Yoked to Christ

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30  Psalm 145: 8-14

 

On Tuesday this week we had the first of our monthly Landsker Pastorate Bible & Prayer meetings (on zoom). Six of us met to look at the passage we’ve heard from Matthew and to ask what the passage meant to us, what questions we had, and how our prayers might be shaped by it.

 

As we listened to these words from Jesus questioning how the people of his time saw him, what their opinions were of him, how they received him – we found ourselves asking how we are seen, as followers of Jesus. 

What does it mean to be a Christian – and on the contrary, how do we see those who are non-Christians? We could all think of examples of people who were very good people, but who would not call themselves Christians, and who did not see any need to come into a chapel or a church.

I’ve been wrestling with this question “what does it really mean to be a Christian?” ever since.

 

 

One way to work out what “the world at large” thinks about something is to type a phrase into a search engine – that will come up with the most often used phrases.

If you type in “Christians are…” you get

Christians are hypocrites

Christians are judgmental

Christians are narrow-minded

Christians are weird.

 

But in case this is all too depressing, you also get

Christians are disciples.

And if we are disciples we are disciples of Jesus. So maybe it shouldn’t surprise us that some people have strange opinions of us – because some people had strange opinions of Jesus, too.

 

Our gospel reading began with Jesus complaining about “this present generation” – they are like children calling to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ 

In other words they are never satisfied – whether the game is a happy , dancing one or a sad mourning one – they complain and bicker.

John the Baptist was too severe and stark and nobody’s friend; Jesus is accused of being a ‘glutton and a drunkard’ – friends with the wrong sort of people.

But Jesus says “wisdom is vindicated by her deeds” – you will know the truly wise person by their fruits. Jesus has come to befriend the needy – the broken, the sinner, the shunned.

 

If we sometimes feel people are against us, we should ask whether we are being judged by our actions in the name of Jesus, or whether people are stereotyping us negatively. The way we behave as Christians should draw people to Jesus Christ, because they see God’s wisdom and truth being lived out in our lives. The opposite of that, as someone said on Tuesday, is that the story of Jesus is damaged by people in churches,

If the responsibility to show Jesus in our lives sounds a bit daunting, don’t worry – look at what Jesus says next:

“I thank you, Father.. that you have revealed these things to infants… no-one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son has chosen to reveal him.”

 

Jesus does not expect his followers to live perfect lives – he reveals to us the love of God the Father and invites us to live in that love.

 

This week I came across a prayer of St Ambrose (Bishop of Milan from 374 – 397) which says:

Lord teach me to seek you and reveal yourself to me as I seek.

For I cannot seek you unless you first teach me,

nor find you unless you first reveal yourself to me.

 

On Tuesday we were thinking about the way in which often in life the best way to learn something is not to read all the instructions & try to put them into action – but to watch someone who knows what to do, and copy. 

We thought about origami paper-folding; or riding a bike; or parents showing us how to live – so that we ‘caught’ the faith. 

This is the sort of way in which Jesus reveals to us what it means to be children of God.

 

And so, Jesus says instead of the heavy load of expectation and ‘oughts and shoulds’ we are called into a relationship with Jesus:

“Come to me all you that are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…”.

The image Jesus uses of a yoke is one which would have been very familiar to his first hearers. Many farmers would use an animal yoked to a plough to work the land – or if they were well off, two animals yoked together. 

Jesus doesn’t just offer to steer us as we are yoked to our work – Jesus offers to join us – pulling the yoke with us, showing us the way :

 “for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

When living as God’s children in this world as followers of Jesus all feels too much, Jesus offers us more than a helping hand – he offers to shoulder the burden with us and help us along. Then we will find rest, a respite, a breather.

 

We find this same offer of help and rest, which stems from love, in Psalm 145:

“The Lord upholds all those who fall; 
he lifts up those who are bowed down.”

 

So back to the question with which we started:

What is a Christian?

Someone who tries to follow Jesus, recognising that in Jesus Christ we have seen God’s love made flesh. 

Yet in following Jesus it is not just that we have a great example to follow as we try to live good lives – it’s much more useful than that! 

Jesus promises that he will help us, guide us, carry us when necessary, so that we grow in love for God and other people.

As we come to communion we are invited to remember that Jesus lived his life and gave his life for us, and that he is living and with us now, to give us the strength to at least try to be followers of his.

 

That invitation, to know God’s love in Jesus, is not just for us, but for all the children of the earth. We go from here to tell others the truth of God’s love for them.

 

And when we fail to follow or we fail to tell, the love of Jesus is there to pick us up and help us try again.

So that, yoked to Christ, held by him, guided by him, we learn to take more steps, however faltering, towards being fully the children of God we are made to be.

 

To God’s praise and glory. Amen.