It has been a wearying time, but leadership in our churches has been extraordinary

A gospel passage which will be read in most churches tomorrow contains those famous and, at first sight, comforting words of Jesus “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.”
By Rev Dr Houston McKelvey OBE
Published 4th Jul 2020, 07:00 GMT
Updated 4th Jul 2020, 09:08 GMT
The Very Rev Dr Houston McKelveyThe Very Rev Dr Houston McKelvey
The Very Rev Dr Houston McKelvey

It has been a wearying time to be the church lately. Grief over the loss of so many lives to the coronavirus is a hard weight to bear in our families, in our communities, world, and churches. The loss of jobs and livelihoods is devastating. The inability to meet face to face, to congregate, to embrace, to comfort, and to console in person is nothing but a loss – a deep, aching loss. The shutting down of so much and the staying inside so long has felt like a long slog with heavy packs.

No matter which way I look at it the Biblical refrain comes to me both as comfort and judgment. The leadership in our churches has been extraordinary. They’ve done amazing work live-streaming worship, recording sermons, creating virtual choirs, checking in with people via telephone, leading online Bible studies.

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We also hear how wearying all this has been. Learning new technologies is frustrating. We spend hours upon hours recording and uploading a 15-minute sermon or a four-minute hymn and wonder how can this be.

A second way late modern society boxes us in is by saying religion must be a purely private matter. As long as we keep our faith to ourselves, we will be tolerated. Cross the line and dare to speak about matters of public concern and we get labelled as fanatics.

We know this cannot be true. The gospels don’t give us much insight into the interior lives and feelings of Jesus and the disciples, but we do witness a lot of doing. Jesus moves and acts in public space, healing, teaching, feeding, proclaiming, forgiving, loving. He was turned over to the Roman authorities, publicly executed, and rose again on the third day. The kingdom of God is announced, enacted, and embodied in public. The gospel is not about the private life of Jesus, but the politics of Jesus.

Our gospel lesson offers genuine comfort to those of us who are weary and carrying heavy burdens. Yet we must guard against turning Jesus into someone or something he is not. He is not a commodity that we distribute to consumers.

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He is the One whom we meet in Matthew’s gospel: the personification of Wisdom, the Son of God, Israel’s Messiah, the Crucified and Risen Lord, the founder of the Messianic kingdom, the One who promises true rest, Sabbath rest, foretold in creation, made flesh and blood in his person, fulfilled in the Messianic banquet.

It is His yoke that is easy. It is His burden that is light. It is in Him that we will find rest for our weary souls.

Related topics:JesusIsrael