeing trip on a series of lakes in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. Algonquin is huge-about the size of the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
We drove from the Boston area to the park, carrying all of the things we would need for the 10 day excursion, including food, clothing, sleeping bags, tents, flashlights, etc. The canoes were rented in the park. It was a physically challenging, emotionally satisfying and spiritually nurturing experience for the 15 or so of us who made the trip.
I did the Algonquin trip on two successive summers. The first year I was pretty much a novice, when it came to canoeing. The trip leaders pared me with a more experienced person. For most of the trip, when we were on the water, I occupied the front spot in the canoe and he was in the back. My canoe partner on that trip was bigger than I, had a more powerful stroke and years of experience canoeing. For me it was probably my 3rd or 4th time out in a canoe and never over a period of days.
I think about that experience in Algonquin, when I read in this morning’s passage from Matthew 11, “take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Not only did my canoe mate shoulder a large percentage of the workload as we paddled, he was continually offering me pointers to help improve my skill and efficiency in the canoe.
Carrying the Milk Pail. Another story from earlier in my life: When I was a child, perhaps 6 or 7 years old, I liked to be with my dad when he was doing chores on our farm. I remember on numerous occasions going with him to our barn in the evening, when it was time to milk the cows. After he had finished and turned the cows back out to pasture, I would help him carry the full pail of milk back to the house.
The way it worked was like this: Dad would place a broken broom handle under handle of the milk pail and extend it between him and me. He would take one end and I the other and together we would carry the heavy pail of milk. What I didn’t realize at the time was that dad was carrying most of the load, for he would slide his hand up very near the handle of the milk pail, shouldering probably 90% of the weight.
Come to me. Take my yoke . . . and you will find rest for your souls.
Conclusion. Welcome Home
In a sermon called "What Child Is This?" Atlanta pastor Vic Pentz tells about a friend of his, Houston actress Jeanette Clift George, who was flying to Phoenix, AZ. During the flight Jeanette noticed across the aisle a young mom with her baby daughter. Both mother and daughter were wearing, crisp, white pinafores. The mother was smiling and the baby was saying "Dada, Dada."
She had a little pink bow where someday she was going to have hair and anytime anybody walked by, she greeted them with "Dada, Dada."
Jeanette concluded, "I think I know who is going to be there waiting when this plane lands, Dada". Meanwhile that baby was the magnet of everyone's attention on the plane. The mom had a baby bottle filled with orange juice. It turned out to be a rough flight and when the baby got fussy, the mom would pacify her with the bottle of orange juice.
The flight became even more turbulent. Seat belts were buckled and flight attendants had to take their seats. Soon all the fruit juice that had gone down the baby, came back up until it seemed there was more up than there was in her.
The rest of the passengers were not in good condition, Jeanette said. As the plane was pitching back and forth, Jeanette kept reaching into her purse and handing tissues to the mom.
Finally the plane landed and instantly the baby was fine and again saying, "Dada, Dada." Jeanette said she looked out the window and there he was. It had to be him -- a young man in white slacks, white shirt, carrying white flowers wrapped in green paper.
Jeanette thought, “This ought to be interesting. He's going to come running and see that baby and keep right on running and say, that's not my kid, that's not my kid.”
Jeanette writes, “As he ran to the young mother, I wouldn't say she threw the baby at him, but she did kind of leave quickly to go get cleaned up. This young man picked up that baby, and I watched him as he hugged that baby and kissed that baby and stroked that baby's hair. He said, 'Daddy's baby's come home. Daddy's baby's come home.” All the way to the baggage claim area he never stopped kissing that baby. He never stopped welcoming that baby home.
Jesus paints a picture for us of a God who is like that loving young daddy in white slacks and white shirt with white flowers wrapped in green paper, delighted to see us, welcoming us home.
No matter how burdened we are, no matter how stained our lives may be as a result of a difficult journey, God will not run past us, or hold us at arm's length. God welcomes us as a parent welcomes a beloved child with the words:
“Come to me. I’ve been waiting for you. Rest in me. Welcome home."