A sermon preached at Kowloon Union
Church on Sunday 9 July 2017 by the Rev. Ewing W. [Bud] Carroll, Jr. The
scripture readings that day were Matthew 11:16-19; 25-30.
Today’s Gospel reading shows us two very contrasting views of Jesus: one, of anger and disappointment; and
another, of comfort and kindness.
Jesus asked, “With what shall I
compare this generation? Most
likely he was referring to the Scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders of
his time. They were unhappy with John
the Baptizer [remember John wasn’t a Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran,
Methodist, Catholic or Anglican. But he
was a baptizer!]. Crazy looking/acting
John; weird clothing; eating bugs and leaves; baptizing people in the Jordan
River, but not bathing there! The religious leaders were complaining: How dare this strange, weird man go around
baptizing people and claiming God’s rule was coming?
The Scribes and Pharisees were equally unhappy with Jesus. They accused him of violating the religious
laws they so faithfully tried to protect and honor. How?
By eating with unquestionable people – tax collectors, alcoholics and
women of questionable character; enjoying a good time with friends and God
forbid - performing miracles on the Sabbath.
Who did he think he was!
In Jesus’ time, men performed the Hora, the traditional circle-like
dances at Jewish wedding feasts. [If
you’re from Northern Luzon, you know the Igorot custom of men dancing at
weddings!]. Jewish women were
responsible to mourn at funerals: the longer and louder, the better. Probably like children everywhere, when
playing, there were times when maybe the boys wanted to mourn; or the girls
wanted to dance. And they likely ended up in heated arguments about who got to
do what. Sound familiar? So Jesus compares these religious leaders to
little kids being childish, not child-like.
But Jesus’ anger and unhappiness was not just directed towards the
Scribes and Pharisees. Don’t we
wish! But also towards you and me. Towards today’s Christians who demand that
others live the Christian Faith – according to our understanding and desires.
Jason was born into a Hong Kong Buddhist family. During his university years he became a
Christian and joined a very conservative church group. They always encouraged their members to be
truthful. So, one Sunday morning during
a time of sharing, Jason asked to speak.
Thanking the members for encouraging truthfulness, he told them he was
gay. His truthfulness was rewarded with
a ”Good-by, please don’t come back.”
Don’t you dare dance, mourn or step outside OUR comfort zones.
Fortunately, in the last few verses of today’s Gospel, we see a very
different Jesus. In his modern version
of the Bible, The MESSAGE, Eugene Peterson translates this famous passage ”Are
you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me.
Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me- watch how I do
it. Learn the unfound rhythm of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill fitting on
you. Keep company with me and you’ll
learn to live free and lightly.” In the more traditional translations this
last verse reads, ”My yoke is easy and my
burden is light.”
Matthew shows us the real Jesus:
angry and disappointed with religious leaders “yoked” by narrow thinking
and closed minds. Religious people who thought they were doing the right thing
but so often were lessening, not living God’s love. By contrast a Jesus who offers comfort, peace
and rest; a love offering to ease whatever burdens keep us from more fully
experiencing the best of God’s gracious love.
So what is the yoke that Christ offers us? Let me share three possibilities with you.
1. Firstly, the yoke of faith, not
law. Have you ever been to
Singapore? Did you buy one of those
T-shirts showing “All my parents brought
me from SQ was a T shirt showing 100 no’s.
No this, no that. Or like this photocopy of a Singapore Lion with
the words “Singapore is a fine city.” A play on the word fine, not as something
wonderful, rather, having to pay a SQ$1,000 fine for chewing gum; a fine for tossing a cigarette on the ground,
a fine for spitting; a fine for wasting water; a fine for not flushing a public
toilet. Of course we need to have rules
and regulations for daily life! No
matter at home, school, work, church, government. But Christian faith is more
YES than NO. More love than law. Paul Tillich, a famous theologian once noted,
“The burden that Jesus helps us, the church,
remove is the burden of religion!”
Christ doesn’t invite us to a slavery of religion. He invites us to a living and loving
relationship with him; to a savior,
not a system.
2. Secondly, the yoke of Christ
lightens our burdens. Beware of those who preach and sing songs
guaranteeing financial prosperity and profit for Christian believers! Those kinds of views are in themselves a
heavy burden. Seeking to follow Christ
doesn’t mean less pain or less abuse.
Christ’s yoke doesn’t remove tough and difficult experiences from our
daily lives. Some of you know first-hand
the dangers and difficulties heaped upon you because of your faith in
Christ. But the Good News is that
Christ’s yoke helps us to face these
burdens. No wonder Paul could write, “I can do all things through Him who
strengthens me.”
3. Thirdly, the yoke of Christ is
easy. Wait a minute. Easy? Yes, easy.
The Greek word translated here as easy doesn’t mean simple, comfy. It means fitting, appropriate, tailored
just for us. In the mid-80s I returned to the U.S. to work
in my church’s Mission Office. Sadly, I
was expected to wear a suit, to appear more “business-like”. No more Balinese batik shirts. So off to
George, a Shanghai tailor on Wanchai’s Lockhart Road. My spouse reminded George to provide room for
me to grow. As we returned for the first
fitting, George greeted us with a smile stretching from Jordan Road to
Admiralty. Turing to my wife, he said, “See, lots of room to grow.” The trouser
legs were about a foot longer than I needed.
George must have thought I would grow taller, not wider! But Jesus doesn’t make that kind of
mistake. His yoke fits us; perfectly
tailored – and always leaves room for us to grow!
Years ago on a visit to Indonesia I watched a farmer plowing his land,
preparing to plant a new rice crop:
shirtless and shoeless, sloshing through nearly knee-deep mud with two
oxen yoked to his ancient-looking wooden plow; one large ox and one baby ox. It looked so unfair to have that small ox
having to pull that plow with the larger ox. Their strides were different; the
older ox was filled with strength and endurance. But I was the only one who seemed to think
this was a problem. You could tell I
wasn’t reared on a farm!
Then it dawned on me. The older ox was pulling more than its share; the younger ox, far less. The younger, weaker ox was learning from the
stronger, older, more experienced ox.
Yoked together, they were a team, walking and working for one common
purpose.
How is with us? Can we hear Jesus
speaking to us today? To our needs, our
fears or whatever burdens may be crushing our spirits? Whatever burdens keep us from being more
caring, kinder, more generous and loving?
Yoked with Christ, we can bear any burden. Christ’ yokes us, not to a childish but to a child-like faith; filled with trust, a willing spirit and a joyful
heart. Today, Christ call to each of us
”Come to me and I will give you
rest. Keep coming to me and you’ll learn
to live freely and lightly.” Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 09, 2017
