For Sunday, July
9, 2017, 5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, Readings: Genesis
24:4-8, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:11-18, Romans 7:15-25a, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want,
but the very thing I hate...For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do
not want is what I do...Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be
to God though Jesus Christ our Lord! [Romans 7:15, 19,24b-25]
Jesus said to the crowd, "To what will I compare this
generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one
another...For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say 'he has a
demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say 'Look, a glutton
and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is
vindicated by her deeds...Come to me, all of you that are weary and are
carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and
learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will bind rest for
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." [Matthew 11: 16, 18-19, 28-30]
The appointed lectionary
this week, for me, is a rare moment of disconnection between the Hebrew
Testament and the Christian Testament. The reading from Genesis is setting up
the background for the narrative to come and the Psalm supports it so I will put
them aside for that stage to be set. But it is this self-revealing angst
of Paul that always speaks to me, as well as the stark reality of all that
happens now has been happening all along.
We all succumb to the us vs them mind game
more often than we are willing to admit to ourselves. It may be hidden in
a desire for a sense of personal superiority or of belonging to the correct
group. There can be an almost addicting need for a sense of acceptance within a
given community ~ if you are not one of or with us in all we
think, say, or do, then you are one of or with them, painting with
the broad brush of no exceptions. Further, if you are one of them you can't be
one of us ~ THEM have demons, are gluttons and drunkards and associate with
all who are unacceptable. It is so easy, familiar, and self-comforting to get
caught up in the want of knowing unequivocally who is right and who is wrong.
And Paul brings our humanity front and center - deep down I know I don't want
to say or do some of the things I say or do but I do the very thing I
hate. When I catch myself I resolve to be better and improve my
reactions and responses in everyday living. Then suddenly I begin to think I'm
better than fill
in name of person or group and
act accordingly, whereupon - eventually - I realize, I have failed, again, to
be who and
what I want to be.
Jesus offers us His easy yoke, to guide us and teach us.
The burden is light, he says, but the pull back to the
familiar behaviors - even those we don't want - is often unconscious and easier
than thinking about and making changes, and, taking on the very real risk of
being ostracized as one of "them." In the language of addiction
treatment, we are sinners in recovery. The tendency to fall back is always
strongest at the start of healing. But the farther we move ahead of it, the
easier to resist, especially in a learning, supportive community of those who
acknowledge their sins and strive to overcome them; and when a fall occurs, the
easy yoke of Christ will carry us together.
There is a yoke on each of us and each come with a clear
choice. One binds us to the sins great and small that we know are within us,
that bruise and chafe our hearts and damage our souls. The other is the
Yoke of Christ, not free of pain or trials or even fear, but the loads and
burdens of this short life - much of it self-inflicted - are lightened, less
wearisome, healing, and hopeful. We are always one in, of, and with Him.
LET US, GOD’S
PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ Gentle Jesus, Humble in Heart, grant us
the wisdom that will awaken us to the tangles of familiar sin we bind ourselves
to, that keep us from hearing and acting upon Your truth. Rescue our hearts to
seek and recover the eagerness to accept Your guiding yoke of learning and redemption.
O
Christ, our Savior
RESPONSE: Rest
our souls in You
~
Gentle Jesus, Humble in Heart, burden the leaders of our World, our Nation, and
our Community with the understanding of the good they are capable of doing, the
strength to avoid the evil of power that is tempting, and the vision to see
into the eyes and hearts of those for whom they legislate, as well as those they
know and love. We pray especially for:
O
Christ, our Savior
Rest our souls in You
~ Gentle Jesus, Humble in Heart, soothe
the pain and suffering of those depleted by disease, injury, or depression, and
comfort those who give them care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for
those in need…
O
Christ, our Savior
Rest our souls in You
~
Gentle Jesus, Humble in Heart, we commend with our love all who have been
released to the gracious and glorious reception into everlasting life with You.
We pray especially for:
O
Christ, our Savior
Rest our souls in You
~
Gentle Jesus, Humble in Heart, we pause
in this moment to offer You our other heartfelt intentions and petitions, aloud
or silently…
O
Christ, our Savior
Rest our souls in You
~
Gentle Jesus, Humble in Heart, for all who lead us in Your Church as a visible
sign of Your Yoke, we ask a revival of spirit and replenishment of joy in life
and ministry. Let us be mutual companions on this journey of our souls, caring
and carrying in turn. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O
Christ, our Savior
Rest our souls in You
The Celebrant
adds: O God of our spirit and our humanity, help us
to come as children to listen and learn, to hear and grow. Fill us with the
desire to recognize and repent of our sins great and small, and to be held
captive only by Your love and grace. We ask this through our Most Holy Jesus,
and Your Glorious Holy Spirit, who live and reign with You, as One God forever
and ever. AMEN.
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