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"Wretched
man that I am ..."
Matthew
11:16-19, 25-30
July 6, 2008
A word about America on this American holiday: Only in America can a
pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance. Only in America do
people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke. Only in
America do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and
put our junk in the garage. Only in America do we use answering machines
to screen calls and have call-waiting so we won't miss a call from
someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place. Only in America do
we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight.
I wish I could get inside
your heads on Sunday mornings and hear what you think about during the
sermon. {Wouldn't that be a scary thing ...???} Are you eager to listen
to the pastor expound some questionable wisdom concerning the ancient
texts from the Bible? Have you cleared your mind of all of the other
things that are so much on your minds? ..... Let's see ... what are you
thinking ...
'I wish he would get on with
it and cut that 17 minute sermon down to two minutes so I could get home
to those potatoes that are cooling - potato salads don't make them self.
It’s holiday, for heaven's sake ....'
'Boy it was fun lighting
those fire works last night - I can't wait for dark tonight - I bet that
big $39.00 multi - explosion candle that we saved will be great! ....'
'Let's see ... as soon as I
get out of here I am going to get into something comfortable - go sit in
the sun and get a great tan ....'
And the Apostle Paul weeps
and cries out ... "Wretched man that I am ... Who will rescue me ..."
'I’m sure glad that mom let
me go with those boys to the lake last night for the fireworks? Maybe if
I am really sweet and do the dishes -- maybe she won't figure out that I
am trying get out of the family picnic and sitting around with all of
those relatives this after noon -- I hate it when they pinch my cheeks
and tell me how they remember how cute I was when I was little ...'
"Wretched man that I am ...
Who will rescue me from this body of death?" 'My life is miserable -- I
keep doing the things that I don't want to do. I know what I should do
-- I know what is right for me to do - I just can't do it. Wretched
man that I am ...'
'Did I remember to get potato
chips? What are we going to do if we don't have enough food?
And Jesus said: "Come to me,
all 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 find rest for your souls."
'What ... did the pastor say?
.... something about somebody who is willing to carry things -- maybe
they will carry chairs -- I just know that we need more help getting set
up for the picnic!'
"Wretched man that I am ...."
"Come to me ... and I will give you rest." --- Are you listening now? I
know that every person here is filled with many interests & concerns.
There are many things that are exciting and cause us joy. But we are
also weary from the stress and struggles of life. Often it seems as
though there is no help - no solution - our lives just keep getting
fouled up and over burdened. We do get weary -- and sometimes the burden
is too great to bear. But what really wearies us is not the potato salad
and the company preparations, it is not the tasks of moving chairs in
order to celebrate the 4th. What wearies us is the result of the
struggle that Paul talks about in the second lesson. What wearies us is
a world filled with people just like us -- broken by sin, doing the very
things that we really know that we do not want, trapped by the law of
sin that is at war within us. Relationships are strained and people are
touched by emotions of fear, anger, sadness, and the like. In the midst
of fears and greed and world wide struggles we worry about financial
concerns and future happiness. We can easily get the chairs moved - and
the fireworks went off - and the meals of the day will nourish our
bodies {and there will probably be leftovers}; but for the pain of the
brokenness that is the sin that fills our world there seems to be no
relief.
And Jesus said: "Come to me,
all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give
you rest." I don't know what you expect of the burden bearing ability of
Jesus - I do know that He didn't come to move chairs. But Paul was
convinced that Jesus was the one who would rescue him from the wretched
condition in which he found himself. Did he expect that with the coming
of Jesus there would be no more struggle as a result of sin? I don't
think so. His acknowledgment of that on going struggle comes well after
his conversion - and even then as he served as a traveling apostle and
missionary, he continued to struggle with that war with sin. But he was
able to give thanks to God even in the midst of his talk about his
wretched condition.
We have again celebrated our
nations Independence Day. We have hopefully remembered and celebrated
the breaking free of a nation from what was an oppressing power. We
celebrate the establishment of a new nation under God. Somehow all of
that struggle easily gets lost in history. But as individuals we are
constantly involved in a similar struggle. The law of sin continues to
impose brokenness on us and every day we wake to fight the battle. But
we have a 'commander and chief' on our side who knows the struggle in
which we are engaged. He invites us to come with that weariness and find
rest in strong arms that accept us in our brokenness. He won't make the
potato salad but He will forgive our sin and renew our lives as we walk
with Him.
The biggest problem is our
unwillingness to accept any of what He calls us to or what He offers so
freely. The little children's poem at the beginning of the Gospel text
about the flute that is played but a refusal to dance and the wailing
for which there was no mourning is about our unwillingness to accept
either the law or the gospel. John the Baptist called for repentance and
change of life - the wailing. But he was rejected and the people refused
to change. Jesus came offering a new freedom and joy - the flute
playing. But that too was rejected and the people refused to dance to
the tune He played and the freedom He offered. We reject the notion of
doing anything anyway but our own way.
"Wretched man that I am
....." -- Paul found and received the joy of the new life of forgiveness
and new life in Christ. But will we dance? Will we find rest for our
souls? Having declared our independence as a nation should we continue
to fret about the restrictions imposed by the old rulers? No! The
fireworks declare the joy of our freedom and life as a nation. Having
been freed and welcomed into the rest offered by God - should we
continue to be weighed down by the wretchedness in which we have been
trapped? No! --- We join Paul in declaring "Thanks be to God through
Jesus Christ our Lord!" AMEN
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