"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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."
Let us pray:
Lord, you have called us to come to You. You have a message for us that can relieve our burdens and revive us. Grant us grace to receive Your word today, with humble and eager hearts. Thank You for hearing us, and for this gracious invitation.
Sanctify us through Your Word, Your Word is truth, Amen.
Two young Australian women in London, applied for invitations to attend a garden party with the Queen. One was a republican. She applied, because she wanted to tell the Queen personally, that Australia didn't need her as our Queen. The other one went along just for a lark. They got the invitations, after forging some references, and joined the other 3000 people attending the afternoon tea with the Queen. Alas, all her schemes came to nothing, because, try as she might, this larakin lass couldn't get anywhere near her majesty. Probably just as well, too! So in the end, those two Aussies just enjoyed the tea and cakes, and put it down as an interesting little adventure.
That's a strange thought, isn't it: To apply for invitations?!? No need to do this with God. Today He freely invites us: "Come to me." No need to forge references, no need to pretend. Come as you are.
And how are you? 'Weary and burdened?' Today we might say, 'stressed out!' The pace of our lives, the pressures of work and family, our health concerns, issues of conflict, and the self-seeking agendas of many, are more than enough to leave us physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted.
Are you exhausted? Burdened? Finding it hard to cope? Do you have someone you can turn to? Someone who understands, who can listen, with a caring heart and a quiet mouth? Someone who won't immediately tell you all the things you have to do, and remind you of all the things you haven't done? Someone who won't tell you, in one way or another, that you have to earn the peace and rest you seek? There is Someone like that. Today He is calling to you. He invites you, to come.
Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Those 2 Aussie women at the start, had to go through a whole process to get their invitations. They hid behind false identities. In the end, they didn't even get close to the one they wanted to speak to. Not so, with God. We don't need to apply for his invitation, and we certainly don't need to pretend. He calls us freely, to Himself.Mark this - He calls us to Himself. With God, we won't be lost in a crowd of 3000. He knows us, and He calls each of us, to come.
'Come to me, and I will give you rest.'
Our Lord has earned rest for us, through His work. He carried our sins and sorrows, in his body, on the cross. He understands our fears, our struggles, our frustrations, our failures. In 1 Peter 5, verse 7, a man who knew our Saviour, who walked around with him, and personally heard this invitation, tells us: "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."
Who cares for you? The Lord, the God of all the earth! Psalm 68 verse 19 declares: "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens." The next verse says, "Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death."
Underneath the many pressures that wear us down and trouble us, is this ultimate concern: How can I cope with death? How will I cope? In the face of death, hear your Saviour's invitation: "Come to me, and I will give you rest."
He goes on in our text, to say, "Take my yoke upon you."
A yoke is a piece of wood that holds two oxen together, as they pull a load. Christ wants us to be yoked together with him. He is happy to join us, and take the strain. He doesn't want us to face things alone. When we're yoked together with Christ, where He goes, we go, and where we go, he goes. He will be alongside us, to face all that we face, and to lead us through. What a relief! You know the saying, 'A burden shared is a burden halved.'
Jesus, our Lord, calls you to come, without delay. Cast your cares upon him. Receive His yoke. And learn from Him. These 3 things go together. There is only one way of being a Christian, and that is full-time. When we were baptised, we were joined to Christ. We received his yoke right back then, and ever since, He has been calling us to walk with Him, and learn from Him.
What do we learn from Him? We learn to be like Him: "gentle, and humble in heart." We learn to be responsive to God. We learn to be eager to do the Father's will. Our prayer will be, "Teach me Your Way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth. Make we wholehearted in fearing Your Name, that I may walk in Your truth."
We also learn to be responsive to others. We let go our agendas, and genuinely seek the good of the other person. We join together, as a restful people of God, to worship Him with joy. And we call others to come to Jesus, that they, too, may find rest for their souls.
A garden party with the Queen would be wonderful. But God gives us an even better invitation. Hear again, the word of the Lord:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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."
God's Word is true, Amen.
The peace of God, which is beyond all human understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.
Pastor Wayne Logan
Pittsworth Lutheran Parish, Queensland Australia
7.7.2002
wlogan@ozemail.com.au