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CALL TO WORSHIP | Psalm 40:1-8
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
Song #1 – Psalm 34 by Shane and Shane
Song #2 – His Glory and My Good by CityAlight
Dismiss Kids
INTRO |
We, on this side of the cross and resurrection, having been buried with Christ Jesus in his death, are, like the psalmist, “drawn up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog and” had our “feet [set] upon a rock, making [our] steps secure” (Ps. 40:2). Indeed, after Easter, we have “a new song in our mouths” (Ps. 40:3). A melody that draws us into rhythmic life with God. Life of Sabbathing into work and working into Sabbath.
Indeed, it is living instep with this whole and holy rhythm which is not only our good, but the expectation of the life of faithful: “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, “ (Ps. 40:4) who’s “delight [is] to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” (Ps. 40:8).
David’s psalm foreshadows the “wonderous deeds and thoughts [of God] toward us” (Ps. 40:5) still to come. Thoughts revealed through the mouth and writings of the prophet, Jeremiah:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant… not like the covenant that I made… when I took them by the hand out of Egypt… But this is the covenant that I will make… I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts… For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
Thoughts that looked forward to the wonderful deed through which our iniquity was forgiven, the deed that ensured our sins are no longer remembered. The deed which we remember each week:
“And Jesus took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” (Luke 22:19-20)
A deed that made it possible for us to live a life like Jesus with His law within us, written our hearts. On the evening of the first Easter day,
“Jesus said to his disciples again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” (John 20:21-22)
These are the deeds and thoughts of God toward us, that wondrous deed and intention of God toward us which we enter into each morning after the first Easter morning, into the song of a new day, a new song of creation resurrected, brought back from death to life, once and forever and experienced in the becoming of the eternal now. In light of the glory of this day, and in trust of Lord of it, the apostle Paul says,
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer (surrender, submit) our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (your rational service). Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing, you may discern what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2)
Before we enter the penultimate mediation on the work for which we are made, I want to give us a chance to rest in why we can consider and attend to our daily labors in the way we have. Before we continue, let us put our trust in the LORD, make the LORD our trust, opening our ears and our hearts to the life we can live in Christ, because indeed, Christ is in us, the hope of glory.
Let’s take just a minute or two to rest, trust, and be at peace because God is with us.
PRE-SERMON READING |Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus declared,
“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
SERMON | Getting A Rested Soul Out of Work
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden” (Matt. 11:28). At some point, perhaps even at this point in life, we will feel the fatigue of weighted work. Perhaps we could amend Benjamin Franklin’s familiar quip, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” by adding, “…and the burden of making a life.”
We said at the beginning of our series that work is not a curse, nor is it the enemy or obstacle we must overcome. Still, as Lamech, Noah’s father, did, we acknowledged “the painful toil of our hands” (Gen. 5:29) and shared with all humanity the longing for relief from the grind under the burden, anxiety, and strain of making life good.
Because work, even, and maybe most especially, work, as we have said, which,
“Our work, whether we are paid for it [or not], is our specific human contribution to God’s ongoing creation [re-creation] and to the common good.” [1]
… is not easy; we are rather persistently looking to get out of work. Whether literally trying to find ways not to work, or using work as a means to get out of it, something we do not have but want (identity, prosperity, the good; and thus letting work be about Mammon), most of the weight of life-making is spent trying to get out of work. But, as we have said, it doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, we should be getting out of work the life we are made for and made for us. A life that is complete with joy, a delight.
After all, as the apostle Paul said, when our mind of work is renewed, not acculturated and conformed to reductionistic and twisted understandings of work, work might be transformed into something that is,
“[work is]…not a necessary drudgery to be undergone for the purpose of making money, but a way of life in which the nature of humanity should find its proper exercise and delight and so fulfill itself to the glory of God…
…not, primarily, a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is, or it should be, the full expression of the worker’s faculties, the thing in which he [or she] finds spiritual, mental, and bodily satisfaction, and the medium in which he [or she] offers [them]self to God.”[2]
With such a mind toward work, we can "serve the work," as "the medium in which one offers oneself to God." Following Paul's exhortation, we submit our wills through our work, "offering our bodies as a living sacrifice" through our work.
What we see in our scriptures, especially in the life of Jesus, is that we do NOT offer our work to God. We submit our wills to God through our work. Work is a medium of offering, not the offering itself. I don't offer my work to the Lord today, but I offer myself, my whole self, through the work gifted and crafted specifically for me. I give myself to the work, for this specific life I live in Christ is God's will, God's good, prepared for me in Christ to get in on so that Christ’s joy might be in me, and my "joy may be full" (Jn. 15:11), that indeed I might find “satisfaction.”
If I understand work rightly (properly) and submit my will to God through my work daily, then why do my labors tire not only my body but also my soul? Why is proper thinking and devotion not enough? What keeps us trying to get out of work rather than getting out of work the good for which it is? What else is missing?
Well, do you remember what we said a few weeks ago when looking at the story of Noah and what we now call the Noahic Covenant? In God’s response to Noah’s thankfulness after the flood, God reversed the curse on the ground and renewed the partnership and rhythm of rest and work with mankind (see Gen. 8-9). While this is a gracious truth that is persistent as long as there is morning and evening, something fundamental changed in humanity's relationship to the living, and we became ones under a law. Why was that? Because, for all that did change, something did not, the intentions of the thoughts of humanity's heart. The soul of humanity, their minds, wills, and hearts, would, to some extent, be restless, at least until they were made new.
Interestingly enough, the word for load or burden, which Jesus presumes is common to our human experience, carries with it both the image of a full vessel, wagon, or animal carrying their capacity, or even beyond, as well as being overburdened with spiritual anxiety. The weight of work, it seems, is not merely, or even primarily, that there is too much to do, but there is an anxiousness, an unsettledness in our labors.
Carrying too much stuff (or perhaps carrying it wrongly), both literally (bodily) and spiritually (emotionally and mentally), stems from the third and final part of the soul: the heart. What keeps us from the good that work is, is our anxious hearts. Let me explain why.
Our heart, that part of us that not only feels but also longs, loves, and aspires, might be the most manipulable part of our soul. After all, consider modern marketing. Are our hearts not what is most often targeted? If you want “this,” whatever “this” might be—something to ease your labors, a more satisfying career, better relationships, the best you—if you long for this, aspire to this, love this, then you will need ____ to get it. Take up this product or program, take on this habit, this method of raising your kids, this time management strategy, this app. For in doing this, reaching this, having this, is your good. If you are discontent, then you need something you do not yet have, a different thing just out there for you, waiting. And so we pile on, not just more things, but more responsibilities, more expectations, more rituals and routines, regulations, and rumors of wisdom. We have become a society of excess. Not just excess products but excess baggage, weight, and so fatigued under the weight of unlimited options.
In a world of options and opportunities, our hearts are constantly being tugged and twisted towards some thing elses end. No wonder work—what we do to make life, good—is so burdensome rather than freeing! So, what is the solution?
Let’s look again at Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11 and see what he reveals to be the way to work from the soul, “work heartily as unto the Lord” (Col. 3:23).
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
“Take my yoke upon you,” says Jesus. Do your work with me, join in the work I am doing, is what Jesus offers. For, a yoke is a “mechanism for harnessing the power of domesticated animals.”[3] It is “Literally, the wooden bar that allowed two (or more) draft animals to be coupled so that they might effectively work together.”[4]
“Take my yoke upon you… For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Take up the work I have got started for you, work in my Wisdom and Goodness, which I have prepared for you and crafted you for. The way I labor, the way we work together, is “well-fitted,” properly-fitted, and the weight of it is light. Take responsibility, with and in Christ, for the life you have been given, for the labor of making that life good in him. You cannot pass it off to someone else; you can only share it with Christ.
We do not need something we don’t have to get what we want; we need to put on and labor under what has been given to us and for us. Still, the presumption is that working with Jesus is not something we just get right away.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart…” And now we are back to the heart. To work well with Jesus, to take on our God-crafted responsibilities in relationship without being crushed by the anxieties of life outside the garden, we are invited to model our hearts after Christ’s.
Notice that Jesus’ heart is “gentle.” The word does not merely communicate kindness and tenderness toward others, especially the needy and difficult, which he is, but also carries the concept of meekness. The meek are those who know when to be angry and when not to be, and when to speak up and when not to. Those who are, in so many ways, not volatile but stable, possessing prudence with a disposition toward patience and forgiveness.
What would your labors look like if your heart were “gentle” in this way? Not taken too high or too low, but steady? Not run over or running over, but confident and compassionate? Knowing how to respond, what to take on, and what not to, because, as we discussed last week, it is a “lowly” heart.
The word “lowly,” according to one scholar, cannot be cleaned up. It is a striking word. A word meant to jar us, because it “has a negative connotation in Greek writings generally… it expresses both the low estate of the man who lives in poor and petty relations, especially the slave, and also the base disposition resulting therefrom.”[5] In other words, Jesus’ heart, is a heart given over, possessed by another.
"I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father." (John 14:31)
“Because of what he is in his innermost being,” contends Leon Morris, because he is “meek and lowly, those who come to him find rest,”[6] for their souls.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)
Several scholars, commentators, and theologians think that Jesus’ use of the yoke in this invitation plays off the rabbinic concept of the “yoke of the kingdom of heaven,” transferring it from the idea of the labor of religion in particular to life with God in its wondrous ordinariness. In so doing, Jesus invites us to see the Wisdom of God in our work with him. Work is a good design of God that does not wear life down but brings it (and all that we are in it) into rest: spiritual, mental, and bodily satisfaction.
An idea and image captured in the intertestamental writing known to Jesus and the rabbis of his day as “The book of Sirach” or, in Latin, “Ecclesiasticus,” and now, in the light of Jesus Christ, might shine most clearly:
Put your feet into her fetters,
and your neck into her collar.
Bend your shoulders and carry her,
and do not fret under her bonds.
Come to her with all your soul,
and keep her ways with all your might.
Search out and seek, and she will become known to you;
and when you get hold of her, do not let her go.
For at last you will find the rest she gives,
and she will be changed into joy for you.
Then her fetters will become for you a strong defense,
and her collar a glorious robe.
Her yoke is a golden ornament,
and her bonds a purple cord.
You will wear her like a glorious robe,
and put her on like a splendid crown. (Sirach 6:24-31, NRSV)
Your work of making life in the roles and relationships in which you have been given responsibilities to do good in the heart of Jesus, is the means to find rest for your soul. Work, as ironic as it may be, is a way to rest.
Let that sink in for a moment before we reflect on our hearts in our labors.
REFLECTION |
Consider & Attend
What labor and loads have I taken on that are not shared with Christ?
Conversely, what labor and loads have I tried to give up that were mine to carry in Christ?
In what labor and loads has my soul experienced rest?
CORPORATE CONFESSION & COMMUNION[7] |
By your ever-restful grace,
allow us to enter your Sabbath rest
as your Sabbath rest enters into us.
For...
Jesus has done good work for us.
The Holy Spirit is doing a good work in us.
And God our Father equips and calls each of us to go out and do good works, works he has prepared in advance for us to do, and that he alone,
by his power and his Spirit,
will bring to completion through us.
For all the promises of God find their Yes in Jesus.
That is why it is through Jesus we utter our Amen
to God for his glory.
Hallelujah! Amen.
Song #3 – Leave the Rest to You by Porters Gate
Song #4 – Take My Life and Let It Be by Traditional
BENEDICTION | 1 Thesselonians 4:11-12
As we rest in the day made for us, we prepare to enter into the work for which we are made [LIGHT THE CANDLE], praising and praying:
Aspire to live quietly, resting from the labor that is not yours, attending to the work made for you. You’ve heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. We want you living in a way that will command the respect of outsiders, able to live dependent on no one.
[1] Tom Nelson, Work Matters: connecting Sunday worship to Monday work, 24.
[2] Dorothy Sayers, quoted in, Schwehn and Bass, Leading Lives That Matter: what we should do and who we should be, 200.
[3] W. E. Nunnally, “Yoke,” in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, 1404.
[4] Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Yoke,” in Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 2173.
[5] Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, TPNT, n84, 297.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Adapted from Common Prayer: a liturgy for ordinary radicals, 554, & Every Moment Holy, Vol 3, xv.