“Practical Hope for the Weary”    2011

Psalm 69:1-3, 13-14, 32-33                       Matthew 11:25-30

Psalm 69

1Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. 2I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 3I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.

13But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help 14rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.

32Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 33For the Lord hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds.

 

Matthew 11:25-30

25At 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; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All 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. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

During seminary, when the pressure would start  to overwhelm,

            I learned to seek relief with a Jesuit spiritual director

                        at a local Catholic retreat center near Richmond.

 

            Chiseled into the stone archway at the entrance,

                        were the words of Matthew 11:28

                                    Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

 

These familiar words are very powerful and hopeful ----

            -- and when I saw them on that archway,

                                    I needed and wanted to believe

                                                that Jesus really can give us rest

                                                            and relief from our heavy burdens of life…

 

            … and I need more than gushy religious sentimentality,

                        or a blindly optimistic outlook that ignores reality.

 

When caught in the raw and stressful circumstances of life,

            don’t we need and want far more

                        than just empty words of hopeful encouragement? , à

            more than a get-well card sent to a terminally ill patient,

                        that says,   “Sorry I can’t help with your situation,

                                                              but do try to feel better anyway.”

 

When I was in North Carolina, the police chief

            of a little town on the beach was a member of my church.

The owner of one the bars at the beach

            ran for office and got elected to the city council.

                        He considered arresting his customers, even drunk ones,

                                    for driving under the influence of alcohol,

                                                --  to be bad for his business and bottom line.

 

When he couldn’t get the chief of police to see things his way,

            he began to do everything he could,

                        unjust, sneaky and otherwise, to replace the chiefà

                           with someone more compliant to his business interests.

 

When the  chief came to me for pastoral counsel and advice,

            we prayed and read through Psalm 69 together. vs. 1-2, 13 & 32.

 

            Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.  But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me with your faithful help.  Let the oppressed see it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

            Surely all of us can identify with troubles up to our neck,

                        and with no foothold, sinking in the overwhelming flood.

 

For the chief of police, a seemingly insurmountable situation,

            that was a tough choice that looked impossible and hopeless.

He had always been a cop, and the situation was totally wrong.

                        He needed to provide for his family,

                                    yet was not about to compromise his integrity.

 

In the end, he kept his integrity, and was fired by the council.

            It was a very embarrassing and destructive experience…

                                       … we wondered what God could possibly be up to.

 

He and his wife had started a small side-business earlier,

            which took off when he gave it his whole attention,

                        and eventually even his sons worked in the business.

As it turned out, it was a way better deal than he had before…

       … he’d tell you today, losing his job  was a blessing from God.

 

We all know what it is to feel weary from life’s burdens,

            to face trials and disappointments,

                        unjust and impossible situations where we see no hope;

                                       … and we wonder, where is God in all of this?

 

These are perilous times in our world, nation, the economy;

            we are challenged in countless and difficult ways,

                                       … and we wonder, what is going on with God?

Even the church, our Presbyterian denomination recent decisions;

            there is so much change, angst and uncertainty right now,

                  we feel the storm clouds of chaos gathering all around us.

 

Here’s the challenge and painful irony;

            ultimately we come to church, we worship and participate,

                 hoping and praying that something will happen at church;à

                 à that something will be said, prayed or sung at church,

                            some meaningful insight or moment of quiet reflection

                              that will help us or make some sense -----

                                - some rest or relief from the heavy burdens we face.

 

We so need for the promise of Matthew 11 to be true, vs. 28-30

            “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.”

 

Sometimes amid all our troubles, distress and uncertainty,

            we may wonder if God even can   or really will help us.

 

Sometimes, God can seem so very remote and distant,

            our difficulties immense and overwhelming,

                                    … and that maybe there is no real hope…

… and that is what it means to be weary and carrying heavy burdens.

 

In truth, the problem isn’t so much our situation or circumstance

            as it is that we tend to tackle our problems on our own…

            … and that’s not what it means to follow and walk with Christ.

 

The rest that Jesus is promising to the weary and heavily burdened

 

It’s not ignoring the storm that is swirling all around us,

            or denying that we are frightened or that things really hurt,

                        or that our troubles and struggles don’t really matter.

          It’s way much more than just the power of positive thinking!

 

Real rest is God’s promise, presence and power with us.

            It’s Christ over and through all our troubles and burdens.

 

                        It’s the promise of triumphant victory through Jesus,

                             that give us a confident assurance of relief and hope;

                                              even when our whole world is falling apart…

 

… for the yoke of Jesus is an intimate relationship with the Lord

       who brings us through every situation, whatever we’re facing.

 

When I consider our struggles and uncertainty as a denomination,

            I am reminded of a story in Matthew 14,

                        when Jesus walked to the disciples,

                                    out in a boat at sea during a treacherous storm.

Jesus invited Peter to join him, and walk on the water with him.

            vs. 29-31

                        Jesus said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.  But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

 

As long as Peter stayed focused on Jesus, he was fine.

            But when in fear, he let himself be distracted by the storm,

                        he lost his way, his focus, and sank into the water.

 

The changes to our denomination have not yet even taken effect,

            and so far no one knows exactly what the changes will mean,

                        or what other options may be available in the future.

 

We have worked hard these past years building up this ministry,

            and I see God wonderfully at work through your faithfulness.

 

            We reach out to our community in meaningful ways,

                        with our youth and children’s programs, VBS, S&L;

                                    our deacons and women’s groups, our music;

 

            our community would greatly miss all that this church does,

                        and we can’t let the storm around us       cause us

                           to panic and stampede, and fail to fulfill our mission.

 

Our leaders need time to listen and discern God’s voice and will,

            to deliberate and consider what God is calling us to do.

                                    and it cannot be God’s will that we throw that away,

                                        or destroy what the Spirit is accomplishing here.

 

     I don’t know what the future holds for us,

            but I do know who holds that future;   God is still sovereign.

 

This is a season to move carefully and prayerfully

            and allow time for deliberation on the full potential

                        of what God is doing  to come into clearer focus,

                                    and allow time to discern and discover new ways

                                        that God is calling & enabling us to be the Church…

      … trust me on this,

             eventually it will end precisely where and how God intends.

 

We need to focus more on Jesus, less on the storm raging around us:

            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.

 

We need to understand what Jesus means by, Take my yoke upon you.

              The yoke Jesus promises

                        is a very practical tool for carrying heavy burdens,

                                    and taking His yoke upon us   means:

 

1^st,             We’re not alone, we’ve not been abandoned,

                        and Jesus has equipped us for whatever comes our way.

2^nd               Jesus Christ is in our yoke with us.

                        It’s not our strength or wisdom alone,

                                    but Jesus is carrying our burden with us and for us.

3^rd               To be the church, means that we are yoked together as family,

                        to provide mutual support, to comfort one another,

                                    and to spread and share the burden among us all.

 

The yoke is our call to focus on Jesus for true relief,

          who is able to ease the burden of an overwhelming world,

                 and will guide us if we will wait upon the Lord, together.

 

At the Table, we remember and celebrate our hope in Jesus Christ,

      as I have repeated His words each time we celebrate Communion:

                        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.