Carry It Together

Sermon based on Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 preached July 9, 2023 at Community of Christ in Whitehouse, OH

Jesus invites, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” And just about all of us can raise our hands and say, “Me, he’s talking to me!” Weary? Check. Carrying heavy burdens? You bet. We could all use a thorough rest. But then what Jesus says next is a bit like a riddle: “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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

But, this is not our first worship service. We know what happens to Jesus. That burden is not light at all, but the heaviest possible one. What then, are we to learn from him, and why would we pick up and share that yoke? It does not sound very promising for relieving our weariness. How can taking on more actually lighten the load? 

I suspect the lesson is something about the power of solidarity: sharing a burden, through shared experience. For although he carries the world on his shoulders, Jesus is never alone, he is never carrying the burden by himself. If you know him, you know the Father; they are so intertwined we cannot separate them out. God the Father is with him every moment, even when Jesus asks from the cross with the Psalmist: “My god, my god, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus is in deep solidarity with us, at that point, but God is still with him. God is there even in the 3 longest days, and we know that because they end in resurrection. God defies the separation of death from his child Jesus. God will be with him, no matter what. 

But let’s not skip ahead. Today we are in the long silent days of wondering if resurrection will actually work this time. For us. Or has God forgotten us, forsaken us? 

Isolation is a burden that can grind you into dust. When you feel like no one understands what you are going through, or furthermore, no one cares, that weighs on you like a yoke to pull through life. To have someone who gets you is an immense relief. “You don’t understand!” is not just a statement of fact, but an accusation. We cannot follow the Way of Jesus, unless we understand what they are going through and what they need. Otherwise we are liable to do more damage than good.

What is Jesus’ burden today, and how do we carry it better together than alone? 

One burden that the Body of Christ must carry is pain and frustration in our own bodies, Our bodies fail us, all the time. We break bones, we get sick, some cells turn cancerous and the body starts fighting against itself. We cannot carry those burdens—the physical struggles or even the fear it brings—by ourselves. I was a bit in awe this week to receive a summary of all the ways your “Visitation Ministry” here at Community of Christ is reaching out to people who are struggling. You have a very organized system of one-on-one visitors for people who are isolated, a freezer full of meals, a volunteer who tracks the status of everyone of the prayer list, cards, rides to appointments, prayer shawls, group visits to the nursing home … you are bearing each other burdens, and many of those who are leading this ministry are doing so because they too have known grief, illness, and the demands of being a caregiver. Now, not everyone is good at everything. That’s why Jesus gives us each other as part of the Body of Christ. We all bring something to the table, with different gifts and different weaknesses. 

Another burden that Jesus and we as the Body of Christ carry better together is standing against the culture, when society tries to treat human beings as anything other than beloved children of God, made in God’s own image. Human beings are not disposable. We are beloved. And not just when we conform to one narrow demographic. Jesus challenged those who were about to stone a woman caught in adultery, saying “let the one without sin cast the first stone.” Well. Our worth is not determined by our productivity either, despite what the culture may tell us. Jesus spent time listening, hanging around, truly being a companion to all kinds of people whom his culture said he should not have a thing to do with. He re-defined family and belonging. We are indeed our siblings’ keepers, if we are carrying the same yoke as Jesus – we who have any measure of power must listen to how we can best stand with people who have been marginalized, against those who would de-humanize them. We cannot leave our siblings to face hatred  alone.

But this relates to a burden that we have created ourselves. Rectifying the damage caused by the church or Christians in the past is a big part of the work of the Body of Christ today. It is painful, and we resist taking responsibility for what our ancestors did, but reckoning with it is the only way through to another future. For example, our churchwide body, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has begun a Truth and Healing Movement to tell the true histories and current realities of Native American people in this country, and especially how the church has played a role in taking indigenous children from their families to boarding schools, taught the Doctrine of Discovery, et cetera. There are individual actions and things congregations can do together to participate in this truth and healing work. There is much to learn and understand if we are indeed committed to carrying the burden of Jesus for those whom Christians have hurt. And then to act. 

The burden too great to bear is feeling alone in whatever we are facing, personal or systemic. Being part of the Body of Christ means that we will be in this hard, heavy work together, we promise. We will talk about God in better ways, that don’t hurt beloved children of God anymore. We will have compassion for our own bodies. And bear one another’s burdens in public, when culture defies what we know to be true. We’ll bear the burdens of other people’s ignorance or self-loathing that makes them marginalize our siblings. And be stronger for it, learning from Jesus.