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Yoked in Faith to Christ By Rev. Jonathan Gale Sunday 7th August, 2011 Evensong Sermon 1 Kings 11: 41 – 12: 20 Death of Solomon 41 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did as well as his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 42The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. 43Solomon slept with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam succeeded him. The Northern Tribes Secede 12Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3And they sent and called him; and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4‘Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke that he placed on us, and we will serve you.’ 5He said to them, ‘Go away for three days, then come again to me.’ So the people went away. 6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, ‘How do you advise me to answer this people?’ 7They answered him, ‘If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants for ever.’ 8But he disregarded the advice that the older men gave him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and now attended him. 9He said to them, ‘What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, “Lighten the yoke that your father put on us”?’ 10The young men who had grown up with him said to him, ‘Thus you should say to this people who spoke to you, “Your father made our yoke heavy, but you must lighten it for us”; thus you should say to them, “My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. 11Now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” ’ 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had said, ‘Come to me again on the third day.’ 13The king answered the people harshly. He disregarded the advice that the older men had given him 14and spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, ‘My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’ 15So the king did not listen to the people, because it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfil his word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. 16 When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, ‘What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David.’ So Israel went away to their tents. 17But Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah. 18When King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labour, all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam then hurriedly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. First Dynasty: Jeroboam Reigns over Israel 20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone.
Matthew 11: 25 – 30 Jesus Thanks His Father 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; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All 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. 28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
In my less spiritual moments I need to bit of attitude adjustment in order to give expression to the theme of the day – carrying your cross; or in the case of the readings tonight, taking up the yoke. Especially after listening to such a beautiful rendition of that Richard Farrant anthem. What is a yoke? Well, a yoke is a crossbar with two U-shaped pieces that encircle the necks of a pair of oxen or other draft animals working together. It’s also a symbol of subjugation – of having been conquered. So a yoke involves submission and it involves work. In our Old Testament reading we read of Solomon’s son Rehoboam imposing a yoke on the already overworked people of Israel: ‘My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’ he says. And of course it all ends in tears, as the kingdom is split into Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. However this refers to an externally imposed yoke, and what I’m interested in this evening, are the yokes which are self-imposed. You see, here’s the thing – we all serve something. We all bear a yoke of some kind or the other. Bob Dylan, probably a better poet than musician, sings: You may be a construction worker working on a home You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome You might own guns and you might even own tanks You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks
You’re gonna have to serve somebody Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
In life we have a choice of 3: · The yoke of disquiet · The yoke of drudgery · The yoke of rest The first, the yoke of disquiet or a lack of peace, is the yoke of the person to whom God is a stranger. This is what one might call the burden of sin – that niggling sense that all is not well. There is none so deceived as the person who sings, “I did it my way” when that way is forged without the companionship of God. The illusion of freedom without freedom-from-sin, is complete. The prison of licence is the cruellest of all, because it promises freedom and delivers bondage to misery. This is just one of the things Jesus died to save us from. There is no peace in a godless life, and those who don’t believe wear a yoke of disquiet for peace is found only in union with God. The second is the yoke of drudgery – or if you like, the yoke of the law. This is the person who’s aware of what pleases God and tries to do so in his or her own strength. They may love the idea of compliance but attempt to follow Christ without giving themselves to God in the process. This only leads to frustration, Pharisaic legalism or resentment. It’s religion without love, what the scriptures call “5holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them!” says Paul to Timothy (2 Tim 3:5) The third yoke, is the yoke of submitting to Jesus, who promises that the yoke is light and will bring rest to our souls. ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ Jesus promises rest. Rest was something he appreciated. He was often tired and needed to escape to rest; to renew himself, physically, mentally and spiritually from the demands of ministry. And Jesus, who makes it clear that his burden is light, makes the statement that he is gentle and humble in heart. Being yoked together with him is not a punishment; it is life-giving and a joy. This is not only a relief from the burden of sin, but it is a rest into a life of peace, joy and fulfilment But there are 3 things we need to do to get there: · Jesus says, “Come to me.” Coming to him involves faith. We can’t see him, we can’t feel him, we can’t sense him with any of the 5 senses, so we come in faith, our hearts expressing love for him, and critically the submission required in order to take on a yoke. We need to approach with what the literary theorists call “a willing suspension of disbelief”. We come in faith. · Jesus says “Take my yoke.” A yoke means limitation and work. We can’t take it unless we’re prepared to pay the price. Certainly the price is in the long term nothing like the terrible price paid by those who try and escape the yoke, but it’s a price nonetheless. We take it in faith too, believing that it is in fact what Jesus says it is. A light yoke leading to rest because it’s a yoke of fellowship with him and he bears most of the burden. · And Jesus says, “Learn from me.” He’s already given a hint as to what we will learn as we’re yoked together with him. He says, “for I am gentle and humble in heart.” As we’re yoked together with the Lord, we’ll learn his nature: gentleness and humbleness. We learn in faith, because that is the very nature of our relationship with Jesus. It works by faith. We come to God in faith, approaching him with expectation that our commitment will bear the fruit of rest We take our yoke in faith, believing that our commitment to the work of God will bear the fruit of rest We learn in faith, knowing that in being yoked together with him, we’ll be changed into restful people You see in Christ, rest means more than an escape from externally imposed burdens (the kind Solomon’s son Rehoboam imposed on Israel). It means more than a release from tiredness, whether physical, mental or spiritual It means that, and more. The Letter to the Hebrews, which is a great read, gives us a sense in chapters 3 and 4 that it is the fulfilment of all that we work towards in our lives, and the writer makes it plain that it is because of a lack of faith that the rest is not achieved. So as we seek to come to Christ, to take his yoke upon us and to learn of him, let’s do so in and by faith – trusting him who loves us. Faith is what makes it possible. Faith is not some airy-fairy wish. The scripture says in Hebrews 11: 1 “Now faith is the assurance/substance/title deed of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith has substance. And Vs. 6 says “6And without faith it is impossible to please God.” The apostle Paul says in Romans 14: 23 “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” And here’s the good news; he also says in Romans 10: 17 “17So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of God.” We have a ready source from which we can build up our faith. And Jesus makes it simple: come to him, take his yoke and learn from him. Here’s a sober concluding thought: We all want lives that count. We all want to feel that our lives are significant, that they have been more than just useful for a short while. We want our life’s work to last! A fervent faith is important for it yokes us to Christ. The fulfilment of our life’s purpose, all that we hope to achieve and that we hope will survive the fire of God’s scrutiny – will be that which we have achieved in tandem with Christ - that is, what we have achieved yoked to Christ. The rest, as Isaiah says, is filthy rags. Amen. |
