Göttinger Predigten
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Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, 07/06/2014
Sermon on Matthew 11:16-19; 25-30, by Walter W. Harms
[Jesus said:]
16 "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,
17 "‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, 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 at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."[a]
25 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.[a]
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 who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Wisdom Is Known by Its Deeds
Most of us think we have at least some smarts. We know that we need to come in out of the rain. If we are old enough, we know how to drive, and perhaps even text while we drive, although that doesn't seem to be too smart, or so I hear!
I thought I was pretty wise at age 24. I had a Master's degree; I got married; and I had a good secure job. At thirty I looked back and realized I wasn't very wise at all. At 45 I think I finally got part of my act together. Now at 80, I think: what does being wise mean?
The blessed part of today is that, in this Gospel reading of the words of Jesus, we see what wisdom is. It is known by what you and I do: our actions in daily life; our behavior toward others; our realization that despite everything we are not alone-we don't have to carry the burdens and care of this world by ourselves. We can give them up; we can be hooked up to Jesus because he and we make a team that cannot be defeated.
I was the 5th child of six. I had a brother more than 3 years older than me. He mostly called the shots when we were growing up. I played the games he wanted to play. I could object, but what good did that ever do? So often he didn't want to play the games I wanted to play.
How often we are like that even as we advance in years. While we move more and more toward conformity in most every way (how many of us don't drive the same kind, color, model of car as others?), we always want to be different. Make mine unique-not the same coffee as the next person, not the same kind of food, not the same kind of likes as others. And all too often we try to rely on what we believe is good for us.
But the urge for conformity and sameness drives us! We want the better car; the larger house; the longer, more expensive vacation; the better motel when we travel; and the list could go on and on.
The result? Our personal wisdom has burdened us. We worry about money, health, relationship, whether we are getting out of life what we should. We work too much, eat too much, sleep too little, tear up families, swallow too many pills to quiet us and where, we ask, where will we find relief, hope, perhaps even some peace?
We struggle from the time of birth, so it seems, to be independent of others. I distinctly recall one of the grandchildren saying: "Me do this all by me-self!" No help wanted!
We claim mentally if not verbally that we can get what we need by ourselves, and I believe, it is the demonic within that continues to urge us along that path--a path which is wide, and which leads to destruction now and eternally.
I know I am guilty of this. A man somewhat older than me said to me when I refused his help: "You know, Walt, what wrong's with you is that you don't anyone to help you. You refuse "grace!" That, my friends, was more than 40 years ago. I suppose in many ways, I still don't want to play that game of grace-the thought and reality that I, and you, need grace-which is someone to take the load from us, walk with us, guide us in paths of peace and joy.
That is the invitation of Jesus to you and me right now. "Come to me, all who labor and are heaven laden, and I will give you rest."
What are we laboring under? What gives us a burden we can't seem to lift off, get rid of? What weighs us down in that part of us which is our innermost being?
Two objects that we are never going to rid ourselves of. One is finance; the other is health. We may have enough for today, but what about tomorrow? What if I live to be in my 90ties like my brothers and great grandfather? Will there be enough? If I die first will there be enough for my wife?
My brothers are physically quite healthy, but their minds are slipping. I am slipping, and you should know that after 60, everyone begins to lose it in one or more ways. Will I end up sitting in a wheelchair, messing myself? That can be a terrifying thought.
The burden of guilt can haunt us, even if we trust in the cross of Jesus and its powerful forgiveness. The terror of what we might do, if we know ourselves at all, can be a heavy load.
What do you labor under? What is "heavy" for you? What keeps you from sleeping, as you would like to? From what can you never seem to escape? Perhaps you see all your life as a failure to meet hope and dreams, the expectation you had. The heavy load may seem be that you don't want to "play" the game Jesus wants you to play. Perhaps you think you have to duke it out by yourself or else, you'll be a failure. Perhaps you don't, as I didn't, want "grace" in your life. Well, maybe because you don't deserve it? You are now worthy of it? You're too far-gone to get it?
"Wisdom is justified by its deeds," said Jesus. When we hit bottom, when we say, "I can't go on," then the invitation of Jesus is to be wise. Go to him. He is not far away. He knows all that is laborious and weighs us down. He alone can give us rest.
Why and how? Because most of what gives us fits and terrors he has experienced as a human. Think of him knowing what was ahead of him as he prayed in that garden setting on the day before crucifixion. Think about his relationship with his mother as he gives her to his beloved disciple John. Think of his being really isolated and alone as he prayed: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And he was!
This Jesus never had a pillow (how many do you have?). He was essentially homeless, by today's standards. He never knew where his next meal was coming from. Can you believe that?
Persons who constantly fought over one issue or another surrounded him. Lots of people simply took off and left him. One of his most intimate companions sold him out for money. When push came to shove, these friends hightailed it away from him. And one who swore loyalty until death, swore he never even ever heard of Jesus.
"Come to me, you who labor under heavy burdens. I will give you rest." Why and how does he do this?
He does this by walking with you and me always. He went through hell itself. He went into death, into the gloom and stillness of death in that rocky cavern of a tomb. He did it so that what happened next would always be with us.
He was raised from death by the hand of his Father. He lives and his promise is that all who are baptized in him will live. That is, live always. As the man who went through a lot more than most of us will ever go through said: "I know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us."
Have we got a clear picture of our future? Have we factored the future into the present? Is our "bucket list" whatever it might be, more important than having Jesus with us and trusting him to handle all we have concerns with now and always?
Where is wisdom? Where are your smarts? Who or what are we hooked up with? The burden of Jesus is light, relief giving, and makes each day good because God is good, as we see it in Jesus.
Wisdom is justified by her deeds. What do your "deeds" indicate to others? Whose game are you playing?