December 9, 2009
Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, they that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. Isaiah 40:29-31
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. Matthew 11:28-30
Piety
Father, I ask you to give me strength when I am ready to quit. When I am weak, give me the vigor that Isaiah tells us about. Though I grow weary, and stagger and fall under the weight of temptation, if I but hope in you, LORD, you will renew my strength, and help me to soar on eagles’ wings; you will help me to run and not grow weary, walk with you and not grow collapse. Amen.
Study
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light. Matthew 11:28-30
Passages like this are the surprise of Christianity for people who are basking in a syrupy faith of friendship without cost and rights without responsibility. And Jesus knows it.
Sometimes when I browse through some Christian bookstores, I am not sure that a lot of their merchandising managers want to stock items on the shelves that portray an understanding of the deeper meaning of this passage and others like it in Matthew and the other gospels. The majority of products focus on the sunny side of friendship with Jesus without recognizing that, as Max Lucado wrote, Jesus “chose the nails” so that we might live. And he asks us to act like he acts, love like he loves, and pray like he prays.
Jesus continues to invite us to join him on his journey. Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. He will lead us beside still waters and let us sleep over the rest of our lives just like we learned in Psalm 23 (“I will dwell in the house of the Lord all my days.”) In our piety, we turn to the Lord and place ourselves in his presence. We need discipline, true. But when we turn, he is there.
Then the real message comes across…if Jesus was what is termed “media-saavy,” he might have rephrased this passage like this: “But the real issue here is that you must take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Piety alone is just the first step. A real relationship with Jesus requires, yes demands, study and action that flow from this relationship of faith.
Action
What is Jesus’ yoke? What heavy, wooden object does Jesus carry on his back like the oxen pulling the plow hold up the yoke? For a hint, let’s see what Mark tells us about the cross…
“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life?” Matthew 8:34-37
Jesus, how much rest can I have if I have this heavy wooden cross on my back and a big splinter of it in my eye? Perhaps we get the eternal rest only after we have carried our cross called life.
We can not take his yoke without preparing during this Advent season to take it. Unless we are ready for the weight of it, we will just collapse once it is on our shoulders. So we either need to get our body, heart and soul ready for this yoke, this cross, or rely upon our own Simon of Cyrene who will help us take up the yoke.
