SERVANTS of CHRIST United Methodist Parish The Yoke of Freedom A Sermon by Rev LyAnna Johnson Smith, Associate Pastor July 6, 2014 Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Matthew 11:28-30 Two weeks ago, many of you were lucky enough to get to meet my dear, dear friend, Anne. Anne and I have been best friends since our very first year of college. We met at a dorm meeting and have been close ever since. Now I know that many of you probably expect that your pastor behaved in a most appropriate and moral fashion even while she was in college. I assure you, that I exceeded expectations. I was more uptight than any of you could have hoped for. I spent many a nights engaged in really exciting activities like actually reading my assigned readings and doing other things like learning how to knit. In fact, Anne was my fellow square who sat around with me and taught me how to knit. How many of you know how to knit? For those of you, who might like to learn this skill, let me suggest that your first project be something like a pot holder, maybe a coaster, something small and manageable. I did not follow this advice. My first project was a scarf. Now to knit this scarf, I was taught to just start making rows and eventually the scarf gets longer and longer. So the first part of the scarf was, let s just say, imperfect. The stitches were uneven, I somehow knitted a hole in part of it, and some of the rows seemed to be slightly wider than the others on account of me somehow adding or dropping stitches at random. But as I progressed on the scarf, my knitting improved. Slowly but surely, my stitches evened out. By the time I finally got the scarf to the length I desired, I knew how to knit. And as I wrapped that scarf around my neck, my skill improvement was obvious. It was literally on SC_140706_ The Yoke of Freedom.doc, Page 1 of 6
display. On one side was the side I had started with. A Hole-y mess, one might say, with holes and unevenness, and lots of character. On the other side, even stitches, no holes, and rows that were the same size. And when one places a scarf around ones neck, it reminds me of the stoles that Ordained Elders in the United Methodist church wear to symbolize their role. Today is my first Sunday as a student licensed pastor here at Servants of Christ. I am so grateful to have gotten to serve here as a pastoral intern and I cannot express my gratitude for the opportunity to stay on in this new capacity. In this new role, I basically perform all of the same functions as an Elder, but only at this church. I m like a Will, but whereas Will is authorized to go out and perform a wedding where ever he so pleases or serve communion and do other pastoral functions that require ordination in our denomination, I am only authorized to perform those duties here. The outward symbol of this technical distinction is that Will gets to wear the stole around his neck, whereas I cannot do so until I am ordained. The stole symbolizes the way in which we are yoked to Christ. As it says in the Scripture we read today, 28 Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29 Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. 30 My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light. So this is the symbol that we as a church tradition use as an outward sign of who is an ordained Elder, but really, anyone that professes to be a follower of Jesus is yoked to Christ. You may not wear a stole, but you have chosen to live a life as a disciple of Jesus. So what does that even mean? A yoke is this funny little gadget here that keeps two animals working side by side. You might think of it as a double harness. Now I m just guessing, but there are very few of us in this room that are farmers. Am I right? But we are smart enough humans to understand that if we had two oxen pulling a plow, and one was faster than the other, what would happen? We d go around in circles But if SC_140706_ The Yoke of Freedom.doc, Page 2 of 6
they are yoked, they are going to stay together and work side by side and share the work. In Jewish tradition, it was often said that one was yoked to the law. One was bound to the letter of the law. It was written down in black and white; carved in stone. It was what it was. In fact, one of the ways that someone would know you were Jewish was because you followed the laws of the Torah. It was a part of their identity. Different people abided by different rules, right? The rules of Roman were different from the rules of the Jewish people. Yes, it may not have been illegal for me to treat a foreigner badly, but if I was Jewish, I had to abide by the rules in Leviticus; I would have to treat the Alien just as I would a citizen. In fact, I was called to love them as I love myself. SO in this passage, Jesus is telling the Disciples that they are now bound to him, instead of the lifeless, stone cold laws. When someone asked Jesus about doing away with the Law, doing away with all of the rules, what did he say in Matthew 5:17? I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it The Disciples were looking at the living, breathing INCARNATION to whom they were yoked. The LIVING EXAMPLE of the work that God had called them to do. The living breathing person that proclaimed he had come to heal the sick, bind up the broken, declare freedom to the captives and discovery of sight to the blind. No longer was identity tied to a set of rules, but it was tied to a set of behaviors. As we sing in the hymn They will know we are Christians by our love No longer do we have to carry all of our burdens, we can share them with God since we are yoked to Christ. And since we are yoked to Christ, we are also yoked to the body of Christ. We pray together and study the Scriptures together and share our experiences with one another. This helps us grow closer to one another and closer to God. When we share our prayers with one another in this setting, we are again recognizing that Yoke, that tie, that binds us. And when we are going through tough times or good times or boring, mundane in between times, isn t it always easier when we are walking with someone? The very foundation of SC_140706_ The Yoke of Freedom.doc, Page 3 of 6
12-step recovery programs is the idea of basically having an accountability partner, someone to walk through sobriety with. Some of the most effective programs for helping at risk children excel and stay out of the criminal justice system are mentoring programs. The power of walking through life with one another is critical. We are able to constantly learn from one another: to transform and be transformed; to praise one another, and also to hold one another accountable. That s how we help each other grow. That s how each of our yokes begin to even out. How the stitches get more even, and the holes start to disappear. When we are immersed in the Scriptures, connected to God through prayer, and connected with one another in an authentic relationship as members of the body of Christ, we can work together to figure out to where and to what we are each being called. And how each and everyone one of us is called to stand for justice, mercy, and love. In our Bibles we have a story about a woman who lived during a violent time. She gave birth to a little boy, assessed their situation, and said, my child is better off floating away in a basket, than facing certain death here. So she placed the baby that she loved in a basket, and set him down in the reeds in the river That little baby s name was Moses. And the stories of our people tell us that the little baby in that basket grew up to lead his people, OUR people, out of bondage and into the Promised Land. And in that passage from Leviticus, the explanation for WHY we are to treat aliens as citizens is because we were citizens in a foreign land. We have another story in our Bible, about a woman who lived during a violent time. She also gave birth to a little boy. In that situation, the family fled together to escape the violence. It was safer to be a refugee in a foreign land than to face the imminent danger where they were. That little baby s name was Jesus. And along with his Mama Mary and Earthly Daddy Joseph, they stayed in Egypt until it was safe to return home. SC_140706_ The Yoke of Freedom.doc, Page 4 of 6
Sometimes when I read these stories from the Bible, it is easy for me to picture them in a faraway land, long long ago. Until they show up in the Rio Grande Valley. I m not sure how many of you have seen the news coverage about the situation on our southern border. Thousands of unaccompanied minors are coming across the border. And we ve got quite a humanitarian situation on our hands. 43,000 unaccompanied children are expected to cross into Texas from Central America by the end of 2014. We have immigration rules because the United States has to control its border. I get that. We are a nation that must regulate what comes in and goes out and we try to know who is where and how and why. But then the humanitarian aspect of it enters from stage left, and we read the words of Jesus, and the rules don t quite line up. We see the stories of all of these children, and that yoke around my neck reminds me that in that great freedom that I have in Christ, I also have great responsibility. And when I see a humanitarian crisis, especially one that is happening in my own state just a few hours drive away, I can t just stand by idly and pretend that I do not see what is going on. On Friday, we celebrated Independence Day. Many of us celebrated with hot dogs, fireworks, and perhaps a list of the many things that we are thankful that we get to enjoy in the United States. With all of those great things, we often say that we have rights, but with them come responsibilities. For example, we have the right to vote, so it is our responsibility to actually show up at the polls on Election Day and exercise that right. The Yoke of Christ is similar. We gain so many freedoms with that yoke. Freedom from fear. Freedom from sin. Freedom from loneliness. Freedom from hopelessness. Even freedom from death. But with it also comes great responsibilities. With that yoke we also have an obligation to be loving and compassionate. We also have a responsibility to stand for justice and mercy. As it says in the Gospel of Luke, To whom much has been given, much is expected. Friends, we have been given so very, very much. SC_140706_ The Yoke of Freedom.doc, Page 5 of 6
When I get lost in the busyness of my own life, and I forget who I am called to be, and I forget that yoke around my neck, Christ shows up again. In the friend or stranger that needs a helping hand. A reminder of the great privilege we have to serve others, and to do so in the name of the incarnate Christ that came and dwelt among us. But when someone shows up in my life and embodies the way of Christ, then I can get it. When I am tired and worn out, and someone shows up to help me, all of a sudden my perception changes. Love has arrived. Love with skin on. Love in the flesh. With two eyes staring back at me. A voice that comforts me. And two willing hands to help me. Christ has shown up. And each time we choose to act in a way that is Christ-like, we are choosing to become more like Christ. Just as my scarf improved as I worked along a close friend, guiding me through my work, our walk with God improves as we walk closely with Christ and with one another. There will be times when the stitches are uneven, and there will be some gaps, but if we keep choosing to put on the yoke, if we continually choose, to learn to be more Christ-like, we will be., God offers us the invitation, but it is up to us to take it. SC_140706_ The Yoke of Freedom.doc, Page 6 of 6