"The Weight of the World"

A sermon preached by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) based on Matthew 11:16-19 and 25-30.

I read recently that one of the most extraordinary hoaxes ever perpetrated in the history of New York was originated by two men who, in 1824 began spreading rumors that all of the new building and construction that was taking place to Lower Manhattan was weighing down the tip of the island. They claimed that overdevelopment of its southern tip had put such a strain on the island that unless something was done immediately to stop it, the city would literally sink into the harbor. And so, they devised a rather absurd plan to save Manhattan which involved the efforts and work of many citizens. Obviously, in the end, it was discovered for what it was, a hoax.
But who among us hasn’t wondered if Manhattan could sink. I mean, after all, how could a fragile island support all that concrete and limestone towering a quarter-of-a-mile into the sky? I mean, Venice, after all, is sinking into the sea at the rate of nine inches a century. And while pound-for-pound, Venice may be more precious and beautiful, New York carries a lot more weight and people. You know, it’s no coincidence that beneath the enormous complex of buildings known as Rockefeller Center is a statue of Atlas.
Some of you may remember from Greek Mythology, Atlas was condemned to carry the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. That was as harsh a punishment as the ancient Greek mind could imagine - carrying the weight of the entire world upon one’s shoulders. And certainly, we could argue that sometimes it feels as though we are carrying the weight of the world upon our shoulders.
No doubt, what can be said of Manhattan and Atlas can also be applied to our own lives. Amid the ups and downs of the Stock Market, a troubled economy, war and the threat-of war, not to mention job loss, financial troubles, failing health, disease, marital problems, family struggles, along with all of the other strains and stresses of life, sometimes so overwhelming to the point that we feel a bit like we are carrying the weight of the world upon our shoulders.
Sure we hear all the time, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” But sometimes we have plenty more than we can handle. And, the old adage which states “we grow back stronger at the broken places,” isn’t always true. In fact, psychology shows that after a significant emotional injury, we might never be quite the same. And, what’s more, it sounds so hypothetical when someone says, “All you have to do is give your problems to God and it will be okay.” I don’t want to sound cynical, but no, giving our problems to God doesn’t mean they will just magically disappear. That’s not the way God operates. But more often than not, we manage, like Atlas, like Manhattan, to keep standing, to remain strong in the face of life’s difficulties. Why? Because, even though it may sound hypothetical, we have discovered that turning to God and to one another for strength and guidance, for direction and counsel, in the face of difficulties helps us to persevere. Do we understand how this works? No! But we have found the words of Paul to be adequate, who affirmed: "[God’s] grace is sufficient for you, for [God’s] power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
But sometimes, we have a tendency to be like the old man riding down the road on his donkey while he carried a 200-pound sack of wheat on his shoulders. Someone asked him why he didn't take the weight off of his shoulders and strap it to the donkey. “Oh, no!” the old man protested. “I couldn't dare let my donkey carry all that weight.” You know, this is the way we are, sometimes, we fail to acknowledge or realize that God IS carrying the burden with us, and God IS giving us the strength to bear it.
This morning in our Gospel Lesson we hear Jesus’ wonderful invitation to, “Come unto me, all you that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” And being that this the 4th of July weekend, we can’t help but notice that Jesus’ invitation sounds a bit like Emma Lazarus’ words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, which reads; “Give me your tired, your poor...” Jesus invites us to come and find strength in him. In fact, it is Jesus who is our Sabbath/Rest. You see, whereas in the Old Testament, in Judaism, the Sabbath was a day; for Christians it is now a person and that person is Christ. And it is in him we find true rest for our souls.
Without a doubt, Jesus’ words bring us comfort and strength, peace and assurance. In fact, we often hear these words, read or shared at funeral services and other times of need.
I can remember the first time of visited the Statue of Liberty and the emotions I felt as I thought of the millions who had streamed to this country from far distant lands, escaping poverty and struggles, injustice and war; searching for a dream, searching for a new home, hoping against all hope, for a better life; and I could only imagine how they must have felt seeing that impressive statue of Lady Liberty as they made their way to Ellis Island. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
And certainly, this was Jesus’ message! You know, I can remember as a child hearing those words of Jesus’, “Come unto me, all you that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” and thinking of an egg yoke. I couldn’t quite understand what Jesus was talking about. But, as I’ve grown older and somewhat wiser, I have reverted back to my childhood thinking. Sometimes our lives can feel like a broken yoke of an egg, as though our lives are literally falling apart – no longer held together in the safety and security of a hard egg shell.
There is a wonderful legend concerning the quiet years of Jesus - those years prior to his ministry as recorded in the gospels to which we have no valid record of. But the legend claims that Jesus, the carpenter was one of the master yoke-makers in the town of Nazareth. People would come from miles around for a yoke, hand carved and crafted by Jesus, the son of Joseph. When customers arrived with their team of oxen Jesus would spend hours upon hours measuring the team, their height, the width, the space between them, and the size of their shoulders. And after some time, the team would be brought back and he would carefully place the newly made yoke over the shoulders, watching for rough places, smoothing out the edges and fitting them perfectly to this particular team of oxen. And, you know, that's the yoke Jesus invites us to take. We are not to be misled by the word “easy,” it is not suggesting that life is easy. Life is anything but easy! In fact, the root word in the Greek for easy here is chraomai, and this word speaks directly to a tailor-made yoke - one that is “well-fitting.”
The yoke Jesus invites us to take, the yoke that brings rest to our weary souls, is one that is made to fit our lives and hearts exactly. The yoke that Jesus invites us to take fits us well, it does not rub us nor cause us to develop sore spirits, and it is designed for two – and the one who carries this yoke with us is Christ the one who affirmed: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The Holy Spirit is Christ with us. You know, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the great Comforter or Paraclete. And as I’ve shared with you before, it is the Greek word parakletos, which literally means “one who walks along side.” In this case, one who is yoked with us.
In our Gospel Lesson this morning, Jesus expresses his frustration that so many signs have been revealed that God’s kingdom has come and yet they are still blind. This outburst from Jesus is prompted by a question posed to him from John the Baptist, who, keep in mind, is in prison but wants to know more about what Jesus is up to. In fact, Jesus said in verse 11; “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” But we see that the crowds did not understand. They did not understand John. They did not understand Jesus. You see, John was ridiculed as one possessed by demons. Jesus, who loved a good meal, was believed to be by many a glutton and a drunk. But they failed to see and experience the kingdom that Jesus was talking about – the kingdom of God, which isn’t necessarily a place, but a way of life. And, as a result, they miss out on being a part of this kingdom, of experiencing the blessings of God’s kingdom, which offers the opportunity to live differently, to experience God’s presence more fully, to bask in God’s love and grace, to know forgiveness, to practice justice.
Jesus is inviting us to get on board, to open our eyes and our hearts, to be yoked to him and to his kingdom, to take our hands to the plow and share in the blessings of building God’s kingdom. And Jesus reminds us that wherever justice is being done, bonds are being loosed, love is being shared, forgiveness is being offered, peace is being lived out, mercy is being extended, the outcast are being embraced, the hungry are being fed, he is there – God’s kingdom is present! What about with your life? Is God’s kingdom seen and made known through you?
Sure, it’s easy to become tired and exhausted with life, it is easy get discouraged in building God’s kingdom, but Jesus reminds us in the face of these feelings to come to him for the rest and strength we need to carry on. None of us are exempt from the struggles and stresses of life, but the good news is we are not alone. It is Christ who gives us strength and who has promised to be with us. We don’t fully understand this presence with us, but it’s there. We don’t fully understand this transaction, but we experience it and our lives are strengthened and empowered by the One who gives us rest and peace and strength. We can’t explain it! But it happens because we have experienced it! We have felt it!
Perhaps some of you have seen the movie, Stuck on You, which tells the story of Bob and Walt Tenor, who not only share a passion for life but also a liver. They are twin brothers, conjoined at the side. Thanks to their teamwork, as well their love and dedication to one another, being conjoined twins is not a handicap to them. However, in time they slowly begin drift apart. They want to chase two different dreams. They have and develop different interests. And so, they take their chances with a rather risky surgery to be separated, but once they are separated they realize how much they miss each other. How much they miss being stuck together. They long to be reconnected both physically and emotionally. It is a beautiful comedy. Sadly, we have to learn this too sometimes in our relationship with God and God’s kingdom. You know, sometimes, we intentionally and unintentionally disconnect ourselves from God, from the church, from the fellowship of other believers. But like Bob and Walt, it is in that time of separation that we long for the communion of God and for the fellowship of the church. There’s nothing quite like it!
One of my favorite words is, is the word “abide.” I love this word because of its Greek meaning. It is the word meno, which literally means to “dwell with” or “to become stuck to or yoked with,” “to make a home with.”
And so, God through Christ is inviting us to abide with him, “to take his yoke upon us and learn from him.” The ancient Jewish rabbis often used the idiom, “take my yoke” to mean, “become my student.” Jesus is inviting us to become his students, to learn from him what it means to trust God; to allow him to teach us the lessons of life; and to experience from him the rest and peace that only he gave give us. While sometimes we may feel as Atlas might have felt, bearing the weight of the world upon our shoulders, we must not forget that we belong to the One, whose “got the whole world in his hands,” lest we forget this simple, yet profound theology from our childhood.