See, your
king comes to you triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a
donkey…he shall command peace to the nations. [Zechariah
9: 9b, 10a]
The Lord
is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion
is over all that he has made. [Psalm
145:8-9]
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] Our Hebrew Testament reading highlights
the God-inspired prophetic gifts of Zechariah in his foretelling of the king
who is humble and riding on a donkey in a hymn of praise. This Zechariah,
aka Zacharias, is the eleventh of the twelve Minor Prophets so named for
their shorter books. He lived in the 6th century BCE [Before the
Common Era, or BC in the Christian parlance of Before Christ] and not
the Zechariah mentioned as the father of John the Baptist in the Christian
[New] Testament.
The Psalmist presents us with a comforting and hope-filled description
of God as slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Quite a
contrast from what many of us think about the angry vengeful God some of us
were exposed to as children in catechism class or Sunday School that made us
shudder and sometimes worry. Biblical scholar Walter Bruggemann, in his book Praying
the Psalms, explains categories of the psalms that meet us where we are and
give us the words to pray out loud in anger, in fear, or even where we long to
be. This is one, for me, is the perfect peace-filled comforter to pull over our
heads in difficult times or just when we need a cuddle.
And then we move to Paul in an essay of self-revealing angst that always
speaks to me with the stark reminder of all that is happening now has been
happening all along. We may tune it out, believe or at least hope we are more
self-aware and better at life, yet we all succumb to the us
vs them mind game more often than we are willing to admit to
ourselves. It may be in a hidden 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. THEM are and
associate with all who are unacceptable to US. What part of the TV or online
news brings any of this too close for comfort and self-awareness?
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. That has never been more crystal
clear than right here and right now. 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,
unaware, I fall back into the “I'm better than fill in name of
person or group” mode and act accordingly, whereupon ~ eventually
~ I realize, I have failed, again, to be who and what I want
to be.
Jesus, in turn, 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 quick and often unconscious. They are easier than making conscious changes,
and, taking on the very real risk of being ostracized from our “us” 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 unhealthy thoughts and behaviors 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 faults 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. With His yoke on us, we are a team
doing His work in His field, pulling together for our own sakes and for the sake of all humanity, yet with time for rest and replenishment in Him.
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O Lord, Gracious and Merciful, awaken us
to our self-imposed bindings of our familiar sins that distract us from hearing
and acting upon Your truth. Rescue our hearts to recover our eagerness to
accept Your easy yoke of learning and redemption.
O Christ, our Savior
RESPONSE:
We rest our souls in You
~ O Lord,
Gracious and Merciful, burden and enflame the souls the leaders of our World,
our Nation, and our Community with a heavy yoke of desire to turn to the good
they are capable of doing, to gather the strength to avoid the evils of power, and use their vision to see into the eyes and hearts of those for whom they legislate and
those they themselves love. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O Christ, our Savior
We
rest our souls in You
~ O Lord,
Gracious and Merciful, soothe the pain and suffering of those depleted by disease,
injury, or depression, and comfort those who give them care. We now
join our hearts together to pray for those in need… add your own
petitions
O Christ, our Savior
We
rest our souls in You
~ O Lord,
Gracious and Merciful, we commend with our love all who have been released from
this life into the glorious reception of everlasting life with You. We
pray especially for… add your own petitions
O Christ, our Savior
We
rest our souls in You
~ O Lord,
Gracious and Merciful, we pause in this moment to offer You
our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and
memorials… add your own petitions
O Christ, our Savior
We
rest our souls in You
~ O
Lord, Gracious and Merciful, for all who lead us in Your Church as a
visible sign of Your Yoke, we ask continual renewing of the Spirit and the
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
We
rest our souls in You
The Celebrant adds: O God of our
Souls 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 Spirit, who live and reign
with You, as One God forever and ever. Amen.
