Our sermon text today is from our Gospel of Matthew reading, 

and it’s sometime entitled “The Great Invitation”.

I’ll read it to you again in the Eugene Peterson translation.

Jesus says: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? 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.”

What refreshing words of Jesus, and how fitting on a cooler weekend after this recent humid heatwave.

What refreshes you in the summertime?

What are things you look forward to doing 

when it gets to July and August? 

What does Rest and Relaxation look like for you?

For me, I look forward to holidays in the summer, 

as usually church work slows down a bit and I can take time off 

without having to work too much in the weeks before and after I’m away.

Getting out of town seems to do the trick for me, 

to get my mind off of work. 

I enjoy camping, or visiting my in-laws’ cottage by the lake.

I can recharge my batteries when I have a little more time to exercise, 

go for runs, long walks, or swims.

When I’m relaxed I have more time to play my violin, more time for prayer, more time with my wife and children.

And most of all, relaxation means no checking emails!

Jesus says to us: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (v28)

Whenever I rnow ead this invitation, 

what comes first to mind is our Christus Statue, 

Jesus is depicted looking down at the high altar

with arms wide open in embrace, 

with a regard of compassion and welcome. 

The title of the statue is precisely our verse: 

Come to me, all ye that are weary ,…and I will give you rest.

No doubt this statue has given many people comfort and reassurance over the last century, esp. as they came up for communion and drew closer to the altar.

When I look at it, it invites me into a closer relationship with Jesus, 

When Jesus invites you to come to him, 

if you’re hurting, scared, or worried, you can rest assured, 

Jesus’ presence will give you comfort and strength

and will help you through difficult times.

What could this comfort and strength look like? 

Perhaps a little story can illustrate this:

(Hoffsümmer)

—

I’d like to tell you a little something about eagles. 

You can sometimes see them high in the mountains. 

Their huge wingspan can be up to two meters. 

Hardly anyone ever is able to see their nest up close, 

because they are often hidden high up on a cliff.

Most eagles lay two eggs. 

And when they hatch, the daddy and the mommy have a lot to do. 

They fly back and forth with food for the little eaglets.

But then, something special happens. 

The grownup birds stay away. 

They leave their young all alone. 

Not just for a few hours; but for many days. 

The babies squawk and become more and more frightened. 

They are hungry. Will they die? 

When they are almost exhausted, 

they hear the flapping of their father's wings high above the nest. 

“You are not lost,” he cries.

And then the mother is back again. 

The young eagles stretch their thin necks and open their beaks. 

But the mother does something unexpected. 

She flies towards the nest. 

And it's already done. 

She pushes a little eagle out of the nest. 

Fearfully the baby flaps his weak wings. 

But it has no power. For a while it stays in the air. 

Then its wings fail 

and it begins to fall.

But Daddy Eagle has been waiting for this moment.

He flies up quickly, glides towards the little eagle from below 

and catches it with his wings. 

He brings it back to the nest. 

A moment later the mother flies back towards the nest 

and scares another eaglet over the edge. 

It also staggers a little in the air, flaps its wings 

and then has to give up. 

The father again performs an emergency rescue maneuver on this eaglet and carries it back to the safety of the nest. 

This gets repeated a few times every day until the young eagles have strengthened their wings sufficiently and can fly themselves.

-

We too in our lives are sometimes like those baby eaglets, 

stuck in our comfortable nests, when life pushes us out into the abyss, and we panic and despair, 

not knowing whether we’ll just sink like a stone, 

or whether we’ll survive.

It is in those moments, looking back, that with the eyes of faith, 

we can sometimes notice how our Heavenly Father was looking out for us, and catching us at just the right moment, 

rescuing us and bringing us back to safety.

Sometimes the fall seemed like an eternity….

where are you God? 

we might have cried out in anguish for months on end. 

Sometimes on the other hand, 

God’s presence was more swiftly felt.

But it’s no wonder that the image of being carried on eagle’s wings back to the safety of the nest, has spoken to people of faith since the days of the Psalms. 

Imagining something as strong and wide as the wings of an eagle to carry us in our hour of need when we are falling, 

This is a powerful source of comfort that we can turn to.

-

We know that God will catch us when we’re falling and we can come to Jesus and bring our burdens to him, 

and he will give us rest, 

and so all is good.

There’s just one catch.

Jesus doesn’t promise us a rest of inactivity,

Of doing nothing when we come to him,

He doesn’t promise us an eternal la-z-boy chair,

It’s not an all-expenses paid vacation when we come to Jesus.

Rather, Jesus has a new mission for us:

He tells us:

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.

We get to lay our burden at Jesus’ feet, 

our burden that is too heavy for us,

But we get something in return. 

A yoke.

Now a yoke in Jesus’ day was a: “wooden instrument that yoked 2 oxen together 

and made them a team.”

What Jesus is saying here is:

“Become my yoke-mate! Learn to pull the weight.

The labour will seem lighter, so pull the load with me!”

Jesus calls us into a new partnership where we are yoked together 

with him like two oxen pulling a plow. 

It’s not an easy life, but you’re also not doing it alone.

You’re pulling with Jesus and Jesus is pulling with you.

And the yoke Jesus gives us is a good and easy one.

A good yoke: is one that is carefully shaped 

so there is a minimum of chafing!

A good yoke is kind to the shoulders, 

and helps you to carry the load more easily, 

It’s well balanced, like a good baby pack carrier that allows you to carry a toddler for an hour or two,

 something that would be impossible

if you were carrying the baby at arms’ length or on your hip.

When Jesus gives us his yoke, this means we can now serve a good master, and we are on the good path,

Jesus’ yoke is light compared to many, but it is a responsibility, 

to feed the hungry, comfort the oppressed and give voice to the voiceless.

We can take on this yoke, because we know we are yoked together with Christ, who will help us carry it, 

and who will lead, guide and sustain us through all the trials of life.

—

Come to Jesus, spend time with Jesus this week,

Lay your burdens down, drink of the water of life,

And you’ll find that your thirst will be quenched, 

and your soul revived. Amen.