2008 14th Sunday July 6
Jesus had a very close relationship with the Father, a relationship he developed through regular times of prayer and fellowship with Him. In prayer they opened their hearts to each other. If prayer was that important and that necessary to Jesus, how much more important and necessary it must be to us! Out of that regular intimacy with the Father Jesus knew the heart of the Father and he rejoiced. When I read the first lines of this passage, I can picture Jesus laughing with a big grin at the wisdom of the Father who hides things from those who think they are so smart, but graciously reveals them to those who come to him simply and humbly without pretense. We are to come to the Father as little children who know He loves us. Knowing his love for us will enable us to expect and receive revelation from him. It is not head knowledge but lived experience and God-given revelation that feeds and builds our faith.
In Matthew 11:27 Jesus said, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” We can also go to Jesus for revelation for it is among the all things given to him.
Jesus is also the one we can come to with our burdens no matter how heavy they are; He will give us rest, divine rest. In exchange Jesus gives us his yoke (his burden) so we can learn from him to be gentle and humble of heart and find rest in him. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. Lay down your burden, stop struggling with trying to carry your burdens by yourself, stop trying to be your own “god.” Stop trying to solve your own problems; bring them to Jesus and let him do it for you in his way. His ways work, ours don’t.
This surrender and trust in God the Father, in Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit is part of “living in the Spirit.” This means like Jesus being attentive and diligent in our times of prayer, fellowship and worship. Then we will be aware of the Holy Spirit present and at work in us. Then we will become aware of Holy Spirit speaking life into us, not just spiritual life, but also emotional and physical healing and life. This will be a life of joy and thanksgiving, a life of praise and worship, as God reveals himself and his goodness to us, as we remind ourselves and celebrate the wondrous things he has done for us, in us and through us! Psalm 145 is one such expression of the praise of God that arises out of revelation and lived experiences of his goodness to us. The glorious exhortation in the first reading from the book of Zechariah is another such outburst of praise, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” This, of course, we see as fulfilled in the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
Why praise? God certainly doesn’t need his ego stroked. It is we who need to praise God to remind ourselves of his gracious and generous goodness towards us, to remind ourselves that we are not alone, that God is indeed with us, that he has acted on our behalf in the past and that he is acting on our behalf right now even though we not see it yet. So we walk in faith working through love: God’s love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us; God’s love pouring out through us as we walk in self-giving just as he has given us example. “God so loved that he gave,” not to take away from us but to give to us. Jesus came so that we might have life and have it abundantly, to the full, to overflowing. Trust Jesus. Trust that the Lord Jesus is blessing you right now. As the words of a song remind us: “You may not be able to see all that the Lord has done for me, but the Lord is blessing me right now, right now!” Receive it beloved child of God. Receive your inheritance. Receive your covenant rights. Read what the Lord has bequeathed to you, read his Testament – the Old Testament and the New Testament so that you can know what he has provided for you and what belongs to you. Receive his blessing so that in turn you can be a blessing to others. Be like God who loved so much he had to be a giver; he couldn’t do otherwise. Love so much that you graciously and generously give not because you think others deserve it but simply because the love of God overflows your being and like God you must give! Imitate God your Father; be a gracious giver.
Jesus is Lord.
Stan |
Matthew 11,25-30
