Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Intro

We stay in the Gospel of Matthew for another week, however, this time, the scene has changed. No longer is Jesus speaking exclusively to his disciples. Instead, he has begun to travel to, as it says in the first verse of chapter 11, the cities, where he is speaking directly to the people. As this ministry commences, John the Baptist, whom we are told is in prison because Herod, the puppet ruler of the Romans in the area, was sick of the trouble that John was stirring up, hears about what Jesus is saying and doing and asks, through his surrogates, "Are you the one who is to come?" Jesus response to John is, essentially, "look at what is happening through me and you will have your answer."

This question from John opens the door for Jesus to begin to speak about the generation of his day and how they never seem to be satisfied and only find reason to criticize, whether or not there is anything to be critical of.

However, Jesus does not stop with his critique. Instead, he offers an option, an option that leads people away from a life where they lack the satisfaction they long for, and leads them to a life of service to God. It is in this service that rest, true rest will be found. The scripture reads this way.

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

16 "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 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."

25 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

"Shifting Gears"

This is my sixth summer here in Red Hook and one of the things that I have learned to look forward to is the Sunday closest to the Fourth of July because it is upon this day that a tradition that was begun in 1976 is able to be remembered as we head over the Red Church to worship in that historic edifice. This year, however, the tradition needed to be put on hold as the folks who are responsible for the care of the building were looking forward to begining some of the repairs that they were hoping to have in order for the structure to remain standing and with that I had to begin to rethink what a Sunday on the weekend of the 4th might look like. It actually took me a few weeks to get my head around the questions of whether or not to have a special speaker, or even if communion should be served. It wasn’t that it was a big deal, but I needed to shift gears into a new way of thinking because tradition, as wonderful as it can be, can also be something that we become bogged down in.

This concept of shifting gears to a new way of thinking was absolutely something that Jesus was trying to get across to his audience, both two thousand years ago, and absolutely today. The people with whom he was initially speaking were stuck in a line of thinking that could not allow the existence of either John the Baptist or Jesus of Nazareth as men from God. That’s why Jesus gives his ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ comment of, "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!’" Jesus is looking at the response of the people and is saying, "So what do you want? The servant of God can’t abstain from food and drink or enjoy food and drink. If a servant of God can do neither of these things then what can he (or she) do?" That is how narrow the line of thought had become for the people of Jesus time. They were stuck in a way of thinking and anything beyond that narrow scope was deemed too fanatical to be possible. That was what was being passed off in Jesus’ day as the wisdom of the world.

But was it really wisdom? From a position of faith, we are able to look at the stance of calling John the Baptist a demon and Jesus a drunkard and say, "no, that was completely out of phase. The people weren’t thinking right and because they weren’t thinking right, many of them missed out on an opportunity to receive the rest that they were looking for, the rest that Jesus both speaks of and is able to provide. From a position of faith we are able to say that the ‘wisdom’ of Jesus’ world wasn’t wisdom at all. From a position of faith we can say that they needed to change gears.

Here’s the question though: are we really all that different? Are we all that different from the people who said John was a crazy man and Jesus was a lush? Unfortunately, there are way too many days when I don’t think we are. So many of us have become so calcified in the way that we think that we become stuck: we have become stuck in the wisdom of our world. We are so stuck that the idea of saying of saying, "Okay God, I’m going to listen to you and how you would want me to live my life" is viewed as something of a bygone era.

If you think I’m wrong, I encourage you, the next time you sit in any crowded restaurant, and pray before you partake of the food that is placed before you. Even though they people around you won’t admit it, their watching you out of the corner of their eye because what your doing doesn’t fit into the line of thought that we have been taught to live out: it doesn’t fit into the wisdom of our world. The fact that you are here at all this morning is in direct conflict with what the wisdom of the world tells us we should be doing. The wisdom of the world says we should be out enjoying our day, in one manor or another, and yet here we are, trying to take steps that lead us closer to the way that God would have us live.

The thing is, even though we may be willing to shift gears and be in worship today, there are so many areas where we need to make that shift. We need to make that shift in regards our priorities. What takes precedence: heading off to a party, or helping out with the serving of a dinner, whether it be here or maybe even at one of the soup kitchens in Kingston? We need to make the shift in how we spend our money: do we give first to the church or a charitable organization, or do we use those monies to head off on vacation? We need to make that shift in regards to how we care for the world: do we conserve or do we consume? We need to make that shift in regards to how we treat those who are around us: who do watch out for? You and you alone? Or all those who are part of your life, whether or not you know them? Whose wisdom are we going to adhere to? The wisdom of the world? Or the true wisdom that comes from God?

I realize that this morning’s sermon might not fit into the expected norm of what would be talked about on a Sunday such as this where our ears are still ringing from the sound of fireworks, our noses are still sensing the smell of those fireworks after they have exploded, and our taste buds are still remembering the various flavors of the picnic that we were at.

However, I hope that you will be able to shift gears and allow this message to seep into your heart and mind. Very simply, Jesus asked those who were listening to shift gears and begin to think a new way. This shift would open the world up in a new way: a way that allowed the peace and rest that is from the Almighty, to be offered to us. I think that is a message, and a way of life, that is absolutely worth living up to regardless of the generation that are a part of.

After Sermon Prayer

Holy God, help us to shift the gears of the way that we live so that we might be able to live closer to the life that You would have us live. Help us to break free of the wisdom of the world so that we might be able to rest secure in Your presence. Lord, let it be so. Amen.