Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

July 5, 2020

The Yoke is on You!

Saint Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

11:16 "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,

11:17 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.'

11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon';

11:19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

11:25 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;

11:26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

11:27 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.

11:28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

11:29 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.

11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Message

We begin today with a scene from Mr. Holland’s Opus -a movie made in 1995 about a band teacher at JFK High School in Portland, Oregon and his impact on the students in the 1960’s. 

Gertrude Lang, a red headed clarinet player, has just decided to throw in the towel.  She’s been a faithful band student.  Gertrude has practiced and practiced, but her clarinet still squeaks.  She is ashamed and she comes to Mr. Holland after school to turn in her clarinet.

Instead of chiding her or trying to convince her to continue he asks her:  “Is it fun?”  In other words is your heart in it?  Gertrude says that she wants it to be.

Mr. Holland says, “We’ve been doing this wrong.  We’ve been playing notes on a page.  There is a lot more to music than notes on a page.”  He then slips a 45 on the turntable and plays ‘Louie, Louie!”  Maybe you remember that song – never understood the words, but the beat was great and it was sung with great gusto.  Three chords – repeated again and again – played and sung with a passion.

He points out the passion and fun in the song:  “[Learning music] It’s about heart.  It’s about feelings, and moving people, and something beautiful, and being alive.  It is not simply about notes on a page!”

Mr. Holland goes to the piano and says, “Do me a favor, pick up your clarinet and play with me…and this time without music.”  Gertrude protests but gives in as he assures her:  “…it is already in your head, your fingers and your heart, you just don’t trust yourself to know that.”

Than the clarinet squeaks and she is discouraged and he tells her ‘not so much lip on the mouthpiece’ and she squeaks again.  They stop:  “When you look in the mirror, what do you like best about yourself.”

She responds, “My hair.”

Holland, “Why?”

Gertrude:  “Because my father says it reminds him of the sunset.:

Holland replies:  “Play the sunset.”

We continue our summer sermon series:  Summer Splendor:  The Teachings of Jesus.  This morning’s title is:  ‘The Yoke is on You.’  Don’t worry, we will get back to Mr. Holland’s Opus – but first to the text.

In the Gospel reading Jesus is teaching about discipleship and what it means to follow him.  Jesus has run into a brick wall with the religious leaders and Temple authorities.    They just don’t get it. 

They expected the Messiah to be a law giver or to throw off the yoke of the Roman occupation, or to take back power and rule like King David.  So the leaders – the religious people reject Jesus and Jesus is not a happy camper.  Jesus is frustrated and angry.

Some of us may have trouble imagining that Jesus was angry.  But he was.  Some of us may have trouble imagining that Jesus could be sarcastic.  But he was.  Listen to what he tells the authorities:

But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

Jesus compares those who reject him to fickle children who change the rules of the game when it does not go their way.  John the Baptist came neither ‘eating or drinking’ and they did not like his style – too stern –too old school.

So they played the flute telling John to ‘lighten up and dance to their tune.’

Then Jesus came and was ready to dance – dance as they had never dreamed!  With Jesus every meal was a party, as long as everyone was invited.  But they wailed about the company Jesus kept and labeled him a ‘glutton, and a ‘drunkard.’

So Jesus is speaking about the reception he received from the religious people of his time.  They were frightened by John’s call to repentance and outraged by Jesus’ inclusiveness.  They had different dreams than the dreams God has in Christ.

Jesus sarcastically exposes the religious leaders and tells them:

“Look at my deeds – the proof of the pudding is in the eating”

“Wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

In the verses that are omitted Jesus calls judgment upon those cities where he healed but the people refused his teachings

Then Jesus prays and in the prayer he discloses who ‘gets it’ – who welcomes the coming God’s loving rule – not the wise or religiously sophisticated –but the infants.

The Gospel reading then concludes with an invitation from Jesus to take up his burden and yoke and follow him.

Discipleship – what does it mean to follow Jesus and to take on his yoke?

We, too, like the religious leaders of Christ’s day may indeed expect or even require that God come to us packaged in a way that is comfortable and accessible.  I got my set formula, my favorite pew.  I know the notes and can anticipate what is next. 

Faith that is not exercised will atrophy.  Faith can become stagnant and static and stop growing.  Smug in our own religious cocoon we remain unborn.  Discipleship may come to mean nothing more than nodding one’s head to the Creed, or simply believing as set of dogmatic statements.

We may know the notes, but we are not playing the music.

Following Christ means that the yoke is on you.  Listen carefully:

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."

Notice that Jesus is not taking away the yoke or the burden – but replacing one yoke with another.  It is the lowly, the humble of heart, the weary, the yearning who are open to this invitation.  Accepting this invitation to discipleship means that the yoke is on you.

Discipleship is about a life that springs from grace.  Christianity is not about gritting our teeth and believing in the impossible, but Christianity is a matter of falling in love and being embraced by wonder.  The yoke is on you – Christianity is a process of transformation – moving from cocoon to new life.

Back to Mr. Holland’s Opus:

Gertrude and Mr. Holland become yoked – companions on a journey into the world of music.  The Biblical understanding of yoking is the image of two oxen under one yoke – pulling a plow or grinding a millstone in a circle together.  They are a team working together.

Christianity is not just about playing the notes.  It is not just about correct dogma or doctrine.  It is not about having all the right answers to our questions. It’s about heart.  It’s about feelings, and moving people, and something beautiful, and being alive.

Discipleship is about being yoked to Christ:  “learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will receive rest for your souls.”

Notice what Mr. Holland does is parallel to what Christ does.  He mentors Gertrude.  He shows her the depth and heart of music.  He helps her surrender to the music.  He invites her to play without the notes:

“…it is already in your head, your fingers and your heart, you just don’t trust yourself to know that.”

Gertrude comes to Mr. Holland weary and ready to give up – return her clarinet and quit the band.  We, too, may be weary, or have misheard Christ’s call.  Yet, Christ calls again and again to leave our preoccupied selves and surrender to God’s grace.

After Gertrude squeaks again on the clarinet, Mr. Holland asks:

“When you look in the mirror, what do you like best about yourself?

[Remember she is a redhead.]

She answers, “My hair?”

“Why?” asks Mr. Holland.

She replies, “My father always says that it reminds him of the sunset.”

To which Holland says, “Play the sunset.”

She then closes her eyes and he accompanies her in the song “Stranger on the Shore.”

When we look in the mirror, what do we like best about ourselves?  Might one answer be the mark that we received at holy baptism when the pastor made the sign of the cross and said:  “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever”?

The yoke is on you and on Christ – together.  We may be weary – our lives squeaking with doubt or ambivalence.  We may want to turn in our clarinets and simply give up playing in the band.  We know the notes, but may still not fully know or trust ourselves to play from the heart.

Christ says,   “Rid yourself of those burdens.  Quit wasting your time on worries and fear.  My yoke is on you and we are partners together in this walk through life.”

That means the yoke is on us.  Yoked to Christ we are invited to live the life he lives, a life of risk and outreach, struggle and love, creating places of welcome and sustenance, and even facing rejection for standing in solidarity with those Christ stands with--all the while resting in the one who is yoked  to us – our living Lord.

Amen