Pentecost 7

Pentecost 7 AN OASIS OF GRACE 6/30 and 7/3/05

“Come to me…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 for your souls.” (Mt. 11: 28-30) I was ordained into the Ministry of Word and Sacrament on the evening of June 15, 1979 in a steamy Weaver Chapel at Wittenberg University. I remember when the stole, the symbol of the yoke of Christ, was first laid across my shoulders that evening. I knew, as I had seen demonstrated by my father and brother and as I’d experienced while on internship, there was nothing light nor easy about this “yoke” I would now wear and share. The weight of my 21 years of schooling, the traditions of my family and church, the eager expectations of the congregation in Hilliard, Ohio I was about to serve, and all that I’d learned and experienced through Jesus Christ seemed to rest upon my shoulders that night. Our presiding Bishop asked: “Before almighty God, to whom you must give account, and in the presence of this congregation, will you assume this office, believing that the Church’s call is God’s call to the ministry of Word and Sacrament?” I answered, as prompted: “I will, and I ask God to help me!” To a series of such questions I answered in like manner. I don’t recall whether my emphasis was more strongly upon the “I will’s” or the “God help me’s!” I wondered, though: “Was I “up” to this? Could I accomplish what I was promising? Did I know what I was actually saying?”

I feel something similar each year when our young people affirm their baptism before this Altar. They are asked: “Will you live among God’s faithful people…hear God’s Word and share in His supper…proclaim the good news of God in word and deed…serve all people, following Jesus’ example…and strive for justice and peace in all the earth?” Individually they respond: “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.” Do they know what they are actually saying? God most surely will “help,” but will they “do”? A man dedicating himself to serve Christ in his vocation…young people dedicating themselves to serve Christ in their everyday lives…different circumstances, yet the same essential event:: The public call and the response to the call to take on the yoke of Christ.”

Entering my 27^th year of Ordained ministry, I know this “yoke of Christ” is not always “easy”, nor the “burden light.” I also know firsthand the challenge of finding “rest for my soul” amidst the demands of the call…of walking with Christ, instead of only working for Christ. Living the Christian life is too heavy for any of us to carry on alone, thus Jesus implores us: “take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.” (Mt. 11:29)

I searched this week to rediscover the context of this invitation from Jesus. These Gospel words are an oasis of grace in the midst of Matthew’s desert of discipleship. There is conflict with the Pharisees regarding Jesus dining companions; Christ warns the twelve that they are sheep among wolves and will be hauled before kings to be flogged and rejected; we have Jesus’ admission that he brings not only peace, but a sword within the very families we call our own; and immediately before this week’s Gospel lesson Jesus says to various nearby cities: “Woe to you…it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” (Mt. 11:20ff) In the midst of these sobering realities of discipleship, Jesus offers us this oasis of grace, to “come” to him, “take” His yoke, “learn from” Him, and “find rest for” our “souls.” These few verses so simply summarize the life of the disciple…being and living in the presence of Jesus, walking side by side…leaning upon Him and learning from Him…and discovering in this journey “rest for” our “souls.” I’m reminded of the 23^rd Psalm, through which the promise is made, that when “the Lord is my shepherd” He will “restoreth my soul.”

Words of encouragement and this oasis of grace refresh and renew the disciple of Christ! Amidst the kings and councils, floggings and failures, something has changed for the disciples of Christ. And, that change isn’t about what is going on AROUND the disciple; it is first and primarily about what’s going on WITHIN the disciple. Walking with Christ through this sin-soaked world is full of challenges. Yet, we do well this day to reflect upon what’s been given to us for the journey: a peace that surpasseth all human understanding; forgiveness of our sins, known and unknown to us; a restored and right relationship with God through Jesus; the blessed assurance of our salvation as the outcome of our undying faith; a foretaste of the feast to come within the sacrament of Holy Communion; the partnership of these people with whom we gather, grow, and go; the cheering and support of “that great cloud of witnesses” who through the gate of death have already “transferred” to the Great Church Triumphant; the power and privilege of prayer. It is amazing how much tension, stress, and challenge a person can endure when there is a deep, fundamental confidence in the power that drives us in this life and the clear and unwavering certainty of what awaits us in the life to come!

Jesus compared His generation, still appropriate for ours, to children playing in the market place who simply cannot be pleased by any suggestion. In like manner, people criticized John the Baptist because he was too serious and they criticized Jesus because He partied too much. No matter what messenger God sent to them, some would reject him. Discipleship is not easy, it’s expensive, for it will cost each of us our lives. Discipleship is not about being popular, but about being faithful to and through Jesus…so, let us take the yoke of Christ upon us, let us learn from Him each step each day, and pray for rest within the very depths of our souls as we are given this oasis of grace. AMEN.