Matthew 11:27-30
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.
"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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Blog Reflection
Wow!
Now don't you wish that every Christian community would make this invitation?
Would the Church be a much more welcoming and healing environment if Christians would abandon all of our arguments about dogma and rules and committees and just repeat Jesus' words "come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest"?
So many in our world today are burdened with poverty, oppression, no place or person to trust. There is so much violence, mean spirited rhetoric towards women, LGBT, people of different races, classes, cultures, religions, languages, abilities and challenges.
The founder of the Christian Faith does not call Parish Vestries to come together to argue about the color of the new carpet in the Rector's office. Or the local Standing Committee to disregard a candidate's sexual orientation as a reason to not ordain her/him. Nor does Jesus who calls LGBT people who are weary and carrying heavy burdens to a Church only to find Bishops who won't allow them to marry in their dioceses'. See the article in the NY Times today, to understand my reference.
Jesus invites all who are weary and carrying heavy burdens to come to God in prayer, with all our wounds and burdens, and painful memories to find rest in God's generous grace. In Jesus there is someone to confide in. Jesus wants us to come to God with our anger at the fact that our legislators and President cannot come to an agreement about the national debt ceiling, that will affect the poor, disabled and elderly the hardest. Jesus wants us to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit about all the hateful rhetoric towards African Americans, Muslims, women and LGBT people. Jesus invites us who are burdened with sorrow for our own sinfulness, hate and desire for command and control, that is willing to corrupt and maneuver around everyone else to get what we want, to come to God and find an opportunity for healing and wholeness.
God's invitation to us does not end with finding rest for our weary and burdened lives. Jesus invites us to learn from the example of his own life. Jesus invites us to see that God seeks out those who are marginalized and broken by bias and political corruption. God calls on us to learn from Jesus and be missionaries of hospitality and reconciliation for others who are weary and heavy burdened, so that they too may find rest.
Just as God accepts all of us in our weariness and burdens, so we must also be open to others who are wearied and burdened. As God in Jesus has sought out all of us and received us with God's compassionate and holy embrace and merciful healing. So we too, need to be open to God's grace working in and through us to heal and embrace those who are experiencing oppression and violence, so that the too can find some peace.
Though I cannot write as much about Macrina as I wish I could, I can say that I do believe that her life was an example of trying to make a better world for others around her. Her faith was such that she was willing to let go of as much as she could, only to be able to serve others who were truly without the means to care for themselves. Even if it meant confronting individuals who thought they had their act together. Marcina was willing to confront even Basil to help him know where he was steering in the wrong direction.
The Church has existed all these years, with imperfect people guiding it. Those leading the Church like any other institution, need to be reminded and reminded often that they too are in need of healing, reconciliation and conversion to better understand and carry out the mission Christ has called the Church to do.
May Christians be good examples of Christ's invitation to all who are weary and have heavy burdens. May we all be open to learning more and more from Christ who has redeemed us for God's plan in our lives and in our world. May the Holy Spirit guide the Church and all Christians in the work of hospitality and reconciliation for the sake of all who are weary and carry heavy burdens.
Prayers
Merciful God, you called your servant Macrina to reveal in her life and her teaching the riches of your grace and truth: May we, following her example, seek after your wisdom and live according to her way; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 471).
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis, Book of Common Prayer, page 833).
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