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Video about Brian & Margaret
Does this
sound like anyone you know? As I talk to many of you, especially
those of you with families and children, this is the kind of thing I
hear a lot of. People rushing here and rushing there – baseball
games, soccer tournaments, church stuff, school awards banquets, choir
concerts, just stuff upon stuff and schedules are really tight for
everyone, especially during the school year. And this busyness isn’t
just for families with children. I know plenty of retired people who
have told me that they are even busier now than they ever were before
they were retired. It seems like we all live lives on the go and that
we are no longer human “beings”, but we’ve turned ourselves into human
“doings.”
At my
pastors’ Bible study this past week, we were talking about how all of
the people in our congregations are so busy that it is hard to find
people who will commit to projects for the long term. So I asked,
“Why is this? Why is everyone so busy?” An older pastor said that he
thinks people do so many things and stay so busy because it is in
doing things that we find our identity and our worth. If someone asks
you to tell about yourself, we usually start by talking about families
and then about the things that we do – our work, our hobbies, our
activities. Today’s world says it is these things that make up who we
are and it is where a lot of people find meaning and their worth.
Personally, I like the answer that the guy on the video gave. “Why do
we do this? Because everyone else does.”
And if you
try to fight against this culture of activity, it seems like you’ll
lose every time. If you don’t immerse yourself in multiple activities
in high school, you won’t get into a good college. If you don’t
immerse yourself in work, you’re likely to lose your job – and
sometimes, even if you do, you still lose your job. If you don’t sign
your kids up for lots of different activities, you’re scared they’ll
miss out. If you don’t join a church committee, the pastor will harp
on you and make you feel guilty until you do. I know that its
wearisome to try to do it all, yet it is futile to try to do
otherwise.
I think this
feeling of futility is what ties our three scripture lessons together
today. Zechariah, in the Old Testament is writing to a people that
are feeling hopeless. The Israelites had been victims of one war
after another and after each time that their oppressor was conquered,
their hope was renewed that they would be set free. Yet, each time
their oppressor was conquered, the new controlling power was just as
oppressive. Although it all seems futile and hopeless, Zechariah is
telling them to not lose hope that there will one day be someone who
will show them the light at the end of the tunnel.
Paul, in our
New Testament lesson is writing to share his own feelings of futility
regarding sin. As a Christian, he knows what he should be doing, he
knows the right things to do, but he just can’t do it. He is slowly
coming to the conclusion that nothing he does will ever be good enough
for God. No matter how hard he tries, he is always going to fall
short. In utter hopelessness, he declares, “Wretched man that I am!
Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
Even Jesus
shares some of this feeling of futility. Speaking with the crowds, he
says, “Look, John the Baptist came and he followed the letter of the
law. He rejected the ways of this world, ate only what he was
supposed to, even moved out of the city and became a preacher. Yet
you rejected him, calling him a freak and saying that he had a demon!
Then I came, did just the opposite, I hung out with the people in this
world, I ate and drank with them, and now you’re rejecting me!” It’s
a catch-22.
With
Zechariah, Paul, and even Jesus, it seemed that these burdens were too
great. They, like we often are, were at their breaking points. And
yet, it is at this place of desperation where they all came to the
same solution. For Zechariah, it was the king who would come riding
on a donkey. For Paul, it was, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ
our Lord!” And it is at our lowest points, when we feel hopeless and
helpless that Jesus comes into our midst and offers us his message of
hope and of help.
“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.” Jesus is there to help us
carry our loads and he is there to give us rest from our burdens.
Its an
interesting thing to think about, this image of a yoke of oxen. I
always used to think that this was about just giving everything to
Jesus and letting him handle it. Basically dropping it in his lap so
I didn’t have to worry about it anymore. But see, that’s not what
this passage is about. When a farmer is going to teach a young,
weaker ox how to plow a field with a yoke, he doesn’t let the young,
weaker ox drop the yoke and just put the heavy yoke on an older, more
experienced ox and let the strong ox do all the work while the young
ox just stands there and watches. No, the farmer yokes the oxen
together and both oxen do the pulling together. Granted, the older,
stronger ox may do most of the work, but the younger, weaker ox is
right there beside him, learning and pulling himself. This is what
Jesus is talking about. Jesus helps us with our burdens and gives us
rest, but as one who walks with us, not instead of us. Its like a
physical therapist helping someone recover from surgery. The
therapist begins by holding the person up, and then holds the person
as they learn to walk, and eventually lets the person walk on their
own. The therapist doesn’t do the walking for the person. Jesus
offers us rest, not by removing our problems and burdens, but by
helping us walk through them and get past them.
So what does
this rest look like? What does it look like to walk with Jesus in his
yoke? This is going to be different for different people. Sometimes,
rest with Jesus is going to be just that – rest. Jesus will
deliberately slow us down so that we have to do fewer things, so we
can develop relationships of being rather than doing. Sabbath time,
rest time is a wonderful thing for the weary. Time to relax, recharge
and heal. Sometimes that rest involves reorganizing our priorities.
This is the idea of trying to fit sand and rocks into a jar that I
mentioned to the children. If you start with the rocks, the important
stuff – the God-centered stuff, get your priorities in line, then you
can fill the sand in around the rocks and it all fits nicely
together. The big stuff, the God-centered stuff has to take priority
though. And sometimes, getting rest from Jesus and learning his yoke
is about getting off of the sideline and taking an active role in
pulling the yoke yourself so you can be stronger. Rest can actually
mean getting more involved with God-centered activity because then you
become stronger and the workload seems lighter.
I don’t know
where you fit in or how it is that you feel Jesus can give you rest.
I only know that Jesus promises that rest, that when the world seems
to be crumbling around you, it is only Jesus who can get you through
it. It won’t always be easy, but because of Jesus’ death and
resurrection, nothing is ever completely hopeless or futile. I’m
going to end by reading an article out of Sports Illustrated by Rick
Reilly that came out last week. This article really seems to
illustrate what it means to feel futility and then discover the joy of
being yoked together.
Read article
Dick and Rick both felt
hopelessness. Being yoked together saved their lives. When we are
feeling hopeless or overwhelmed, being yoked to Jesus is what
ultimately saves our lives. Amen.
