"Good News: We're Yoked with Jesus!"

Yesterday morning, 23 of us from Zoar participated in Canby's annual Fourth of July parade. It was fun tossing candy, handing out flyers for Vacation Bible School, and greeting our friends and neighbors. We were grateful for cool weather, surprised by the larger-than-usual crowd, and encouraged by the words of community members who expressed gratitude he ministry Zoar's people do in Christ's name. Overall, it was a good morning, and yet for many of us, there was an uneasy feeling we just couldn't shake... Even as we were decorating the red pickup and trailer to get ready for the parade, some of us were expressing our sadness about the cruel divisiveness of our country's politics. We talked about how hard it is to celebrate when people we love are hurting because the leaders of our country are rolling back civil rights; threatening freedom of the press and freedom of speech; cutting SNAP benefits; curtailing health insurance and access to health care; abolishing previous pathways to citizenship, while hunting down and imprisoning thousands of our immigrant neighbors; and actively working to gut voting rights. These policies and actions are laying heavy burdens on the hearts of many of God's children and placing a heavy yoke on their shoulders. And because I'm a preacher, I couldn't help thinking: "Wow. It's a lot like what the Bible tells us happened under Pharaoh back in the day when he enslaved the Israelites and kept increasing their workload to gratify his own hardhearted desires..."

So, yesterday, as we were decorating the red pickup and trailer for the parade, one person said, "Canby's Fourth of July celebration used to be a big deal for our family, but I'm not sure I feel like celebrating it this year...." Others of us nodded and said, "Yeah, it's hard to know how to participate, but at the same time, it's important to show up for justice and let folks see that there are Christians in our community whose ultimate allegiance is to the compassionate God of the entire cosmos -the God we see embodied in the person of Jesus...." As I looked around at my companions, I noticed one person in our group was wearing a t-shirt that expressed what many of us were feeling; it had an American flag next to a rainbow flag, and it said "250 years. 1776-2026. We the people means EVERYONE..."

"We the people means EVERYONE," friends! So, in the spirit of democracy, let me take a quick poll: How many of you long for an America where everyone is truly welcome - an America where the Declaration of Independence's "self-evident" truth that all people are created equal is lifted up and celebrated? [Show of hands, if this is something for which you are longing...] I wonder: Have you ever paused to consider that behind, below, and beyond the Declaration's self-evident truth that all people are created equal lies the divine truth which declares that every human being has been created in the image and likeness of our gracious Creator?... It's true! In fact, the very next line of the Declaration tells us that not only are people created equal, but each and every one of us is "endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable rights" and that among these rights that should not be stolen or denied are "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...." If you've ever had occasion to sit with such thoughts for a while, perhaps you've come to understand, as I have, that grief and lament and frustration and anger are also legitimate expressions of patriotism. Look at it this way: When you love and care deeply about someone or something, and you see that your loved one or your community or the nation you love is on the wrong track, expressions of grief and lament and frustration and anger are a normal and appropriate response.

In today's reading from Matthew 11, we meet a frustrated and angry Jesus. He's angry because his own people are rejecting the prophets who are God's messengers, including John the Baptist. And along with rejecting the messengers, they're also rejecting the gift of abundant life God is offering them  Friends, the people to whom Jesus spoke some 2000 years ago were in need of a wake-up call...and I'll be so bold as to say that I think the same is true for God's people today! Like the generation of people Jesus spoke to in first-century Palestine-people who lived under the crushing yoke of Roman imperial occupation and Jewish religious restriction-you and I today also feel the ever-present weight of burdens beyond our control.... If you add back in the six verses that have been cut from the middle of this passage, you'll notice that Jesus goes on an angry rant for the first 2/3 of our gospel reading. Why does Jesus go on a rant? Because he genuinely cares about his disciples - including you and me - and he wants us to wake up and pay attention to what God is doing in our lives and in our world.

In this passage from Matthew 11, Jesus also seeks to prepare his friends to live in his way by warning us of the difficulties we'll face in a society that rejects God's messengers, including the prophets of old, John the Baptist, and even Jesus himself. He uses the analogy of children throwing a tantrum and taunting each other in the marketplace to illustrate how God's people have blinded ourselves with our narrow, self-centered vision of who God is. Like kids who insist on having others play their game, according to their rules, Jesus's fellow Jews reject both John the Baptist and Jesus, because neither one will "dance to their tune...." Here Jesus conveys the message that the people's narrow vision prevents them from recognizing the many and various ways God relates to God's people   In essence Jesus tells his first-century audience, "Your self-centered vision of God is too small. You expect God to send messengers who fit your idea of what it is to be 'godly' - not some oddball, off-the-grid holy man like John the Baptist or some rule-breaking, outcast-loving messiah like me.... But you need to know this: God always chooses to work outside the box!..." Furthermore, Jesus warns that in rejecting God's messengers the people are also rejecting the gift of abundant life with God that begins here and now and endures for all ages....

Again, Jesus is angry, and yet he speaks out of a kind of tough love because he loves all the children of God and wants everyone to accept God's invitation to turn away from false gods and turn back to the one true God. Now, let's see what we make of what Jesus has to say in the second half of today's reading from Matthew 11.... When Jesus says that God reveals truth not to the wise and intelligent, but instead, to "infants," I hear this as a call to be humble and to practice what is sometimes called "beginner's mind." To cultivate "beginner's mind," you and I must set aside our narrow perceptions and self-centered agendas, so that we can turn toward God with an openness and an eagerness that enables us to receive God's gift.... Friends, when we come to God as little children - that is, with open hearts and beginner's minds -- that's when we're truly able to receive the gifts of the Spirit that God wishes to pour out in us and through us. And we know this is Jesus's desire for us because of the invitation he extends: "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."¹ Again, just in case you didn't catch the drift: Jesus wants us to come to him because unlike human love and promises, which are fickle and fleeting, God's love is steadfast and God's promises abide with us and for us forever!...

Speaking of having "beginner's mind" and approaching things with the openness of children, this past week Intern Pastor Katie and I had the opportunity to spend time with Zoar's confirmands at Camp Lutherwood, and I'm delighted to say that these sixth through ninth graders taught us some things!... I was quite moved to see how wise and compassionate they are, and I want to share two examples with you. Throughout the week, there was one camper in particular who showed remarkable maturity and compassion for other people's feelings. During one small group conversation, they made this wise observation, "In our culture, many people blame other people when things go wrong, instead of taking responsibility for their own actions and feelings...." And I thought, "Wow! Such wisdom! Spot on!..." The second example happened on Thursday, the last day of camp. Intern Pastor Katie and I had set up a closing devotion around the theme of service. Our campers had just come back from doing a variety of service projects around the camp, and we wanted them to hear the message that it's just as important to receive, as it is to give. To illustrate this, I brought a pitcher of water and seven glasses. The water represented the "juice" I had in my "tank." First, I confessed that I'd had a really hard week the week before camp. I talked about going to visit one member in the hospital, and I poured some of my "juice" into a cup. Then I talked about going to a different hospital to visit another person, and I poured more water into a second cup. I told them we'd also had a death in the congregation and how sad it was for the family and friends of the one who passed. That time, I poured a full cup! Then I mentioned a situation in my own family, where I needed to make time to listen, and I poured some water into a fourth cup. I talked about helping someone who needed money for rent, and I poured more water into a fifth cup. Then I confessed that even before I showed up at camp, I was already exhausted, so I poured water into the sixth cup. As I poured the last bit of water into the seventh cup, I said, "I'm also an introvert, so, it's hard for me to get up in front of people, especially when I'm tired." Then I sat down on the stage next to the empty pitcher, saying, "I need to rest a while because my 'tank' is empty and it needs to be replenished." At that moment, Pastor Remy from Emmaus Lutheran Church in Eugene came forward and poured some water into the pitcher. (Full disclosure: That was planned. The evening before, the pastors had been asked to bring their water bottles for that very purpose, but only Pastor Remy remembered.) What happened next wasn't planned, but it was clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit: One young camper came forward and poured some of his water into the pitcher, and then another did the same, and then another, until it was full!... And I have to tell you, friends: That water pitcher wasn't the only thing that was full. My heart was full of joy, and my eyes were full of tears....

Dear friends in Christ, the work of ministry to which the disciples of Jesus are called is ever changing and never easy. You and I, who strive to follow in the way of Jesus, often find ourselves feeling weary and carrying heavy burdens. But Jesus, who looks on the world with eyes of compassion, sees us in all our weariness, captivity, and despair. That's why he says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and 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...." As we navigate life in a world that often feels harsh and heavy, t's good to know that we're yoked with Jesus, who is always here with us and for us to lighten our burden and increase our joy. And it's good to know that God works through ordinary people like you and me and our confirmation youth to accomplish extraordinary acts of compassion - acts such as moving heavy hearts and refilling the "tanks" of weary pilgrims.

In  closing, I want to invite you to take just a moment to pause and pray about the things that make you feel like you're weary and carrying heavy burdens. What are the burdens you bear day in and day out? Do those things get in the way of your relationship with God? Do any of them get in the way of your relationship with other people?... Keeping in mind that our God, who knit us together in our mothers' wombs, already knows what's in our hearts and minds, I invite you to offer the things that make you feel weary or burdened to God. You can do this in a silent prayer, you can write your prayer on one of the pieces of paper at the end of your row of seats and place it in the offering plate at the time of the offering - anonymously or not, your choice -or you can take your slip of paper home with you as a reminder to give your burdens to God each day.... [pause for personal prayer ...]

Let us pray:

Good and gracious God,

On this weekend when we celebrate 250 years of freedom, many of us also grieve and lament an America

where some are treated as "less than."

Like your servant, Moses, and your Son, Jesus,

We're frustrated and angered by cruel and unjust policies that lay heavy burdens on the backs of your children.

Trusting in your steadfast love, we turn to you, 0 God,

for you invite us to know true freedom:

the freedom purchased with the precious blood of your Beloved, who gave his life for the sake of this whole world,

which you love so deeply.

Open our minds and unburden our hearts,

So that we may say "yes!" to Jesus's invitation to accept his easy yoke and his light burden.

Set us free from fear and captivity;

set us free to love and serve others in your name.

Help us trust that by day you walk beside us to shoulder our heavy burdens

and by night you hold us close

to give rest for our weary souls. Amen.

¹ Matthew 11:28-30

Good News: We're Yoked with Jesus