Let Freedom Ring!
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Matthew 11:25-30
"Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28
Shall we pray:
O Lord, we pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
George Buttrick, is considered one of the top 10 preachers of the 20th Century. He served nearly thirty years as pastor of New York’s Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. From that distinguished pulpit Buttrick began a teaching career at Union Theological Seminary, then as Preacher to the University at Harvard.
On one occasion he recalled an experience in which he knew he had preached a bad sermon. Not only was it bad but it fell as flat as a pancake, so he said.
When he was greeting his parishioners at the front door after the service, no one said, “Nice sermon.”
The last person out, a lady, said, “Thank you for that sermon, pastor.” Buttrick said, “I know it was too long.”
But the lady replied, “Oh no, preacher, your sermon wasn’t too long. It just seemed long.”
Well as I preach my first sermon in the pulpit at Oakton UMC my prayer is that will not be your reaction; but if my sermon today does seem too long then I pray that the Lord will have mercy on me today. And I guarantee you if the great George Buttrick had some sermons that fell as flat as a pancake, I know I will too. I just hope today is not one of them. But if so please be kind to me on my first Sunday here!
Since this is my first Sunday I’ll tell you anther preacher story that I heard recently.
A preacher was making his rounds to his parishioners on a bicycle when he came upon a little boy trying to sell a lawn mower.
“I’ve been needing a lawn mower. How much do you want for it?” asked the preacher.
“I just want enough money to go out and buy me a bike,” said the little boy.
After a moment of consideration, the preacher asked, “Will you take my bike in trade for it?”
The little boy asked if he could try it out first, and after riding the bike around a little while, “Mister, you’ve got yourself a deal.”
The preacher took the mower and began to try to crank it.
Pulling on the cord a few times with no response from the mower, the preacher called the little boy over, “I can’t get this mower to start.”
The little boy said, “That’s because you have to cuss at it to get it started.”
The preacher said to the little boy, “I am a minister, and I cannot cuss. It has been so long since I have been saved that I do not even remember how to cuss.”
The little boy looked at him happily and said, as he rode off, “Just keep pullin’ on that cord. It’ll come back to ya.”
I confess—I’ve had some of those moments with the lawn mower.
This week as a nation we have been celebrating our independence. We sang the words today :
"Land where our fathers died/Land of the pilgrim’s pride/ From every mountainside/Let freedom ring!”
On "Independence Day," the American people celebrate the great gift of freedom they have received as a nation.
Even so, in one of the most popular American songs of the Age, the lament "I want to be free!" is repeated over-and-over again.
"I want to be free."
"If only I were free of the burden of worry and grief ...
If only I were free of this or that responsibility ...
If only I were free of the drudgery of my work ...
If only I were free not to have to answer to anyone ...
If only I were free to stay in bed until eleven every morning ... If only ... If only ... If only ..."
Or as one song goes on a popular television commercial:
“I want it all and I want it now!”
The "Fable of the Birds" is a story about creation. All the newly-made animals were walking around discovering what it was like to be alive. All except the birds! They were doing nothing but complaining because God had given them a heavy burden that he’d given no other animal: those awkward appendages on their shoulders. God must be punishing them somehow. Why did they have to carry these things around, making it hard to walk? "Why?" they asked. "Why us?"
Finally, two or three of the more adventurous birds began to move their appendages. They began to flutter them, and soon they discovered that the very thing they had regarded as a burden actually made it possible for them to fly. And no other animals could fly. The "heavy burden" turned out to be a beautiful gift.
Many of us act like those birds. We regard God’s call for us to follow his purpose for his life as an awkward appendage to our lives -- weighing us down. Heavy burden it is until we discover that God’s Law is really the wind of the Spirit, enabling us to fly as no other creature can fly.
The word of the Lord declares in Isaiah 40.31:
…but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
Jesus began His public ministry by proclaiming the Gospel in the streets of Galilee: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mk. 1:15).
Change your thinking. And the time to do it is now.
The word “repent” comes from the Greek word, Metanoia, meaning “change your direction of attitude.” Take a look at what you are experiencing right now with the eyes of God, with the eyes of the God-given Spirit within you.
To have the burden of a lack of direction lifted from your life you need to repent, to change your way of viewing your life. What will it take for you and I develop a whole new attitude and approach to life?
"The time of fulfillment is at hand," Jesus said.
There is an impressive moment in the Exodus Story when God says to Moses: "Why are you standing there praying? Tell the people of Israel to go forward."
It was a moment of action, basically it meant DO IT NOW!
We come here Sunday after Sunday. We hear the preaching, the Scripture readings, the music. But, the question is, "Do we go forward so that God’s Grace can work through us?"
Until we act, until we move forward, God’s Grace is blocked. Think of Jesus and you think of action: "Come! Go! Take up your bed and walk! Follow Me! Heal the sick! Help one another!" It’s all about leaving in the present moment and doing it NOW!
Think about your marriage and how it might be different if you would begin to live in the present moment instead of going back over all the wrongs in the past or obsessing about it will be better if your spouse would just do such and such.
Think about your relationship with your children, about your work, about your attitude toward other people’s hurts and sufferings, about the way you drive your car. Think about the difference you might make if you were to begin to "move forward" NOW in obedience to God’s command to do it now. The kingdom is at hand Jesus declared. It is being fulfilled right before your very eyes.
A University professor gave his students a chance to evaluate his Course. One of them said, "I like the Course but I feel very strongly that the professor puts too much responsibility for learning on the students."
Could that be the problem with you and me so often? We like God’s Course. We wouldn’t be here today if we didn’t. What we don’t like is that God had put so much responsibility on us as the students of life.
"Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," Jesus says in today’s Gospel Lesson. "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me ... and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Mt. 12:28-30).
Paul writes in Galatians 5:1 -- For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
You know, a personal declaration of independence is a powerful thing.
Our nation’s Declaration of Independence states this: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
I see that as our message in Christianity also. Some people never, in their whole lifetime, ever accepted that they have a right to happiness. Jesus said I have come that you might have abundant life.
If you haven’t accepted this yet in your life, my pray is that each one of you will. I pray that this will be your July 4th celebration. I pray that you, like the firecracker, will pop out of the old restrictions that hold you under the yoke of slavery and that you will decide right now,
"Yes, here I am Jesus.. I want to take on your yoke and find rest and have the freedom to pursue the abundant life to which you have called me.. I declare now that I have the freedom to pursue my liberty."
So what does liberty mean to you?
Does it mean envisioning your own God-given dreams, and giving yourself freedom?
Does it mean seeking restored health for you or a loved one through prayer and meditation with the presence of God? That certainly is a liberty.
Does it mean seeking a new way of thinking about yourself and the possibilities of the life God has given you?
That’s what repentance means -- Change the way you think about God, yourself and others. Repent. Change the way you think and you will change the way you behave. That, too, is a liberty. You are promised in the sacred scriptures that if you repent you will find the way which leads to the abundant life.
Roger Hargreaves is written a series of children’s books called Mr. Men –each story in the series has a different character. Mr. Worry is the thirty-second book in the Mr. Men series.
Mr. Worry worries about everything. If it rains, he worries that his roof will leak, if there’s no rain, he worries that all of his plants will die.
He worries about the other Mr. Men, and he meets a wizard who suggests he make a list of all his worries and the wizard will make sure none of them happen.
When there is nothing to worry about, Mr. Worry is happy for a week, until he is worried about not having anything to worry about!
Can you identify with Mr. Worry? How many of you are worry warts? Well you have practiced what it takes to meditate and to ponder the good God has in store for you. You see, worrying is a form of meditation -- just in the negative direction.
Besides experts tell us that
• 40 percent of things we worry about will never even happen
• 30 percent of things we worry about are things from the past,
• 12 percent of our worries are about our health—when nothing is wrong with us
• 10 percent of things we worry about are too petty and insignificant to really affect our future.
That means that only eight percent of the things we worry about legitimately deserve our concern and thought.
I like the words of Bobby McFerrin’s song—Don’t Worry Be Happy.
in your life expect some trouble
when you worry you make it double
don’t worry be happy
The cartoonist Charles Schultz gave this piece of advice: Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia.
So if you can begin the practice of focusing on the blessings of life instead of the bad things that you think are going to happen you’ll have the liberty to rejoice and be thankful and to overcome the troubles of life that you do run upon. Now that’s liberty! How many of you would like that kind of freedom?
Then let Freedom Ring in your life and mine! Now!
I was appointed to Oakton UMC by the Bishop and the Cabinet of the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Beyond that I believe I have been sent by God’s calling to help lead you in finding that abundant life, a life of spiritual freedom and liberty. I look forward as we start our journey together today in the days ahead…
How do you find true freedom in this nation and in this world? In your own life? It is summed up well in the words of the Psalmist:
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:7 NKJV)
I invite you to a moment of prayer:
The Spirit within you offers you direction, acceptance, love, and spiritual freedom. May this prayer in some way be yours:
O God, help me to set my mind on "the things that are above," so that I can live a life of true freedom, a full and divinely inspired life. God the Creator of us all help me to live out the words of the Apostle Paul.
"Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."-Colossians 3:1-2
Moment by moment, in every area, may God help us all to experience true freedom. So be it now and always. Amen.
Let Freedom Ring!
Let that be your personal declaration of independence today:
Say it with me:
Let Freedom Ring!
INVITATION TO COMMUNION:
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? [Jesus says], Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly."
Matthew 11:28-30 (Msg)
