Matthew 11:28-30
16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
17 “‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
25 At that time Jesus said, “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. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
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.”
“Playing or Celebrating?”
Is this what Jesus is saying?
We are like children playing at religion. As is said of those in our text they were “playing at religion...with all their seeming earnestness in reality they are triflers. They are also fickle, fastidious, given to peevish fault finding, easily offended. They are hard to please...equally dissatisfied with John and with Jesus; satisfied with nothing but their own artificial formalism. They are always so sure and so ready to judge.”
They were all hung up on nonessentials. Jesus wants us to feel with those who hurt, have fun with those who are joyful, experience and share forgiveness as the essence of life - not judgment and condemnation.
I hear Jesus saying, “I want you to celebrate life in all its dimensions and possibilities. Don’t get all hung up on nonessentials - don’t play at it - celebrate it!”
“My Yoke Is Easy”
Catchy slogans are not necessarily true - just catchy.
These words of Jesus sound like a catchy slogan - but their not.
Like the slogan - “He ain’t heavy Father, he’s my brother.” they remind us that the yoke which is easy and the burden which is light is so NOT because little is demanded, but because much is first given.
The yoke of Jesus is the commitment to love; it is the call to be kind, loving, good, merciful,
just as we have received mercy. Bearing one another's burdens in love is light! No matter how heavy it gets! To do this we first have to know we are loved. For only the loved can so love.
God first loves us; then God demands much from us. And the much is easy, for it is given in love. This is the yoke which is easy and the burden which is light.
“A Time To Dance”
“In the world to come, each of us will be called to account for all the good things God put on earth which we refused to enjoy.” Talmud
Dancing, joy and celebration go together - in ancient religion as well as in our lives. It is a way to express joy - something we have difficulty doing.
The purpose of religion is not to take fun out of life but to put fun into life - celebration!
Work for justice and dance for joy!
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