Scripture Readings: Genesis 24:34-40 & Matthew 11:25-30
Two weeks ago, during my one-week break, I engaged in some activities that bring joy and happiness such as buying books I wanted and listening to music I like and watched a movie to be relaxed and visited a good place to recharge. It helped me to enhance my emotional well-being and uplifted my mood and provided a sense of pleasure and fulfillment. Just by stepping away from work or routine, I could return with renewed energy, and it allowed for me to have a personal reflection and self-care. I had a really good time with myself and for myself. Appropriate Rest or break is necessary for all people. Today’ text invites us to come to Jesus and have a rest in Christ. May we all have a well-deserved break in Christ in our lives.
In Genesis 24, Abraham left all that he knew to go to a land where God would lead him. The faith that Abraham sought seemed to be difficult to find in those whose experience of faith might already be weak in the new land to which God had called them. It was time to find a wife for his son Isaac, and Abraham entrusted this task to his servant.
This is the story of faith and trust. Abraham trusted his servant to complete the task, Rebekah’s father and brother trusted the servant’s story, and Rebekah trusted the invitation to be a wife of Isaac and left her family. She was convinced by the servant’s story that God was at work in her life.
The servant, Eliezer, obeyed and prayed for the task Abraham offered. Today’s text reminds us of obedience to God, sincere prayer, the joy of fulfilled promises, the importance of marriage, and the value of being a good servant to our Lord.
Today’s text provides insight and importance that Abraham placed on establishing the right grounding in faith for generations to come. For Abraham, it was vital that faith was passed on from generation to generation.
Before Abraham died, he gave everything to Isaac. This included not only all his physical possessions, but he also gave Isaac a heritage of faith that he had carried all his life. We might consider how important that is for people of faith today.
In God’s plans, He hides the truth from the pride of heart and intervenes in the blindness of the hard of heart, but he waits for all those with ears to hear and their salvation. After Jesus’ righteous indignation toward the disbelieving generation had reached its peak, he expressed his compassion toward the little children and the weary and burdened who came to him.
They were the people who came to Jesus with humility and simple faith. In those days, so called the wise and learned were closed to the truth. In verses 25 to 27, Jesus praised his sovereign Father for his wisdom and his grace and turned the world’s value system on its head, for it was opposite from that of the Creator. True believers can enjoy their walk with Christ, while the arrogant unbelievers do not know Jesus exists and redeems. We can see the Father-Son relationship here. May we participate in this divine intimacy and closely walk with Jesus.
Though the majority of Israel had rejected God’s gracious offer of a covenant relationship, a few of them were demonstrating the characteristics of God’s servants, humbling themselves before God, and accepting his provision for their restoration into the kingdom. Even in the midst of a faithless generation, there remains a faithful remnant who will enjoy the covenant blessings of rest in Christ.
If we continue carrying the heavy burden of works-oriented chains, we will never find rest, but Jesus will give peaceful rest to those who recognize their own spiritual poverty and come to him. We are designed by God to follow Jesus and carry his load which is light.
Jesus encourages us to learn from him. He invites us to come and take on ourselves the light burden of obedience under the covenant and promises that he will give us the covenant reward and peaceful rest and freedom from guilt, the power of sin, self-striving and too many expectations from others.
Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God and the rest in Christ. Today’s gospel reading reminds us of Jesus’ invitation to rest. Jesus invites us to throw off the heavy burdens that the expectations of others place on us and to take on the lightness in Christ. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus invites the weary to Himself.
The blessing of living in the right relationship with Jesus is rest from the burden of selfish living and prideful self-striving and the oppression of others. Living in Christ does not mean a burden-free life, but carrying a burden which is reasonable and meaningful in Christ. It is also a rest from the burden and weary.
Jesus continues to say, “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.” In that culture, people knew that a yoke went across the necks of two beasts of burden, just in front of their shoulders, and connected them to the wagon they were to pull. Under the covenant relationship, the believers are not relieved of all work or burden but are given work that is appropriate to their abilities, within their limitations.
In fact, the believers will find the work fulfilling and rewarding rather than exhausting. In accordance with Jesus’ words, his yoke is easy and suitable, and his burden is light to bear. The easy yoke means work that is motivated by a passionate desire to see and enlarge the kingdom of God. It means work toward a certain future in which all of God’s promises will finally come true. To accept the yoke of the gentle and humble Lord is to embrace the worthy task that leads us to rest in Christ. An “easy” yoke meant that the burden being shouldered was not heavy because Jesus Christ would be pulling with us.
In Christ, we are loved and invited into a relationship that allows us to know the fullness of life. Jesus is the source of covenant blessing. He did not say, “Come to my miracles,” but “Come to me.” Learning from Jesus goes hand in hand with taking on Jesus’ yoke. What Jesus teaches us is how to live under the light burden he offers and to enjoy his rest.
Rest is not offered to the strongest; It is offered to those who have been made weary by the burden of the world. The burden is made easy by the heavenly powers coming to the help of those who serve for the Lord and walk with Jesus. Jesus comes with comfort, lifting life’s burdens and offering rest even for the lonely soul.
King Jesus is a humble and life-giving servant to save people and gives salvation, hope, victory, and rest to all who will trust him. May we be humble just like Jesus. God loves us as we are. I hope we never allow pride to take root in our lives. We need the comforting arms of Jesus. Jesus will give us heaven’s gifts. In everything, may we trust Jesus, the Messiah-King, exercise humility toward others, and rest in Christ.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)