The Weight

Since I am on vacation this week (and next) I am posting an old sermon. This one was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville Arkansas three years ago on Sunday July 3, 2005, the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time. I'm hoping after you read this you may agree that I've come a long way in the last three years.

Genesis 24:34–38, 42–49, 58–67
Psalm 45:10–17
Romans 7:15–25a
Matthew 11:16–19, 25–30

At the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, her brother, the Ninth Earl Spencer said something that I will never forget. He declared to all who would listen, “Diana, on your behalf. We will not allow [your sons] to suffer the anguish that used regularly to drive you to tearful despair. Beyond that, on behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative and loving way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men, so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned.”

These were contentious days for the British. Because of the great sense of national mourning, the people wanted the British flag lowered to half mast. In Britain this is only done at the death of a monarch. The traditions of the crown are complex and extensive. The House of Windsor, the British royal family, was sensitive to the opinions of the people, but they were also tied to their traditions and symbols. The Union Jack was not lowered to half mast.

There were negotiations about how her body would be taken through the streets. The traditional mode of transportation is on a caisson drawn by a horse, but many thought the princess would object to this militaristic procession, especially in light of her charitable works including the effort against land mines. Her casket was transported in a hearse instead.

But what still sticks in my mind were the words of Earl Spencer. These are obviously the words of a man who loves his sister. They are the words of a wounded man standing up for his sister who lost her husband to another woman. These words would not be uncommon from any man lifting up the memory of his sister recently lost. But there was more to the statement than just the words. You see, he spoke those words in Westminster Abbey.

Ever sense Henry the Eighth established the Church of England, one of the many titles taken by the British monarch is “Defender of the Faith.” What Earl Spencer did, so very brazenly, is not just tell his ex-brother-in-law that he was angry, he told the future defender of the faith that his family would take the lead in raising the princes. And he did this in the oldest shrine of the Anglican faith. Spencer used language which seemed to be angry, but instead what he did was use royal language, imperial language, in the most important abbey of the Church of England in the world.

I know that the words are brazen, but in the context of where they are delivered, they could have been considered treasonous. In a way Spencer invoked the language of a new empire. He said that the day Prince William is made king, the house of Windsor would be better called the house of Spencer-Windsor. He took imperial language in a place of the empire and shouted his dedication to the world.

Psalm 45, used as today’s Call to Worship, is an example of how imperial language is used in scripture. Beginning with “Hear, O daughter; consider and listen closely; forget your people and your father’s house.” This passage, part of a larger wedding psalm, tells the bride that she must leave her own family and act in loyalty to the new. All is glorious for the new bride, the people of Tyre bring gifts and she is dressed in Gold and fine embroidery. But this is only after she agrees that the king is her master and she must bring him honor, which means among other things bearing him sons, heirs to the throne. Commentaries suggest that this is a very difficult passage to preach in our modern age. I agree. But I want us to consider this Psalm for its use of language. This is an example of imperial language, and it is very specific. This is what a king expects from a bride.

The Genesis passage shows a way that a bride is found for a future leader. This passage recounts Abraham successfully sending his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. And you just know when Rebekah’s father Bethuel and her brother Laban found out who the servant represented, they knew Isaac would one day be the master over Abraham’s vast fortune.

So in verse 51, a verse which is outside of today’s reading, we find Bethuel and Laban saying, “Look, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.” This is when the family, Bethuel, Laban, and Rebekah were presented with fine clothing, ointments, and riches. A dowry if you will. They knew this was a good deal for them; so they tried to stretch out Rebekah’s departure for ten days, hoping for more wealth. This is where we reenter the reading and Laban asks Rebekah if she will go with the servant. While the splicing of this passage makes it seem as if she is a very modern woman, and Laban a very modern father, no longer bound by the traditions recorded in the psalm, this is not so. Instead of being asked if she wants to go, she is asked if she wants to go now or later.

It is important to note in this passage is that Abraham’s servant seeks the divine will of the Lord in finding Rebekah; Laban follows the wealth, knowing that his daughter will be married into a very important family, the mother of the heir of vast wealth. Laban is concerned with the earthly kingdom of Abraham and the many blessings which the Lord has bestowed upon him. The servant on the other hand is concerned with the Lord saying “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my master.” He is doing the will of the Lord, and wishes to report the good news to his master.

Both of these instances use imperial language to make their points about earthly realms and the will of their kings. In these earthly realms there is wealth and power. But there is also abuse and anguish. There is a tremendous burden placed on every social exchange. Every interaction, every relationship is loaded with danger and intrigue. And this imperial language also existed in the time of Jesus.

Jesus begins this conversation by telling the listening crowd that they have no idea what is happening in the world. He compares the listeners to youngsters playing in the marketplaces, the village square. The piper plays a wedding song, but no body wants to dance. And then when the piper plays a mournful song, no body wants to cry. People want joy, but don’t know how to be joyful. People want mourning, but don’t know how to do that either.

So when John the Baptist brought his aesthetic mournful ways, the generation did not understand and said he was possessed by a demon. Then when Jesus arrives he is considered a glutton and drunkard in bad company. Neither was considered a good son in the eyes of this generation.

Then, Jesus does the unthinkable. He uses imperial language, directly addressing the Father. Such imperial language angers both the Pharisees and the Romans. The religious leaders know Jesus cannot directly address the Lord. It is blasphemous that he would chat and call on God with such familiarity. This is the realm of the religious leaders, not this man. This is also imperial language against the Roman Empire. He is also using this language as a protest against the government. This is not wise, calling anyone “Lord” but the Roman emperor is high treason.

But earthly wisdom is useless in the ways of God. The wise and the clever use their skill and knowledge to find God leaving no praise to the Lord. Instead it is the children, those who are given knowledge as valuable as life and give glory to God, the giver of such good gifts.

The wisdom that is given is a gift; it is not like a precious metal which needs to be mined and refined before it useful. Only when we accept this grace by faith will we learn the ways and the wisdom of Jesus. Only because the Father is revealed in the Son can we know God. Jesus is the Christ, the messiah, God’s special self-revelation to a wanting world. Our wisdom cannot teach us what can easily be seen in Christ, so it is in vain that we seek God any where else.

Jesus invites all that labor come to Him. He invites all who seek life come and all who hunger and thirst will be fed. Those who seek their own wisdom will be fed with the empty calories of earthly wisdom, intoxicated by their own self defined, self imposed righteousness. Instead we are called to take on the yoke of Jesus, be relieved of the burdens of life which we put upon ourselves and one another. We are called to learn that his yoke is easy, fitting, appropriate, and worthy.

The Band was a group of musicians who backed up Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan in the 1950’s and 1960’s before recording on their own, releasing their own music. In 1968 they released a recording called “Music from Big Pink.” (Named after their recording studio.) One of the songs on that recording, a favorite of mine, is called “The Weight.” It’s a story of various acts of kindness gone wrong. The first verse goes like this:

I pulled into Nazareth, I was feelin’ about half past dead;
I just need some place where I can lay my head.
“Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?”
He just grinned and shook my hand, and “No!” was all he said.
Take a load off Fannie, take a load for free;
Take a load off Fannie, and you can put the load right on me.

We carry many burdens, burdens which we do not have to carry. Jesus teaches all who will listen that the Kingdom of God is the only kingdom that matters. Our lives place many harsh burdens on us, but it is Jesus’ yoke which is appropriate, light, and easy. We are called to drop our burdens on him and take his instead.

Jesus offers us rest, the divine Sabbath. Jesus offers to refresh us from our ordinary daily toil. And we are called to take the divine rest in Jesus. A rest that is not passive to the world, but open to a different world, and a new level of discipleship. This sabbath is not a call to obedience to a code, or to external laws, but to the one who teaches a new way to live.

We are called to a gentle call and to the leader of this call. We are given this yoke, but it is up to us to participate in the work. The kingdom of God waits, not on the other side of this life, but here and now. When we participate in the work of God’s kingdom, we participate in the inbreaking of that kingdom now.

To paraphrase the words of Earl Spence, we are to be steered with the yoke of our Lord so that our souls are not immersed by duty and tradition, but can sing openly as the Lord Almighty planned. Seeking the divine will of the Lord we are able to serve a new king. Just as Abraham’s servant did. Today as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, let us dedicate ourselves to do this in remembrance of the Lord, our messiah.