“The Realm of God is Like……” preached at Trillium United Church July 30, 2017 Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. 

The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.  “Yes,” they replied.

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

*****************************************************************************

Throughout his ministry, Jesus consistently talked about the Realm of God. Matthew says Jesus was calling people to consider the Kingdom of Heaven, which means the same thing. But while used parables to describe the Realm, he never actually defined it. He spoke in teaching parables, and like all parables there was always a seed of a meaning that he wanted the listeners to think about. And he wanted them to think about loyalties and relationships.

So today, we hear Jesus saying, "The realm is like a mustard seed which someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs . . . ."  Now, the mustard seed Jesus refers is likely the seed that a local farmer in Palestine might have planted, the black mustard seed which in fact was the smallest seed in the known world. It’s also true that the black mustard seed will typically grow to heights of 3.7 meters, or 12 feet – more than large enough for nests for birds.

We have to keep in mind that Jesus’ stories always used everyday examples – things that the listeners could relate to, to communicate simple truth. So the simple truth in the parable is not that the mustard seed is the tiniest – it isn’t as we now know – but for the people then it was the tiniest, and could become something quite large. From this example, Jesus teaches that the realm of God can start from the tiniest of beginnings, and grow into something profound. Jesus was addressing a local lay audience, not an international conference of botanists – and he was addressing a very specific group of people in a specific place and time. That doesn’t detract from the story – simply puts details into context.

The realm of God is like the incredible things which can grow from one tiny thing – which no one considers very significant by itself. Jesus was born, actually an insignificant child in an insignificant part of a town, and was largely unknown until thirty years later. And when he started teaching, it was teaching about  little things:  a cup of cold water, a person with one talent, a widow's offering, a lost coin, kindness done for "one of the least of these."  How insignificant that movement must have seemed at the beginning – an ordinary man teaching about small things – and yet, those who heard could recognise wisdom, and came to listen. How many great happenings begin so quietly that they are dismissed without much thought. Jesus says in a roundabout way that a seed has been planted in every one of us; the realm comes about when that small seed grows enough to become the tree, and more seeds are produced.

Then Jesus says "The realm is like yeast that a woman took and put into three measures of flour until all was leavened."  What happens when yeast is combined with a little sugar and some warm water or milk? It looks like little golden brown nothings, but after awhile it begins to grow – and when it’s mixed with flour and other ingredients, it continues to grow – it increases in size. God’s realm is not something which can be seen with the eye – but that it is the role of all of us to encourage the world to grow into something better, something which feeds and strengthens. Spiritual bread working within the lives of individuals, and through them influencing the world.  Christianity has often been too optimistic about what the church can accomplish, and we have assumed that we are to make the world into a Utopia of peace and prosperity.  That is indeed our vision – or we believe it is God’s vision for the world – then we also recognise that tiny seeds are planted in many places, not just ours; that there are many kinds of bread raised with yeast. We do not have the exclusive responsibility for all that is to be done. 

Jesus did not talk about an acorn becoming a giant oak tree, or a seed becoming one of the great cedars of Lebanon, even though his listeners would have understood.  Instead, it is a tiny seed that becomes a common shrub, something we might consider a weed. The dough is affected by the yeast, which makes it different than it was before. The vision is a world without war, but in practical terms binding the wounds of one victim is what we can do; the vision is for a world where everyone has enough food, but perhaps all we can do is ensure those around us have enough; the vision is a world without ignorance, but teaching one person to read and think is a start.  We may think of them as not very significant things, but we are teaching and living hope – and that is not insignificant at all.

What about “the realm is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."  Now, this might sound strange to us, but such things were not unknown in Palestine.  All through its history the area was subject to invasions. Banks and deposit boxes were pretty well unknown.  In the case of an invasion, people would often bury coins in a field somewhere, intending to come back and dig them up when it was safe. The person might be alright or might be captured or even killed and not be able to get the money. And perhaps decades later a farmer might accidentally unearth the treasure and decide he had to own that field. The point here is not ethics, but of the joy of discovering something special in a stressed or mundane life, which is as significant as a great treasure.

The last parable says “the realm is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." , I interpret this to  mean that people of faith commit to the realm because of the joy that comes from being part of it. 

Here’s an example of how tiny things can produce far more fruit than we might expect. By age 29, Millard Fuller was a millionaire with a huge estate, a vacation retreat, two speedboats, a luxury automobile, and shares in three cattle ranches. His wife left him, taking their two small children. She commented that she had no husband, that all he thought about was making money.  The shock pushed him to reflect on his life.  He had planned to have ten million by the time he was 39.  When his wife  left him, he realised what his so-called "success" had cost.  He asked for a reconciliation – and together visited "Koinonia Farms" near Americus, Georgia. At the end of a month, building homes for the poor, they had found a purpose.

They sold most of their possessions; they decided to found a mission, and called it "Habitat for Humanity." Little by little it grew; but Habitat could not have built itself – it started from a tiny seed of an idea, and two people who saw how a vision might grow. Habitat has now built homes in more than 25 nations around the world – but it has worked because seeds were planted and grew in others, and the seed was scattered far and wide. Not only Christians work for Habitat, but people of all faiths, who have recognised what the Realm means. 

The Realm of God starts out small, but its influence grows; we find it in the ordinary things. For Jesus the realm is always ‘at hand’, about to come, in the here and now, whenever a tiny seed is planted. The realm is right here, in this church, in what we do together, in how we relate to each other, in how we look at the world. Tiny seeds, which have enormous potential. May it be so.

---

Sources: 

1.      ‘A Higher Loyalty’ Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 By Dr. David Rogne

2.      ‘The Realm is Like..’ preached July 2014 Rev. Fran Ota

“The Broadcast Farmer” preached at Trillium United Church, Mono Mills July 23, 2017 Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Jesus told them another story: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”  Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people who work for the realm of God. The weeds are those who are evil, and the enemy who sows them is evil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the realm of God. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
******************************************************************************
Years ago I heard a story from a friend, as we discussed our various gardening methods. “I know a woman” she said “who every year just goes into her back yard and throws all kinds of seed all over the place. Tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, carrots, onions, whatever, she just throws them everywhere. And wherever they come up is where they grow – amongst the grass and weeds in the back yard. And somehow, she manages to reap a respectable harvest. I’ve always wanted to try that,’ said my friend “but I’m too much of an order and control freak to do it.”

I remember as a child, growing up in rural Saskatchewan, not long after the Depression, everyone had a garden. My mother, a city girl from Rosedale in Toronto, learned from the neighbours around how to dig the plot, clear the soil, and plant the seeds in orderly rows – tall plants like corn down at the back, short things like carrots at the front, climbers like peas up the fence – and everything had to be weeded regularly.

Yet the farmers, then and now, know that no matter how clearly and cleanly the seed is sown, somehow the weeds get in there. As I drive home from here each day, past fields looking really good and healthy, and then interspersed with the crop, those weeds. I’ve passed a couple of fields of what looks like wheat, golden and clean – and right in the middle as if tweaking the farmer’s nose, a big clump of weeds.

Now, I like gardening, and I like to think I know a bit about gardens and plants. I grew up in farming communities, and think I have a reasonable grasp of farming. But I really don't think I’m a good gardener. I have, however reached the same point as the old farmer who was asked by the extension agent why he didn't come to any of his classes to learn new farming methods, so that he could improve his farming. The old fellow replied, "Naw - I already know more than I do!" The garden or the field is in fact a microcosm of life, and sometimes there's more Gospel in planting and harvesting that there is in most seminaries!

Jesus tells another story about seeds and soil. A farmer goes out to his field. He goes out with intent - to plant crops which will feed and nourish people. Well nowadays the fields and the seeding and harvesting are done with machines – but the picture Jesus paints is back when everything was done the hard old-fashioned way – by hand.

Now, there are several ways to ensure seed gets into the soil. Seed was usually saved out for the last year’s crop, to ensure there’s enough to plant each subsequent year. And we carefully make drills - little holes in the soil - and carefully place the seed at precisely the right depth and distance to ensure the best crop. That is one way to plant, when the seed is precious and scarce.

Then there’s another way. In truth, one plant can generally produce more seed than can be used. So, aiming those seeds in the general direction of where they would go, let them grow, and when they go to seed, there are what are called volunteers. And just as there are volunteer crops, there are volunteer weeds – seeds which live through the winter, and pop up in the middle of that lovely field.

Then there’s what we call "broadcast sowing." Like the woman in my friend’s story, casting the seed broadly everywhere, and letting it come up. I like to think of that as ‘broadcast sowing’. And I believe God is a broadcast sower. God doesn’t prepare everything carefully and then plant the seeds in little rows, and carefully weed. That’s what Jesus says. The seed sown, the word, rich and full of life, full of the possibility of even more growing. The seed is sowed everywhere - scattered abundantly throughout creation by a God who loves to bring good fruit from the ground, not limited to any one group or race. The word springs up from a welcoming smile, caring without limit, hospitality and generosity, reaching out into community without thought of reward or repayment -  in the sunshine and the rain, in holy words and sacraments, in music and prayer.

We’ve got so used to listening to the word, though, that we don’t really hear it – and in between the places where the good seed grows, the weeds also creep in. Yet the seed is the very stuff of life which God scatters wherever the Spirit wind will carry it. If it does not take root or produce good fruit, it isn't the seed's fault or the sower's - neither is it for lack of seed. The fault lies in the kind of soil where it lands.

So, what is a weed? One of the things I’ve learned as I travel, is that some things we call weeds are actually valuable plants with health benefits. Are they weeds? Dandelions, purslane, lamb’s quarters, grape leaves. I have all of those in my back yard. Lamb’s quarters can be cooked like spinach, but have much more nutrition. Purslane is used in salad. And when I go home today I’m making stuffed grape leaves using the wild grapes in the back yard. There’s a plant we often buy here at the nurseries called strawberry geranium. In our garden in Japan, we knock ourselves silly pulling it out – it’s considered a weed. Then there’s one we have no hope of defeating called dokudami – no English equivalent – we pull, mow and whack. But it’s also known as the poison-blocking plant – that’s what it was often used for – and in fact is excellent at detoxifying the system. It’s an anti-oxidant, and often is useful in blocking histamine production in allergies. We see it as a weed in the garden though. So what are weeds really?

Gardening is more than breaking a hole in the ground and sticking something in. We in the west tend to be impatient gardeners, pushing to ensure things grow fast and large, instantly. If that doesn’t work, chemicals get thrown on: fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides. We’re a society that believes in better living through chemistry, and not waiting for things in their due time. Anyone who can read a label can be a gardener.

But there is another lesson here that may not be as clear to us, although at least as important - that God is the good farmer - patient and wise. God is the broadcast farmer, knowing that as the seed is sown, wherever there is kindness, charity, forbearance, compassion – the seed has grown. We don’t need fancy treatments, intensive working of the ground, planting in straight rows – the seed grows where it will. It’s a hard lesson to learn – that we can do all kinds of things to plant the seeds – there isn’t any one way, and that God is working through everything. May it be so.


Sources:

1.      “Sowing Seeds” Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Rev. Fran Ota  July 2011

2.       "Of Seed and Soils" Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Rev. Gary Roth

“The Importance of Names” Based on Genesis 25:19-34 and Genesis 32:22-32 Mono Mills United Church July 13, 2014

During the night he got up, got his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children and got them safely across the Jabbok brook, together with all his possessions. Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man appeared and wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint. The man said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak.” Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go until you bless me.”  The man said, “What’s your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” The man replied “Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.”  Jacob asked, “And what’s your name?”

The man said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And then, right then and there, he blessed him. Jacob named the place Peniel (God’s Face) because, he said, “I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!”  The sun came up as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip. (This is why Israelites to this day don’t eat the hip muscle; because Jacob’s hip was thrown out of joint.) (Genesis 32:22-32)

**********************************************************

When I was in seminary – taking the mandatory preaching class, I got a very low grade – 78. Why? Because my professor insisted that one always had to preach the Gospel and the Good News. How boring, I said, preaching only the Gospel year in and year out – when sometimes the Good News was found in the Hebrew Scripture, and the not-so-good news in the Gospel. I was willing to take the hit in the grade because it was really important, and I think it still is.

So rather than just focus on the birth of Jacob and Esau, we’re looking at the end as well. When we were kids in Sunday School, we did sort of hear the story of Jacob and Esau, which is almost “As the World Turns” from the Hebrew Scriptures; I am sure I never heard the bits about Uncle Laban cheating Jacob out of the wife he wanted; I am more than sure it was not preached in a sermon – and yet to me it is so packed with stuff which is relevant to us today. Sometimes the good stories, and the lessons to be learned really are in the Hebrew Scriptures. – and I think the whole story is important to set up how God decided Jacob needed a strong lesson.

The story of Jacob and Esau starts with the birth – and the names given to each of them which represented their person or their character. The story indicates they even competed with each other inside the womb before birth. Esau was the one who got going first, but Jacob couldn’t let that happen, so he emerges right after Esau, having grabbed his foot. So Esau means ‘red’ because of the colour of his hair when he was born, and ‘Jacob’ could translate as ‘grabby’ or ‘sly’ because he was born grabbing Esau’s foot, and developed a reputation for being less than honest. Esau was the one who automatically got everything if his father died – his birthright.

And the rest of the story focuses on the loss of Esau’s birthright, and the conflict spawned between their descendent nations, because Jacob deceived their old and blind father, Isaac, in order to receive Esau's birthright and blessing as firstborn. Genesis tells us there was favoritism in this family: "Isaac loved Esau, because he ate venison, but Rebekah loved Jacob.”

Anyone here reading sibling rivalry? The oldest and the youngest – even if just by a few seconds? Anyone hear “Mom always loved you best; you were the youngest, you could always fool her.” “Dad always loved you best – you only ate that meat so he would love you more.” Genesis says "…the children struggled within her”.

One day Esau returned to his younger brother, famished from working the fields. He begged his younger twin to give him some stew.  Jacob offered to give Esau a bowl of stew in exchange for his birthright (the right to be recognized as firstborn) and Esau agreed.

The birthright for the ancient Israelites was more than ‘inheritance’ of goods and position by the eldest son – it was also a responsibility to be wise, to carry on the entire family and clan. t Esau acted impulsively, and valued his birthright as less than a bowl of stew, and showed that he did not deserve to continue Abraham's responsibilities and rewards under God's covenant.

Esau married two wives, Hittite women, violating his father’s and God’s injunction not to take wives from among the Canaanite population. His marriages were described as a vexation to both Rebekah and Isaac. This alone ruled out Esau as the line of continuity in the family. He could have overcome the sale of his birthright; Isaac was still prepared to give him the blessing due the firstborn. Acquiring foreign wives meant the severing of his children from the Abrahamic line. So despite the deception on the part of Jacob and Rebekah, Jacob's place as Isaac's legitimate heir in the continued founding of the Jewish people is reaffirmed. Essentially the Bible indicates that a bright, calculating person who is less than honest, is preferable as a founder over a bluff, impulsive one who cannot make thoughtful and wise choices.

Esau vowed to kill Jacob, but Rebekah persuades Jacob to run. Having fled for his life, Jacob left the wealth of Isaac's flocks, land and tents in Esau's hands – the inheritance he had obtained by deception. Instead, he was forced to sleep on open ground and work for wages as a servant in Laban's household. That’s another whole story/

So God tells Jacob that it’s time to relocate. Instead of doing it right, Jacob messes it up. While Laban is busy elsewhere, Jacob loads up his Rachel and Leah, servants, herds, flocks, tents, and leaves without saying a word. And Uncle Laban vows revenge.

Jacob is now in an empty camp with little hope, and no escape. From nowhere, he is tackled, and wrestles all night; and the writer is clear that God is the wrestler, and when it looked like God wasn’t going to win, God gave Jacob a kick that knocked his thigh out of joint, and left him with a permanent limp. Jacob will not let go, will not concede defeat. "I won’t let go until you bless me!" and Grabby grabs,  as God drags him.

In this story God takes on human form and encounters Jacob at his own level, even going so far as cheating when it appears Jacob might win. God prevails, and names Jacob “Israel” – which is really a double entendre. It can mean  “one who strives with God”, or  “God prevails.”

So today we have a choice, with a new name for this amalgamated pastoral charge. What is our name going to mean? Because names do have meaning. Adjala, Hockley and Mono Mills had meaning – and for their descendents who inherited a birthright. The church of their forefathers. The world changed – horses and buggies were replaced by cars and paved roads. Families moved, children finding work in other parts of the country, a slow decline in the life of the church community. Yet some continue to see their personal identity in those churches, and the churches finding a community identity. And with the need to change that identity comes a wrestling with our own identity.

For me this process is one of wrestling with God. I believe God has something in mind, and there is an inheritance to pass n. We are deciding what the living of that inheritance, with a different name, will mean as we go forward. We’re being led by God into a different phase of our existence, and praying that God’s blessing is on this venture, just as Jacob wrestled till God blessed him.

For me faith means “God prevails”. We wrestle with God in the intricate process of letting go and moving ahead. We wrestle with God as we discern what a future will look like. So our name, to some extent, will define who we will be in this new way of being. God prevails, if we believe, as our creed says, we ‘trust in God, we are called to be the church.’. Because we are, called to BE the church, in a different configuration but church nonetheless. If our focus is on God and mission in our community, we and God together prevail. May it be so.

*Limping With Grace *a sermon based on Genesis 32:22-31* by Rev. Thomas Hall

“Is It That Easy?” A sermon based on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Preached at Mono Mills United Church July 9, 2017

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30  “How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, ‘We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.’ John came fasting and they called him crazy. I came feasting and they called me a lush, a friend of the riffraff. Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Maker of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. That’s the way you like to work.”  Jesus spoke to the people, but now tenderly. “I have been given all these things to do and say. This is a unique relationship, parent and child intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the child quite the way the parent does, nor the other way around. For me, it’s a special father-son relationship; but I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.

 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

**************************************************************************

This week I found myself smiling at news about the appropriate dress code for sitting in Congress. Women cannot wear bare arms or shoulders, or open-toed shoes. Not even reporters in the o utside rooms. Now, to be fair, there’s a bit of a dress code for men too. Ties and suit jackets at all times even in the hot summer. There’s also a bit of irony in it too.

We bemoan the decline of organized religion, and perhaps don’t stop to think how old-fashioned ‘rules’ can affect people. Cultures change, expectations change.

I was reading a comment yesterday from a friend who discovered her congregation felt they wanted someone who would bring in new younger people, without doing anything which might upset the way their current membership liked to do things. Reading behind that, those existing members probably wanted to keep everything the way it was – they had their rules and expectations – and newcomers were supposed to adapt to the old ways.

I remember going to the church at a former pastoral charge, to help with preparation for the dinner fundraiser that night. A new member of the congregation was also helping. He poured out milk into the jugs to go on the tables – and was roundly scolded by one of the long-time members because he was pouring milk into the wrong jugs. To his credit, he responded “You’re kidding, right?” Yet once again – behind this is a need to be in control – and no matter how much new people may be desired, the rules are there. We do it this way.

Think back when most of us were younger – new clothes, hats, gloves and shoes every Easter Sunday. It was our culture then, to dress for church – but where did that come from? Women especially, as far back as the Roman occupations, always covered their heads in public. Bodies were not to be seen so much. And just as cultures developed – in the Orthodox and Catholic cultures, women who became religious covered everything except the face – so did Muslims.

Here’s a few simple rules from awhile back:.

-         Wearing formal clothes to Church

-         Certain seats (and offices) are reserved for faithful donors

-         No applause during the church service

And further back but still within our remembered history:

-         No going to the movies – when my father was young, movies were considered satanic and sinful. My father, whose family was Christian and Missionary Alliance, sneaked off to movies behind his parents back.

-         No watching TV

-         No wearing of pants for women – not even in school in the middle of the winter.

-         No makeup  - certainly not in parts of my family.

-         No pastoral role for women – no ordination or leadership roles – which is funny because women took leadership and ministry roles in the early church.

-         Tithing – 10% of income to the church. Years ago when I was going through old minutes in a church office, for archiving, I came across a book from about 1930 – in which the names of all who did not tithe were published in the Board minutes for everyone to read. If people continued not to be able to tithe, they were shunned and banned from the congregation. Didn’t matter what their personal circumstances were, and there were names of two banned families.

Back in first-century Israelite culture, the Purity Laws included the 600+ Laws of Moses, as well as hundreds more added by the religious leaders. Think about that. The Pharisees, especially, would load their followers down with commandments, rules and expectations to a point where people couldn’t possibly keep up with them. Remember Jesus’ arguments with the religious leaders when some women went into the fields on the Sabbath to pick corn left behind; or the man born blind, shunned because he was not pure, and it was believed his parents had sinned. Jesus consistently went after the Pharisees and Sadducees. And remember his comment – the Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.

Can you imagine trying to follow all those rules? Can you imagine the guilt people would have dragged around, always somehow falling short of something. And it’s my personal observation that the very people who are insisting on rules for everything are the ones who are least like Jesus – yet he is the one we claim to follow.

Jesus advocated for a very different kind of spirituality, one that was based on fulfilling the law, grounded in God’s love and compassion. Jesus emphasises forgiveness, love and compassion are recurring words in sermons, while the Pharisees emphasized theological words such as: obedience, duty, sin, punishment, and condemnation. Which words have been the basis of so much religious “rule making” through the years?

Jesus was once asked about law and the greatest commandment: his response was from the Hebrew prayer ‘Shema Yisrael’ – ‘For you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” And then he said “The second is like the first – you shall love your neighbour as you love yourself.” He didn’t negate the law in any way – he said the religious leaders had got caught up in useless rules and laws, when in fact it could all be distilled into those two. Instead, says Jesus, the law was created for us, to be a benefit, to guide us as we work to live a merciful, compassionate life.

So Jesus says “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus audience was familiar with spiritual yokes, as their religious leaders oppressed them with heavy burdens. And the religious leaders opposed Jesus, because their carefully built authority was being challenged.

Have you ever seen oxen teamed in a yoke? The craftsman would carefully measure their height, width, the gap between the two animals, the heights of their shoulders. After the yoke was made, it would be placed over the shoulders of the oxen; he would check thoroughly for rough spots which might rub, and he would smooth the yoke until it fit perfectly. For the oxen, the yoke was easy to bear. Oxen, by the way, are bovines – in the same family as regular cattle – who have been taught – who have learned – how to work with and carry the yoke.

The spiritual yoke Jesus speaks of is one that fits, that doesn’t weigh in the tasks of life. Jesus was directly saying that the yoke should be helpful to us, it should be guiding us and helping us live life, NOT become a burden in addition to the hardships of life. The ‘yoke’ teaches us how to follow Jesus. And Jesus teaches us that man-made rules often stifle growth.

So if church has rules – it should be the simple law – love God, love your neighbour. Love. Even people who you personally cannot stand to be around. They are still people. On one of my sermon discussion lists when we get gnashing our teeth and gnarly about someone, another person will comment – “Another beloved child of God.”

In The Message, Eugene Peterson’s translation of the Bible, Matthew11:28-30 comes out this way:

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Rev. Randy Quinn writes this: “In his book, The Secular Squeeze (p 138-140), John Alexander reminded me that Jesus said "by this all people will know you are my disciples: if you have love for one another" He didn't say, "by this all people will know you are my disciples: if you have the right beliefs."

If you have love. Love has recognizable deeds. Love is commitment to the other person. Love is giving to and for the other person. Love is entering into a relationship with the other person, a relationship in which both parties are affected. Love is not a set of rules, even though the law given is “Love”.

Sources:

1.      Religion the Way it Was Intended based on Matthew 11: 28-30
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

2.      The Proof of the Pudding a sermon based on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
by Rev. Randy L. Quinn