"The Value of Rest" - a Sermon on Matthew 11:28-30

(1) What does Jesus mean by “rest”?

We all need rest – rest for our weary bodies and tiring minds. We need sleep on a daily basis, so that our bodies and minds can recuperate for the next day (or for those shift-workers, they need sleep to properly prepare for the next period of time in which they will work and recreate). This all goes without saying; however this passage is dealing with much more than this.

We also need times away from normal routine – holidays; where we do different things, and think about different things, and try to relax a bit. Whether we stay close to home or travel far a-field, we need time to restore ourselves and gain some new perspective, which can lead to better discernment and decision-making. Travel, recreate and rest are the things I have been able to do over the last six weeks. Through just breaking routine and putting aside normal responsibilities, I am indeed seeing life and ministry afresh.

However, this passage is dealing with even more than this! This passage places rest, real rest, into the context of an ongoing relationship (outside of ourselves). This is not just about a good night’s sleep or four weeks annual leave, but a day-by-day orientation toward a relationship with Jesus. Jesus is what life, real life, is all about. This is about a real sense of peace, peace that will survive past breakfast or a return from holidays to work; and such peace ultimately comes from the ‘Prince of Peace’. You want rest, you want to experience life in such a way that you feel properly rested and satisfied, then Jesus says to all, “Come to me”.

This sort of “rest” that Jesus is referring to, is liberty and freedom from the power of what whatever it is that oppresses us. For those living in Jesus’ time, it may have been the overburdensome religious rules that hung over them every day of their lives. One example of this is contained in the passage that follows in Matthew 12 – where overburdensome Sabbath regulations had been imposed upon the Jewish people of Jesus’ time (you couldn’t even pick up something that someone else had dropped, lest it be regarded as work on the Sabbath). This required Jesus to clearly demonstrate, by healing a man with a withered hand, that indeed it was right to do good for others no matter what day it was.

For such people in that day, it may have also been the tension and sense of loss involved in being under Roman control and domination. What Jesus was offering was a dynamic that allowed fulfilling life to occur over and above these earthly conditions, where one could even shine in the face of such severe realities.

(2) The Reality of Heavy Burdens

Despite the lack of religious or political persecution where we live today, life can still be very complex and difficult. This at times can wear very thin, and make us weary and tired. Some problems just become heavier and heavier, and daily living can seem all too hard.

What are some of the heavy burdens that we have to bear and carry through life?
· Grief and loss
· Work pressure
· Family issues
· Illness, injury and pain
· Ongoing conflict
· Past abuses, disappointments and loneliness
· Fears, doubts, spiritual needs, temptation, guilt
· Financial worries
· World concern
· Feeling overloaded with a sense of responsibility (eg. church & community challenges)

The burdens are great and so we need help, for human resources in themselves are way too limited. I stand here, and I can only offer you one solution. Whatever the burden (and none of those mentioned are too heavy for God), Jesus says, “Come to me … and I will give you rest”.

Why Jesus? Because Jesus, in being God’s Son, not only shows us what God is like, not only reveals God to us in a personal way, but also completely understands all of what it is to be human. It’s not as if Jesus doesn’t get what we’re going through, he completely understands! Listen to Philippians 2:7-8 …

"But [Christ Jesus] emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross."

Now listen to Hebrews 4:15-16 …

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have One who in every respect has been tested [or, tempted] as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Jesus fills the gap for us between the depths of God and the depths of ourselves. Jesus gives the “rest” when we come to him. Jesus raises us up to our highest capabilities.

(3) Coming to Jesus

Okay, how then do we “come” to Jesus?
· Open our heart and mind to the possibility of change
· Put aside our desire to stay in absolute control of our lives
· Confess our wrongdoing and selfishness
· Receive forgiveness and enter the process of transformation
· Accept that there are things we need to learn
· Be willing to focus without distraction on the Jesus revealed in the Gospel narratives
· Say yes to following the Jesus we read about and discover in the Bible
· Prayerfully listen to the Spirit of God’s leading

Most importantly, we come as we are (right here and right now); we don’t try to become good enough, or put it off for another day!! There are no (hard) conditions to this invitation aside from humility and sincerity. It’s not like needing to have formal wear before we can accept an invitation to a black-tie dinner. T-shirt, shorts and thongs are always okay!

Remember too, that we are ‘coming’, not to a philosophy or dogma or religion, but we are ‘coming’ to a person. And this person is Jesus, the epitome of all that is good in life – love, compassion, faith, selflessness and hope. And Jesus is inviting us into a conjoined relationship, where we start to participate with him in such things.

He says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”. The use of the image of the “yoke” is based on the wooden collar that ran across the shoulders of a pair of oxen which had been hitched to a plough.

{To see a picture of such a yoke go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoke.}

This “yoke” enabled the oxen to jointly pull enormous weights, as the burden was equally distributed over both animals … neither one becoming overwhelmed.

So we get a picture of being conjoined with Jesus in dealing with life’s complexity and all the stuff that happens. Having a partner like this will allow us to deal with great weight, more weight than we could have ever imagined; because the burden is spread across two sets of shoulders, and because Jesus is taking up at least half the load.

This is liberation, this is freedom from enslavement to circumstances, and this is life-giving for us. If we exclude Jesus from his God-given role of salvation in our lives, then we do so to our own detriment.

Now, as we spend more time living in partnership with Jesus we would naturally “learn” to be more like him and cope with life in the most creative of ways. Whereas life does not necessarily in itself get any easier [former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was right when he said, “Life wasn’t meant to be easy”], having Jesus onside brings a calmer and gentler response to life’s issues. This is because, unlike the world, unlike the Pharisees, and even unlike ourselves, Jesus is not about judgement, but about grace, mercy and forgiveness. Jesus does not carry a big stick to correct us with, but rather guides gently through a heart of compassion.

Being able to receive forgiveness, and forgive ourselves, and forgive others, is a great and most ‘restful’ resource. This means that our burdens tend to weigh less, we don’t slouch around under the heaviness of guilt or feelings of unworthiness, and we find new ways of coping and growing and healing.

Although some problems will fade and disappear, not all the difficulties we endure will necessarily be removed, nor will we necessarily get the cure we desire or the smooth sailing that we’d prefer; but there is the certainty of the nearness of Jesus on which to rely (he being right next to us).

(4) Mutuality and Lightness

There is of necessity of course some mutuality in such a partnership as pictured here. We still retain our particular weight-bearing duty. We’re in a team. Jesus shares our life burdens, while we take up and share Jesus’ (redemptive) cause in the world. How is it then, that where there seems to be so much responsibility to witness and be involved in mission (which after all is quite challenging and difficult), that Jesus can say that his “yoke is easy, and [his] burden is light”? Do you read this verse and wonder about that?

This is because our call to witness and mission is not a human work, but a divine work … Jesus takes the lead and guides us along the way, and teaches us on the job (if we let him). And remember that while Jesus calls us into action in the community in his name, he is bearing at least half (and probably a whole lot more) of the load we carry. I have read that some farmers will “yoke” together a mature hardened ox with a younger weaker bullock, where the younger one hardly bears any of the weight at all – simply learning the basics of ploughing the field in combination with another.

Being “yoked” with Jesus can also be regarded as “easy” and “light” because this particular “yoke” has been perfectly designed for us according to our unique needs [like my perfectly fitted Levi jeans for instance]. This is not ‘one size fits all’ where there is likely to be some level of discomfort or sizing problem, but rather perfectly fitting according to our particular all round situation.

Jesus has issued the most wonderful warm invitation ever offered. This invitation is for all who admit they need to be rescued, and commit themselves to a conjoined mutual partnership. In response to the trust we place in Jesus, we find refuge, consolation, peace, liberty, insight, strength … life at its best – in a word … “rest”. We don’t have to strive for God’s favour anymore – for we are fully accepted, thoroughly valued, and belong wholly to Him. We have chosen well – we have settled in a good place. There is a joy in having entered such a relationship with Jesus. This is a relationship in which we are completely and wholistically cared for along life’s journey.