Come To Me

 In yesterday’s gospel passage from Matthew 11, we read,

“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.”

 

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What’s interesting about these comforting words is that they come shortly after Jesus has spoken some other words to the crowd:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

Do you hear the impossibility in Jesus’s words?

Do you hear how the learned religious leaders of the day saw what they wanted to see?

John was too righteous. He had a demon.

Jesus wasn’t righteous enough. He was a glutton and drunkard.

To them, there was no win.

Nothing was good enough…

Except for their understanding of the law and the prophets…

Which Jesus, time and time again, declared had become too complicated.

 

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I was talking to a friend about new church-starts the other day.

She said that a lot of new church-starts are very specific about what they believe and what they don’t believe,

Who they are targeting and who might want to find a church home elsewhere.

She said that when churches make a clear stance on one issue,

They are also making a clear stance on others.

When churches open their doors to one group of people,

They are also closing their doors to others.

I find this image sad.

But it’s true.

We don’t do well sitting with people who differ from or disagree with us these days.

Instead, we tend to go to opposite sides of the table and argue about how the other is bad or wrong.

 

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THEY are too righteous.

THEY are not righteous enough.

Nothing is good enough except OUR understanding of the law and the prophets…

I wonder Jesus would say to us today.

 

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Oh. That’s right.

“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.”

And my table is big enough for all of you.

Amen.

 

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I had a hard time rolling out of bed yesterday.

My alarm woke me from a sad dream where I was having to say goodbye to people I once loved.

I was weary from the dream.

I didn’t want to get up.

I didn’t want to see anyone.

I didn’t want to go to church.

I simply wanted to sleep and hope for a better outcome to the reality of the dream.