For over 130 years, the Statue of Liberty has been a symbol of freedom especially for immigrants who came to America’s shores searching for freedom and opportunity. The Statue of Liberty stands in the New York harbor welcoming those who come to this nation longing to throw off the shackles of persecution and oppression to live in a free land. Inscribed on a plaque inside the pedestal of the Statue are the words of poet Emma Lazarus:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
And still today pilgrims come – risking their lives and sometimes even breaking laws – to cross this border because America continues to hold the promise of freedom.
Abraham Lincoln called our nation the “last great hope of earth.” And for the privilege and blessing of living in this great land, we give God all thanks and praise. Yet we know that even in America, opportunities are lost and people are in bondage. Built into the fabric of our nation is an evil racist past – and present – that diminishes our nation’s promise of a hopeful future. Even in the land of the free, economic disparities and poverty rob many of the opportunities promised by liberty. Yes, even here where our liberties are guaranteed by our Constitution, there is no protection from the weight of fear and anxiety about life.
So today in the wake of Independence day, we seek a lasting rest from the burdens of life and an enduring freedom that goes beyond our own national experience of democracy. We must trust a firmer promise for liberty. We find this rest and freedom from Jesus who speaks words of invitation to us today. While not etched on a copper plaque, they are written on the pages of Scripture by the Evangelist Matthew. They speak to those from any time and space, to the citizens of any nation, from every tribe and race. They speak to us today who live free and yet drag around heavy burdens:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
These words are for those who know that there is a deeper oppression and slavery on our backs that is not political or racial or national. The burdens we bear are part of the human condition and no treaty or constitution can provide us freedom from this spiritual bondage of sin. Paul – a man who enjoyed all the rights and privileges of a Roman citizen and could claim all the righteousness of a devout Pharisee — laments this ongoing struggle with the burdens of sin and the cycle of brokenness in our first reading for today, “what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders were very good at describing in great detail the “good that they should be doing” and the evil they kept on doing! Jesus could see how these expectations and requirements of the law weighed heavy on the people. He could see that there was no way they could get out from under such heavy burdens imposed on them.
Some of our burdens are imposed by others. But I’m afraid most of what we carry around is self-imposed. Guilt and regrets are probably the heaviest of these self-imposed burdens. Expectations from work or family can weigh us down. Fear about the future, anxiety about life, second-guessing our decisions, confusion over direction in life, worry about our children and our grand-children, pre-occupation with health and safety, stress over finances – my shoulders are getting heavy just naming all the baggage we carry around!
Jesus can see it. You may feel like no one understands or that no one else has it quite the same. But Jesus can clearly see what you’re lugging around. He’s looking at you when he says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He is inviting you today to come and receive rest as you lay down your burden. By his own word and promise, he offers you what no one else can – relief for the tired, the poor, the tempest-tost. The cross guarantees it.
And then Jesus offers another invitation. “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.” Is that what we really need after we come to Jesus and let our burden go – another burden?
In Bible times and in ancient cultures, oxen were joined together in pairs to pull a plow or cart. If the yoke didn’t fit right, it was hard for the oxen to carry the load because the yoke would slide and rub around the animal’s neck causing it to chafe and burn. However, if the yoke fit well – nice and snug – then the oxen hardly noticed it.
When Jesus says, “My yoke is easy” he is saying “my yoke fits well.” The gospels make reference to Jesus as a carpenter. He probably made many wooden yokes in the time he spent in Joseph’s wood shop. Jesus knows the importance of making a yoke fit. The reason our burdens annoy us so much is that they were not designed for us to carry! Jesus carried those burdens for us. He nailed them all to the cross. They are not ours anymore so when we try to carry them and pull them through life, they burn and chafe because they were not made for our shoulders.
Jesus is inviting us to put on his perfectly-fitting yoke. We are paired up with him. We follow him, listen to him, serve him, live a life for him. We take up responsibilities in the kingdom – we do things that may seem to the world like a waste of time and resources. The burden of serving and living the Christian life is easy and light becomes it becomes our second nature. The good we want to do starts to become the good we actually do! Even when we suffer, we find rest and peace along the way. Even when there are sacrifices to be made, we find joy in being yoked with Jesus and bearing his cross. And most importantly, with our own burdens gone and his yoke on our shoulders we find perfect freedom.
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