Sermon for 7/5/26

Sermon 7-5-26 6 Pentecost Mt. 11:16-19, 25-30

Twenty-nine years ago in mid-January, I was dropping off our younger son, Bucky at high school. The weather was terrible. Cold, windy and snowing hard. I was taking him to the back door, between the parking lot and the school.

Just as I was creeping up to where I was going to let him out, one of the teachers was crossing the street in front of me, heading for the door. Her kids were our kids age, I knew her pretty well. She was dressed to the tee, as usual. Knee high leather boots with high heels. I kept thinking, “you look good, but this is a day to dress for the weather”.

Sure enough, just as she reached the middle of the street in front of me, her feet went up and her head went down. I put my truck in park and got out.

I worked outside and was dressed for it. Long-handles, coat, gloves and insulated rubber boots. I was the first one there and I knelt down beside her. She was only out for a handful of seconds, just long enough for a pretty large crowd to gather around us.

When she opened her eyes she looked confused for just a second, then the embarrassment set in. I took her by one hand and a shoulder and said what I usually say in a situation like that, “don't worry, I used to drink a lot”.

That's when I heard the voice of the other lady there I knew well. “Well, I don't think in a situation like this, that was an appropriate comment!”

She was standing right behind me, with a full 9 inches and a hundred pounds on me. As I lifted my friend out of the street and walked her to the door, my opposite stood and watched. I called the school that afternoon to check on her. She said, “Was that you? Thank you, Danny.”

Our Gospel reading for today is the very end of Matthew's chapter eleven. The first half of this chapter deals with John the Baptist. John is in prison by this time and has been hearing about Jesus' teaching and preaching in all the towns around the area. He sends word by his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one to come, or shall we look for another?”

John and Jesus are opposites, with one exception. John the Baptist is ascetic, he abstains from all forms of indulgence. Jesus is a socialite. John was austere, which means: stern and cold in appearance or manner. How many times this week did you use the words ascetic and austere? Jesus was the kind of person everyone wanted to sit by.

John came as God's messenger, a prophet. Jesus came as a man among men. John's message was of imminent judgment. Jesus' message was of God's life and love.

This entire chapter is about opposites. Even the five verses, twenty through twenty-four, that we don't have in today's reading. They're about cities where most of His mightiest works had been done. Read those verses when you get home.

Our reading today starts out with a parable, Jesus is again speaking to the crowds. Jesus pictures a scene familiar to all parents. Children arguing about what game to play and complaining about their companions' refusal to join in. The games were probably about playing at weddings and funerals or wedding and funeral dances.

Jesus uses this picture as a comment on peoples' attitudes to Himself and John the Baptist.

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds'”.

Demon possession was appealed to to explain unconventional behavior or attitudes considered false. Gluttony and drunkenness were unacceptable behavior as well, only in another direction. This is the exception I was talking about. John and Jesus are opposites but, they're both rejected by the religious leaders of the people.

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.” By infants He means the powerless people, unable to obtain things for themselves. He contrasts the “powerless” with the “wise and intelligent” , the religious leaders and Pharisees, their opposites.

We say, “Like father, like son”. The scribes, the lawyers, as they're called, have in the previous years taken ten commandments and morphed them into 613 rules and regulations. They say it takes 613 commandments to please God. For the Israelites it was known as “bearing the yoke of the reign of God”. That would have been a heavy load.

“No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son”.

From here Jesus uses what our musician friends call a “segue” (sea-gway), a move from one piece to another without interruption. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens”. I really like “all you who are weary and heavy laden”.

“I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”.

A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to a plow or cart. Two animals. Picture in your mind a team of oxen. Jesus spent most of His life as a carpenter. He would have made many, many yokes.

The key to making a good yoke is to make one that is smooth to the touch and fits well. One that is comfortable all day.

“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”. That's the good news. Like Father, like Son. Sometimes total opposites are yolked together to reach the same goal while they would individually use a different method, like on snowy icy days. The Jews have been told they would need to carry a heavy load. He's telling the crowds, and us, what God is like. The burden is not heavy, it's just the opposite when your yoke-mate is Christ Jesus.

Amen.