All Who Are Weary - Matthew 11 - Proper 9A

All Who Are Weary

Tony E Hansen

Sermon based upon Matthew 11:11-30, Psalm 145, Romans 7: 15-25

Opening Prayer

Happy 250th Birthday to the US.

“Come to me, all you who are weary … carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” 

Jesus prays in thanks for wisdom and for grace - not just for him , but for all who are weary and carrying burdens.  This is prayer of the Matthew Beatitudes - for the meek, those who mourn, who hunger, and the peacemakers and those who believe. This is a prayer for John the Baptist, who is jailed for being a prophet speaking truth.

People as a whole carry burdens - some that we choose and some that are thrust upon us. I chose to ride bike in the intense desert winds of Palm Springs. There are compelling ones like parents who have to be the 24-hour-7-day-a-week caretaker for their kids or a spouse that had a stroke. These days, the tables turn, and now we kids have to take care of mother. There are people whose job it is literally lifting heavy things all day long. (It is how I paid for part of my college.) Firefighters have to be able haul heavy loads up stairs.

There are real burdens for many people, many neighbors - some we see and some that we don’t. 

There are those of us who carry burdens from trauma, from wars, from violence, or from experience(s) in our lifetime that bring memories and anxiety with those. 

Carrying burdens doesn’t have to be a visible “yoke” but a real weight upon our backs - the pit in our stomachs or in our hearts.

Romans 7 gives us a glimpse into someone’s real internal burden - constant - even threatening - questions. You can see the high expectations of the self but somehow feeling like not delivering or feeling like failing all the time. You might know this person.

It probably isn’t all of the time, but we are our biggest critics. When we fail, we tend to dwell upon that - some to an extreme. It is one thing to be critical of the self, but the author talks of “war” with the self. 

This goes from I have a problem to “I am the problem.”

What is so awful that we declare war with our inmost being.

People struggling with addiction, like me, can attest to this passage because the temptations are always there. The thirst is there - no matter how much we try to avoid it. Some might use the addiction to help mask other issues in their lives - including sexuality or violence done to them. Some might use it to escape many internal conflicts and personal guilts. 

Many that have grown up as queer, like myself, can easily attest to the internal conflicts. While trying to figure myself out, I wanted to appear “normal”, especially in a family that has strong religious or more conservative convictions.

I fought that battle for years trying to come to grips with who I was - knowing that I just didn’t follow the normal path of human attraction. Why did I have to be different? 

When I came to terms with it and with God - then peace and growth followed.

That struggle is real today for many - even though there is bit more acceptance. There are still people hiding their true self from themselves and the people around them. There are people that want to be the model child, but realize they are much different than the stereotypical “model.” 

In a world that has drawn maps of gendered roles, how true are those models?

In this day of hyper-macho displays, like MMA fights on front lawns, masculinity has been commandeered as a political leaning even. Yet masculinity isn’t political because being a man includes being a steward and using intelligence as much as brawn. It doesn’t require a model sexuality either. 

Being human doesn’t require a boxing ring. Being religious doesn’t mean we attack people or exclude. Nor does it require us to beat ourselves up for our inner thoughts.

We can counter the toxic narrative and the false models. 

This is where we must realize there is love and comfortable available for us. The Psalmist writes “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love… is good to all and compassions is over all…”. There is no exception or exclusion. 

Yet too many find ways to distort that. Perhaps for whatever is broken in themselves, they want others to carry their burdens instead of meeting them - pass the buck. 

Well as Truman says, the buck stops here! Why does it have to be internal violence - or violence at all? 

Jesus says blessed are the peacemakers and the merciful. Where is the rest we need and seek? Be the peace and be merciful.

There is rest from the internal struggles as well as violence upon us. There is someone who gives us respite and love - no matter what others may try to tell us.

Jesus prays “come to me.. I will give you rest.” Jesus does not give exception. 

When I accepted my sexuality and thanked God for making me the way I am, I found rest. Come to Jesus.

Even the LGBTQ+ trying to understand,

Even the addicted trying to clean up,

Even those who think they have to do everything,

Even those who mourn, who hunger and you who are merciful…

Even the person who thinks they have it all figured out, there is room for you. 

Even the country that has grown from 13 colonies to 50 beautiful states, a country of many races, creeds, sexuality, politics, and challenging history, there is room.

Jesus says to you individually - “come to me.” 

You, Child of God, be peace.

Thanks be to God, Amen