Sermon: Strengthening
Medicine, (with apologies to AA Milne)
St Augustine’s Church Victor Harbor 9 July 2023
Picture - From Port Elliot at dawn
Matthew
11:25-30 28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are
carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 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. 30 For my yoke
is easy, and my burden is light.’ (NRSV)
Many of
you here today will recognise verse 28 as one of, ‘The Comfortable Words’
in the Book of Common Prayer, “Come to me all that travail and are
heavily laden and I will refresh you”. What a great word, ‘Travail.’ Does
that strike a chord in you? The old term ‘comfortable’ means to
strengthen and encourage. Hear what
strengthening, encouraging words are being offered to us gathered in community in
the presence of Christ our healer. Before we return to our passage let me
remind you once again about the context of Matthew’s Gospel which we are
reading this year.
The
Matthew community created this Gospel towards the end of the first century of
our Common Era, that’s nearly 60 years after Jesus was executed. The Matthew church
was in modern day Syria part of a Jewish community. Some are people for whom the
risen, crucified Jesus is at one with the Divine and they are in a conflict
with rabbinic and observant Jews for whom Jesus was a traitor and blasphemer.
The
Matthew community are making use of Mark’s work and draw on another set of
sayings which Luke also uses. You have probably already noticed that Mark’s
community uses many natural images of seeds and harvests but Matthew focusses
on stories about people. Matthew is all about comparing, look at this, now
consider that. The Greek is rhythmical and poetical and artfully composed.
With this chapter we begin another of the five great discourses of the work and here Matthew focuses on the Kingdom of Heaven and the two paths, one into life the other bringing death. Paul in Romans and Matthew are both wrestling with the same question.
Why don’t people get it
about the life and message of Jesus as the fulfilment of the Covenant when
Jesus Christ is among us to liberate us in the joy of the Holy Spirit? What
about us? Why don’t our neighbours, children and friends find in the joy of
being an Anglican Christian just the best thing since sourdough bread from the
Port Elliot bakery?
The late Eugene Peterson in
his paraphrase of the Scripture into a modern American idiom shapes this verse
into these words:
“Are you tired?
Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll
recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work
with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay
anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to
live freely and lightly.” (Message)
I find Eugene’s words hit
the mark. They are strengthening
medicine from the Great Physician and a call to go on being a lifelong learner
and apprentice of the Gospel. Eugene is a great Biblical scholar and, in this
paraphrase, he is seeking to express the subtle nuances of this passage which
many of us will miss. There are references here to the book of Wisdom
and Sirach. Yoke is used in the Old Testament as a metaphor of responding
to the Covenant. The yoke of Jesus is the embrace of love.
It may be helpful to remind
ourselves of the prodigal who running away immerses himself in what Paul in Romans
calls the flesh. This is not a body hatred. Flesh means distorted
desires that warp and poison human relationships. The son offers to put on the
yoke of a slave to pay back his father. Instead, there is unconditional love
wrapped around him ‘Come to me, get away with me and you’ll recover your
life’
Anglican Sister of the Love of God Clare Louise draws our attention to the burden of the cult of beauty, shaming and the power of advertising in our febrile society with its message that you are only acceptable on terms set by others. Most of us feel pressures to be successful with the perfect Instagram life.
‘If we feel empty, alone and unsafe we will tend to seek validation in others. When we can find our identity and security in love of God and in a healthy sense of self-worth based on that relationship, then we will be able to meet others with freedom and openness’ p 32 Monastic Vocation SLG Press.
French writer Simone Pacot reminds us of the distortion that comes from our deep emotional and spiritual wounds and burdens of life that serve as a deep spiritual infection. She warns that for some throwing ourselves into a fervent spirituality can be a way of evasion and self-deceit.
‘Instead we are to remain patient with
ourselves and allow ourselves to be bathed in the mercy that little by little
restores us” p 922 Evangelising the Depths.
The strengthening medicine arrives in truthful prayer, in community, scripture and sacrament and the still small voice. While I yearn for healing in my travails I also often resist, fearful of change; I like to feel in control and habits are comfortable. I want the instant fix, the easy renovation or getting someone else to do the work. I drown out the inner voice with my noise and distraction rather than meditating.
When
we can find our identity and security in love of God and in a healthy sense of
self-worth based on that relationship, then we will be able to meet others with
freedom and openness’
Let us be patient with
ourselves and others practicing kindness, gentleness and humility with
intelligence and curiosity. As human beings becoming ever more authentic, loving,
integrated, peaceful and real that others feel safe around. In this way we
become the answer to the prayers of others, strengthening medicine generous,
compassionate Christlike a channel for the fire of Divine Love. Amen
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