GIVE IT TO THE FATHER

Jann Martin July 3, 2005

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Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Gospel Lesson

¹⁶ "How shall I describe this generation? These people are like a group of children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, ¹⁷ 'We played wedding songs, and you weren't happy, so we played funeral songs, but you weren't sad.' ¹⁸ For John the Baptist didn't drink wine and he often fasted, and you say, 'He's a demon possessed.' ¹⁹ And I, the Son of Man, feast and drink, and you say, 'He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of the worst sort of sinners!' But wisdom is shown to be right by what results from it."

²⁵ Then Jesus prayed this prayer: "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. ²⁶ Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!"

²⁷ "My Father has given me authority over everything. No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

²⁸ Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

In the verses before today's Gospel lesson we find Jesus talking to the people throughout the country. While Jesus was preaching John the Baptist, who was in prison at the time, sent his disciples to Jesus to ask if Jesus was the Messiah that they had been waiting for. Jesus told them to go back to John and tell him of the miracles He performed and the good news that He preached. He then told the people to whom He was preaching that John is the messenger who came to preach about the coming of Jesus and His ministry. Then, when Jesus continues to speak to the people in today's reading, He talks about them being like children. They have trouble believing in John and Jesus. This is like, when children are playing games and their friends won't join-in. Those who were hearing John and Jesus preach were having trouble believing that they were hearing the men that had been prophesied in their scripture.

They saw John as a demon who ate a strange diet. John preached in the wilderness of Judea saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," which was prophesied by Isaiah saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight'". John wore clothing made of camel's hair with a leather belt, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

The people looked at Jesus, who they felt ate and drank with all kinds of unsavory people, as a drunkard and a glutton. If you'll remember, he changed water into wine at a wedding, ate with Zacchaeus a tax collector and mostly associated with the town's people. The church leaders thought that the Messiah prophesied in the Bible would be a king or someone in a high-ranking family, not a commoner.

The people of that generation had the opportunity to see and hear John and Jesus as they preached and healed those around them. However, they acted like the children who wouldn't join in with their friends. They didn't see John and Jesus in the garments and leadership positions that they thought would be appropriate for the Messiah and his disciple. If you had been there, what would you have thought about John the Baptist and Jesus? Would you have thought that John was a little weird, wearing camel's hair clothing and eating locust and wild honey? You wouldn't catch me eating the locusts, and I would probably look the other way when he did. We might have thought he was a nut going around so excited and talking about some Messiah that would be here soon. The Messiah was coming according to scripture, but surely, it would be way in the future and someone of royal blood.

Then we meet this Jesus, and he surely doesn't fit the picture of who we think the Messiah would be. This man is a commoner who hangs out with the average people not the royalty. He goes around healing people whenever He feels like it, even on the Sabbath. He sounds like He has authority when He speaks, but He wasn't trained in the synagogue. Who does He think He is to talk that way?

Jesus then thanks God in prayer for opening the eyes and ears of the children to Him. He is referring to the poor, the tax collectors, sinners and underprivileged. The underprivileged He is referring to are those who have not had a lot of education in the church. They are as infants learning from Jesus about the love of God and the way to receive the gift of heaven. The knowledge of the scripture and an education are a wonderful thing, but the only way to get into heaven is to accept the gift from God. We can't buy or earn this gift. Christ died on the cross taking the sin's of those who lived before Him, those who lived while He was on earth preaching and all who were to come after Him, including me and you. He paid the price, once and for all, for sins to be forgiven. We only have to reach out to the Father and say thank you and be welcomed into heaven. We have absolutely no control over God or the capacity to fathom the knowledge of God. This is beyond what our minds can understand, we just have to accept His love and grace as an infant accepts the love and care of its parents and loved ones.

In the last three verses of today's gospel, we have an invitation from Jesus: ²⁸ Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." Have you ever seen a team of oxen with a yoke? A yoke is a long piece of wood with two large loops on the ends that fit around the oxen's necks. This yoke holds them together to work as a team, which also lightens the load. If we turn our burdens over to Jesus, He will yoke Himself to us and make our burden lighter. When I first went back to school to go into the ministry, I was concerned about how I would get everything done. So I prayed asking God for guidance, and that if He wanted me to be in ministry, that everything would fall in place. Shortly after that, a friend gave me a card with the phrase "Where God guides, God provides." He really wanted this to come about because everything fell into place, and He gave me a real sense of peace. I thank Him for being my partner in this yoke and making the work easy, thus making my burdens lighter. You just have to give it to the Father and everything will fall into place.

Amen.

©Jann Martin 2005