Hearing Christ’s invitation

Sermon on Matthew 11:16-30 by the Rev. Deacon Linda Stokes July 3, 2011

Title:   Hearing Christ’s invitation

Prayer:    Lord Jesus you call us to come to you, when we are weary, when we are burdened, help us to hear your voice through all the demands of our lives.  Come Holy Spirit and speak through my words to all of our hearts, in Jesus’ name.   Amen.

In the book All I need to know I learned from my Cat, author Susan Becker, compares life, to that of her cats behavior, She says: *“life is hard, then you take a nap.”  I thought to myself, girl you got that half right.  When life is hard, when relationships are not in harmony, when evil lurks in my children’s lives, when a family member is ill or a friend is depressed, I am in a very hard place, and I cannot sleep!  Why, because in the midst of these hardships, the mind rules, it fixates on the problem at hand, like a beehive in the height of honey production.  Thoughts come and go incessantly, past behavior and what if scenarios are relived and relived and relived, taking a nap, while being the desire, closing the mind, while being the wish, is the hardest thing to do.  I try to pray but sometimes it seems that God is just not present.  I find it annoying that a cat can seemingly accomplish a task, which I find daunting. 

When I read Matthews story about Jesus’ comparison in chapter 11, I get the sense that Jesus was a bit annoyed too, why, because some in his generation just did not get it.  What is it, that is going on inside, when people just don’t get it?  They did not get the fact that God had come into their midst, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, that the promised Messiah was speaking! 

            In the end, Jesus comes out and plainly announces his invitation, saying “Come to me, take my yoke, learn from me and you will experience soul rest”.  While this divine invitation is clearly laid out, we would be remiss if we did not follow the preceding escalating plot to understand why anyone would ignore an invitation from God. 

Jesus begins by announcing his first comparison, “But to what shall I compare this generation?”  What do I see in your behavior?  He says “you are like children in the marketplace, who hear joyful music and sad singing, but who choose to ignore the invitation, who walk on by, who don’t get involved but before Jesus’ audience can pinpoint where they are in the comparisons, Jesus promptly presents the second scenario.  He says, “John did not eat or drink and you say he has a demon, the son of Man did eat and drink and you say he is a glutton and drunk, a friend of sinners.”  Here the response escalates from non-engagement to downright evil judgment.  I say evil because to call someone a drunk and a glutton would refer back to Deuteronomy 21:18-21 which calls for the stoning of a rebellious son who is a glutton and a drunk. And what is Jesus response to this no-win situation? Ever the tenacious teacher, he continues with a wisdom saying that is meant to cut to the chase and remind them of his response to John, Jesus says “Wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” In other words, judge me by what I do, remember my response to John the Baptist’s question, who asked “Are you the one who is to come or are we to wait for another (11:3)?  I told John’s disciples and I tell you, “Look to what you see and hear:  the lame walk, the blind see, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the poor have the good news (11:4-5).” Amazingly Jesus’ audience still don’t get it, but again before they can take a second to think about their response, Jesus present a third comparison, this time it escalates to a life-threatening scenario between two sets of non-repentant towns.  He says, “Woe to you who have witnessed my miracles and yet still deny my son-ship, like Sodom, you are all sentenced to hell!”  This is the pinnacle of Jesus comparison and the turning point of his lesson.  If the first two comparisons did not get his generation’s attention, this one would.  The threat of hell, Hades, damnation & fire, opens their eyes wide and sets the stage for a very profound point.  But before fear can cloud their thinking too much, Jesus does something totally amazing.  He begins to pray.  He says “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children”.  Now this is downright confusing.  Jesus has just spent time trying to get his generation to understand the error of their ways and now he says that the reason they cannot understand is because of the will of the father!  Why waste time in this discussion, just go to the father and ask him to open their minds, so they can get it! 

I would suggest that the answer begins to unfold at the beginning comparison.  Remember the questions I asked:  What is it, that is going on inside, when people just don’t get it?  What is it that causes people to not want to get involved?  What is it that causes people to ignore God’s voice, even in the face of miracles?  And the answer is?  Pride, pride that blocks involvement and nurtures judgment, self-pride that blocks trust in another.  But why would God hide understanding from those full of pride?

Jesus says, “God has hidden understanding from the wise, those who have knowledge, and the prudent, those who exercise sound judgment and he has revealed this knowledge to babes.”  In other words God has hidden spiritual understanding from those who have pride in their own intellectual capabilities, not to take away the value of learning but to place the perception of spiritual understanding within the sovereign will of God.  This understanding is pure gift given to those in whom God is well pleased.[1]  Isaiah 29:14, says it well “wisdom of the wise shall perish and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden”.  

So in the final plot Jesus has prepared his generation to receive his invitation of rest.  He has pointed out gently at first and then more harshly that yes, life offers some hard decisions.  The process between each comparison helps to prepare their minds and hearts to receive his final invitation: Jesus said, “Come” and the bible says that a remnant came when they heard his voice, they came down from a tree, across grassy hills, out of a boat and along dusty roadways.  Jesus said, “take” and the bible says a remnant took, they took, bread in their hands and living water for their souls.  Jesus said, “Learn” and the bible says that a remnant gained a knowledge beyond their comprehension, they fell to his feet and listened, forsaking the clatter in the kitchen and the call of the sea.  Jesus said “ rest” and the bible says that a remnant rested in his presence and love. 

This supernatural invitation to rest may not make sense by the world’s standards, given all of the self-help books and new-age spirituality of our day.  It is only made possible through Christ.  This is why He precedes his invitation with a creed-like declaration of who he is, who’s he is and how the divine relationship/power works.  There is to be no mistake in what Coming to Jesus means.  Simply put:  God is sovereign and wills understanding for his purpose.  Only God knows his son and empowers him.  Only the Son knows God and this knowledge is only available through Jesus.  This frames Christ’s invitation for soul rest, which is an inclusive, timeless, open, invitation for all Kingdom children, who bow their heads give up their pride and open their hearts, trusting Christ. 

Jesus says come, all you who are anxious about money, anxious about mortgage payments and anxious about family commitments, come, all you who feel lonely and left by the wayside of life, all you who are just too tired, too hurting, who can’t even think anymore, it does not matter if you don’t get it, come anyway, trust in my provision.  And you, who are strong, take the hand of your sister.  You, who have been healed, encourage your brother.  You, who are wise, pray to be used by God, so that all may come and hear Christ’s words.  This is the message that Jesus has for us today.  Life may be hard, but as hard as it gets, Jesus is ever present in the hands and feet of his spiritual body, a present day remnant, right here at St Aidan’s.  This I can attest to.  Prior to losing my husband to cancer, I had left the church.  I saw no point in being part of a community that knew nothing about my real life struggles.  To me, church just wasn’t relevant and so I choose to walk away, taking matters in my own hands.  As a widow, Jesus invited me to come to St Aidan’s.  The invitation came through my cousin, and it did not stop there.  Through my involvement at retreats, house church meetings and many prayer sessions, Jesus taught me the beauty of bowing to his Kingship and accepting his yoke of unconditional love and acceptance. 

So what does it look like when you finally get it?  When Christ’s message fills your heart and mind with peace?  Is it as simple as life is hard and then you take a nap? 

When a cat naps they find a comfy spot, one that is soft and inviting.  They pick a location carefully considering the angle of the sun so that its warm rays will rest on their body, as they snuggle down.  They participate in this activity with all that they are…body mind, emotion and cat soul if there is such a thing, all come to a complete state of release, into the oblivion of deep, deep rest where worry is turned into a rhythmic purr.

So when I toss and turn and think that life is hard.  When I seem to stumble through life ending up hurting the ones I love the most, when my children are suffering, when my friend is in pain, when depression seems to be running rampant, I pray and try to give it up, I visualize and hope and think and then I complaint about the hardships of life to the one who always hears, the one who always knows, the one who always listens.  Some how the speaking seems to provide solace.  Eventually, my mind diminishes its endless chatter and my self-pride is released and I am reminded who I am and who’s I am.  Sometimes I visual myself as a child curled up in Jesus arm, resting my head on his breast and hearing his heartbeat, ever so gentle and the rhythmic sound gentle lulls me away from life’s woes and I take a nap.