"Come to Me!"

Last weekend we had a family reunion with Justin's extended family- between cousin Fri-yay, square-dancing, sharing meals (and gelato!) and catching up with family from near and afar- it was a wonderful weekend! One highlight was that Justin had the opportunity to share some of his thoughts with his family at our Sunday Church service. I read his words for him, moved myself by a reminder that feels relevant to our every day.

Below is a copy of his sermon, and I think you'll be just as touched!

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

These are the words of Jesus to a Jewish audience. I'm hoping that today we can first unpack and understand the context of these words, then we can consider what they might mean to us today and finally I hope that you will respond in your own personal way as you see fit.

OK, so what is the context of the time and place that Jesus said this? In first century Judaism all young boys were put in training to learn the Torah, which is the first five books of what we call the Old Testament. (can anyone list them in order?) All boys did this until 12 years old. Those who did well went on to more training in learning the text of the entire Old Testament and those who didn't do well went on to work normal jobs, probably with their father. The best of the best would study until they are thirty years old and often would have the entire text memorized. These top performers would become Rabbis, or teachers. These Rabbis had big debates on hot topics of the day and would discuss the interpretation and the meaning of what was written. I understand that there were eight great debates of the day that all the Rabbis weighed in on. One of those is pertinent to our study today. The debate asked which of the laws that God gave in the Torah was the most important? Well everyone agreed on the first one. (Any guesses?) “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." Where the debates heated up was on what the second greatest law was. (any guesses? ) There was two primary camps each led by a rabbi. Rabbi Shamai argued it was to obey all the laws with a focus on observing the Sabbath and Rabbi Hillel argued that it was love your neighbor as yourself. These debates helped form different worldviews that people lived by or the lens with which they saw the world through. This world view or lens was referred to as your yoke. So, to take someone's yoke upon you was to adopt their worldview and to see the world through the same lens.

So Jesus was telling his audience that whoever is weary and burdened in life that they should come to him and learn his worldview and see the world as he sees it and that they would have rest. So what exactly is Jesus talking about with rest? Does he have a secret formula for taking long naps? While I do believe a part of rest has to do with recharging our physical bodies I think Jesus had more in mind when he said this. Think of the the story of Pinocchio. the creator worked on making him by widdling away all the parts that didn't belong and adding shape and form that had resemblance of the creator. He would tinker and tinker with the utmost care and affection. He knew what he was working towards and he was determined to see it through and when he was finished he steps back to look over his work. "ahh" he says "very good " In that moment the work is finished and there is no more tinkering. With a huge smile on his face he goes to rest. But this is not a rest from exhaustion - oh, no!  This is an active rest where the creator moves toward his creation and begins to engage with him. Playing and laughing, embracing his creation in an act of love. It's in this time of active rest that the creation comes to life and realizes his sonship to the creator. Perhaps this is what Sabbath rest is all about. The creator and his creation enjoying each others company, engaging each other with love and affection. This is the rest I believe Jesus was inviting people into.

So what does all this have to do with us today? Well, are you weary and burdened down? Has life beat you up and slapped you around? Are you over stressed at work and in over your head? Are important relationships in your life under fire and falling apart? Are your kids rebelling and stretching the outer limits of your patience and causing panic and sleepless nights? Perhaps money is tight and creating a wedge between you and loved ones? Do you have dreams that have long been squashed by life and unexpected setbacks? Maybe you are so focused on political and world events that you feel anxious and worried about what the future holds. Maybe the appeal of money and success have driven your soul into bankruptcy. Or maybe you are just getting older and your body just isn't working the way it used to. Health issues keep sapping the life out of you and you struggle to just face the day ahead of you let alone do something remarkable.

I'm guessing that at least a few of these things hit home for some of you. I know they do for me. I respond to Jesus's invitation to come to him every day if I am honest. I can tell you from first hand experience that there is nothing better than the rest that he offers. To experience his rest though we must first take His yoke upon us. We must see as He sees, not as the world sees. It seems that culture will always be against the kingdom of God since the devil is at work to deceive us anywhere we allow him to. We must get to know God so we know how his yoke feels on our shoulders when we put it on. Fortunately he gives us a clue about how it will feel. He says my yoke is easy and my burden is light. If your worldview weighs you down and is a heavy burden then that is a clue that you have put on another yoke.

I wish that I could tell you that all your problems immediately go away when you come to him. They probably won't. I wish I could say I know everything and answer all your questions. I definitely can't. But I can attest to the fact that when you come to him you will get to know him and the fruit of his spirit will begin to appear in your life. If you don't know what the fruit of the spirit is you can ask Talia but be prepared to listen to a funny song and still not know what the fruit is!

So, in closing, I want to invite all of us to respond to Jesus' invitation to come to him. I have found that it's true that if I knock the door will be opened and if I seek him I will find him. I want to encourage all of us to find some time today or this week to come to him regardless of where you are at in your journey. It is more than worth it. Thank you for listening and thanks to all of you who have given your time and love to my family the last five years. We are so grateful for such a generous family and could not do it without you.

Love,

Justin

Ellie teaching Talia a dance r

Craft station for the win!

stracciatella or chocolate?!

Cousin hangout!

Family is the best! Talia was thrilled to get a private lesson from Ellie, a professional dancer, Aunt Nancy outdid herself at the craft station and we went home with several Elsa castles, ninjas, and fake bugs that have become prized possessions (but scare me regularly!), we shared some of the gelato we have been experimenting with, and had a cousin hang-out to kick off the weekend!