“Rest for the Troubled Soul” – Matt 11:25-30 – July 6, 2008

The Fourth of July celebration is supposed to be a time for families and friends to get together and relax. It’s traditionally a time for picnics, camping, grilling on the barbeque, watching fireworks and going to parades. After it’s over most of us find ourselves exhausted rather than rested. Here in Ohio fireworks don’t begin until 10:00PM. By the time you get home it is long past your children’s bedtime and they are all hyped because of the display. Most of us have eaten more than we normally do, not to mention drinking more than we normally do. Chances are many of you used your time off to work in the yard, do house repairs, or get sunburned from spending time at the pool.

Like many of you I spend the Fourth of July with my family. What dominated our conversations? It was everyone’s burdens. They talked about problems at work, the rising cost of living, the challenges of raising children, the things they wanted to have but couldn’t afford, unrealized dreams and the every-day stress of living in a crazy world.

My oldest daughter was complaining about my grandson. He likes to stay up late and talk to his girlfriend on his cell phone. It seems he has gone over the limit of free minutes and has run up a bit of a bill. I said to her, “You need to get a grip. He is a good kid. He does well in school. He doesn’t run around with wild kids. He doesn’t get into trouble. A bigger-than-average cell phone bill is a small price to pay for a boy who is a terrific kid.”

As I said, my daughter needs to get a grip. I believe that Jesus was saying something similar to the people in his time. They were being influenced by their culture. They were burdened by rules, traditions and customs. They weren’t free. Their souls were troubled.

One of the cities Jesus mentions is Capernaum. It was a busy place where people were struggling to fit in. Capernaum was near the Sea of Galilee, a prosperous city which was on the East to West trade route. It was a place that Jesus visited frequently, often performing miracles. It was there that his ministry offended religious leaders. In Capernaum people lived under the hard rule of the Pharisees. They were expected to adhere to religious rules, so rigid that it overwhelmed the common people. They too needed to get a grip.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Meaning, they needed rest from a culture that required unrealistic expectations of its people, rest from leadership that was oppressive and self-centered and rest from the perceived need to have power and capitulate to an artificial system that required people to conform.

In other words, its as if Jesus was saying, “You don’t have to keep up with the Jones’. You don’t need to worry about what others think. You don’t have to live in a society of shoulds, oughts and musts. You are free from those things that give you a false sense of security. Nor is there any reason to be burdened by feelings of guilt, shame or failure.”

To be free we first have to let God help. That calls for surrender. I was watching a video on the Hospice experience the other day. A couple was being interviewed. The wife was terminally ill and her husband was determined to take care of her. They had always taken care of each other and rarely did they ask for outside help. But the woman’s terminal illness was overwhelming. Finally, the couple surrendered to the idea of Hospice care. In the process they both realized that they truly needed outside help, someone to share in their struggle, their grief and their burdens. Now that they had invited the Hospice community into their home and into their lives, they felt a sense of freedom. They realized they needed a loving community to help them through their journey. In essence they had given themselves permission to be “yoked” with others.

We are also free when we can excuse ourselves from so many responsibilities and obligations. I believe people today are wearing themselves out, running in circles. Some are overwhelmed, always doing things for their families. Others are involved in so many activities they don’t have time to breathe.

One day, a man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did." "But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest." (from ESermons.com)

Perhaps we need to sharpen our ax. By that I mean we need to be yoked with God in all that we do. By enriching our faith we are closer to God and more likely to surrender and be open to God’s presence in our lives.

Working harder and doing more doesn’t give us time to rest. We have to be intentional about relaxing and let God be in the driver’s seat. We don’t have to prove anything, especially our worthiness. We don’t owe anyone anything and life is not a competition. Even Olympic athletes who are striving to be first in their sport take time to rest. A trainer at our local Y once instructed me that between fitness machines I need to give my body a few minutes to rest. We actually do ourselves more harm by going wire to wire without any breaks.

“Come unto me” is also an invitation to be free of our burdens and forgive ourselves for those things we haven’t done or aren’t capable of doing. It seems to me that our greatest burden is the burden of guilt. We worry when we don’t get it all done. We panic when we fall behind. We criticize ourselves for not living up to the expectations of others. To be yoked with Jesus is to be forgiven, free from all guilt and especially free to rest.

I believe what Jesus is really saying here is that we need to clear our lives of clutter. Too much stuff, too many activities, too much striving to be successful or too much guilt all keep us from badly needed rest. Recently I helped my mother-in-law with a garage sale. My house is the perfect location for a sale since thousands of cars pass by us every day. In the process I decided to add some of my own things. We had so many customers we were running out of things to sell. I made another round through the house and found more things I didn’t need. The good news is that we made a little money. The real good news is I got rid of some clutter. It was a lot of work and the next day I took a badly needed nap.

“Come to me all of you who 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.”

We find rest for our souls when we are willing to ask God to help us. We are free when we cease trying to compete. Our souls will be refreshed when we accept the forgiveness God so graciously wants to give to us.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio