Matthew 11:25-30
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost β 23 July 2017
Rev. John Derme
Are you tired? No, I'm not talking about the fact that you didn't get enough sleep last night, so that your eyelids may get a little heavy during the sermon. I'm also not talking about how you feel after a hard day's work, when you are physically exhausted, yet you have the satisfaction of a job well done. I am wondering whether you are tired of life. It's not so much that you are worn out. It's more that you are worn down. We are weary and burdened. I bet that you know exactly what it is like to be tired like that.
What in your life makes you weary? What are the struggles that wear you down? For some of you, it is your job. You work hard every day, but at the end of the day, there is only more work to do. And nobody seems to appreciate how hard you work, anyway. For others of you, children may be a source of weariness. You provide them with everything they need and a lot of the things they want, but they so often ignore what you say and do whatever they want to do. For you students, I imagine that your schoolwork makes you weary. Endless assignments to fulfill, and it isn't always obvious how they are making you smarter. No matter what your vocation in life is, just think about all of the things that you have to accomplish every day. You don't have time to do them all. You don't get enough of a vacation from them. And you don't get enough sleep because you have so much to do and so much on your mind.
What burdens are you carrying through life? What difficulties load down your body and mind? If you have a problem with your body, some kind of physical injury or illness, that's a burden that keeps you from the life that you wish you could live. If you have to deal with mental or emotional problems, those burdens can weigh you down just as much. Some of you are burdened with family members, who make your life impossible. Some of you are burdened because you have a hard time fitting in with others. We struggle with our weight. We never have enough money. Every time you look at your life, you can find another burden.
The examples that come to my mind may or may not be exactly what makes you tired. Maybe your burdens are unique to you. No matter what they are, though, you need a rest from all this weariness. But where do you look for relief? People look all sorts of places. They try shopping. They try entertainment. They try drugs and alcohol. They try working harder. They look in all the wrong places. You and I have looked for relief in the wrong places, too, because we have thought that we could find rest for ourselves. But think about it: have you ever figured out a way to make your life easy? Have you discovered the secret so that your life is always fun? You can try to ignore the burdens, but as long as this life lasts, they will be there. And just when you think you've overcome one struggle, another one will come to make you weary again.
You do know what the worst burden you carry is, don't you? The one burden that makes everything else so unbearable is sin. All of those other burdens are symptoms of the fact that we live in a sinful world, and we are sinful people. Without sin, we wouldn't be weary right now. But on top of that, because we are sinful, we deserve to suffer without rest forever. Life in this sinful world makes you weary. Life as a sinful person makes you weary. Where can we turn for help with this burden?
The people in the crowds that Jesus taught were also tired. They lived under the burden of a religious system that told them that they had to be obedient to God's law in order to earn his favor. But their efforts to keep God's law could only make them weary. They never were completely obedient because of their burden of sin.
The people in those crowds really aren't so different from you and me. In the Gospel of the Day Jesus not only spoke to the crowds about their condition. Jesus also invites us to find true relief.
At that time Jesus said, βI praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. It was pretty obvious to the crowds who were listening to Jesus that the truth about him was hidden from some people. After all, Jesus had just pronounced woe upon the cities where he had done many of his miracles, because most of the people there still refused to repent of their sins and believe in him.
Our world is also filled with "wise and learned" people who would rather rely on themselves to handle their weariness and burdens than rely on Jesus. Jesus tells us that God the Father hides the gospel from people who reject Jesus and rely on themselves. That is a warning to you and me. If we rely on ourselves to find relief from our sin, God the Father will hide his true relief from us. But Jesus also tells us that God the Father does reveal the way to get relief to children or infants, that is, to people who are helpless to find relief for themselves. The fact that we are weary proves that we are helpless to rescue ourselves from sin. You and I can't get rid of our burdens. We need Jesus to do it. Jesus does do it.
He says, βAll things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.β God the Father reveals to you and me right now the source of true relief: Jesus. He has authority over all things in heaven and on earth, so he most certainly has control over the things that weary and burden you. And he invites you to come to him for rest. All of those burdens that wear you down, bring them to Jesus. Every day and every moment when you feel weary, ask Jesus for help.
He can help you with every problem you face. You know that's true, because he has proved it by taking your greatest burden on himself. Jesus took your burden of sin. Even though Jesus is the almighty God, he came to earth and suffered weariness for you. He even died for you. But our sin did not overcome him, because after he suffered what we deserved for us, he rose again in power to prove that he overcame sin. Now he lives and reigns in heaven to help us with our burdens and to strengthen us when we are weary every single day.
So Jesus invites us, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." He says that he has a yoke for us to carry. Do you know what a yoke is? It is a tool that people used to wear over their shoulders to help them balance and carry heavy loads. Jesus says that the yoke he has for us β the way that he will help us carry our burdens β is that we learn from him. We become his disciples. And what do we learn about Jesus? That he is gentle and humble in heart.
We've seen that Jesus is humble. Even though he didn't deserve it, he lowered himself to the humblest position for us when he took our sins from us. We know that Jesus is gentle. Even though we deserve for him to punish us for our sins, he actually forgives us. Being Jesus' disciples is not one more burden for us to carry. It is not one more thing that we have to do, which is going to make us weary. Actually, when we learn what Jesus has done for us, he lightens our burdens and refreshes us from our weariness.
So, how do we come to Jesus? You've come to him today. You have come to him by hearing his Word. You've come to him before, too. You came to him at the baptismal font when you were baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. You came to him at the altar when you have received his body and blood for the strengthening of your body and soul. You have found him. And every time you come to him where he promises to be β his gospel in the Word and sacraments β there you will find him. There he will receive you. There he will forgive you.
If you are anything like me, you are tired. You are worn out, and you are worn down. We are all weary and burdened, because we are all sinful. Today Jesus shows us that we are helpless to relieve ourselves. We confess our sin of relying on ourselves. We hear Jesus' invitation. Jesus takes our burdens away. Jesus gives us relief from our weariness. It doesn't just happen today. We are burdened every day. Jesus invites us to come to him everyday. Jesus forgives and strengthens us everyday. Don't rely on yourself. Come to Jesus for rest.