WEBVTT 00:00:01.179 --> 00:00:04.860 Howdy. Man, we managed to get through the 4th 00:00:04.860 --> 00:00:06.740 of July and you're actually here at church on 00:00:06.740 --> 00:00:10.140 a Sunday. All right. Congratulations. All right. 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:13.320 Oh, man. Dino told me I had to come today. So 00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:16.000 there you go. But apparently some of the mold 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:18.280 spores decided to bloom this week. So it's a 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:21.660 lot of fun. But you know, we gather today on 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:25.219 a weekend when our nation pauses to celebrate 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:28.820 the 4th of July. And in moments like this, it's 00:00:28.820 --> 00:00:31.250 fitting to slow down. and to name what we're 00:00:31.250 --> 00:00:35.509 grateful for. We are grateful for the gift of 00:00:35.509 --> 00:00:37.689 living in a country where there's freedom of 00:00:37.689 --> 00:00:40.450 worship, where we can gather openly as God's 00:00:40.450 --> 00:00:43.229 people without fear. We are grateful for freedom 00:00:43.229 --> 00:00:45.990 of speech, where voices can be heard and ideas 00:00:45.990 --> 00:00:48.549 can be exchanged. We're grateful for the freedom 00:00:48.549 --> 00:00:51.570 to gather, where communities can form, churches 00:00:51.570 --> 00:00:55.429 can congregate, and neighbors can serve one another. 00:00:56.270 --> 00:00:59.229 We're grateful for the opportunity to work, to 00:00:59.229 --> 00:01:03.240 build. To study to contribute not just to the 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:06.040 common good but also to our families and the 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:08.859 lives that we've been given We're grateful for 00:01:08.859 --> 00:01:15.120 baseball football American football and The other 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:19.480 one's good too, but hot dogs barbecue Buc -E's 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:23.079 giant roadside attractions like balls of twine 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:26.120 and mirrors fireworks and backyard cook -ups 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:30.719 and pickup trucks rock and roll, state fairs, 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:34.480 s'mores, funnel cakes, and, of course, apple 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:39.379 pie. We're grateful for so many things that we 00:01:39.379 --> 00:01:42.540 end up taking for granted, but also especially 00:01:42.540 --> 00:01:44.659 for the men and women who've served in the military, 00:01:45.239 --> 00:01:47.379 for those whose sacrifice has helped preserve 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:50.260 a measure of peace and stability that we also 00:01:50.260 --> 00:01:52.959 take for granted. There's so much to give thanks 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.659 for, and many of us, as we do so, we might think 00:01:56.659 --> 00:02:01.099 to ourselves, About our national anthem, but 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:04.180 you see when I was a kid I was never able to 00:02:04.180 --> 00:02:06.019 remember which song was actually the national 00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:09.460 anthem So for me, I would always switch back 00:02:09.460 --> 00:02:12.960 to Lee Greenwood's God bless the USA and I'd 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:14.639 be like, okay now we're gonna sing God bless 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:16.879 USA I'm like wait, what's this? Oh say can you 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:20.159 see I have no idea and There's that line that 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:22.280 it has where it says I'm proud to be an American 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:26.319 where at least I know I'm free and It captures 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:30.330 something real in the human heart. Belonging, 00:02:30.610 --> 00:02:34.710 gratitude, affection for home and people. And 00:02:34.710 --> 00:02:38.210 in fact, with all this is there is actually a 00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:41.229 distinction that I think we actually do need 00:02:41.229 --> 00:02:45.550 to make. Because when we use the word proud, 00:02:46.330 --> 00:02:50.229 sometimes it gets confused because proud oftentimes 00:02:50.229 --> 00:02:53.979 describes what can be like an achievement. But 00:02:53.979 --> 00:02:56.340 you see, being an American, it's not something 00:02:56.340 --> 00:02:59.219 that any single one of us has ever achieved on 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:02.620 our own. It's not something that we can earn. 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:06.219 It's not something other than what we receive. 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:09.639 It is a gift that either we were born or welcomed 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:14.659 into, shaped by generations of sacrifice, struggle, 00:03:15.259 --> 00:03:18.900 providence far beyond any one single person's 00:03:18.900 --> 00:03:23.000 efforts. And that means the more honest posture 00:03:23.150 --> 00:03:28.389 is not as much pride as gratitude. Gratitude 00:03:28.389 --> 00:03:31.210 that receives what it did not create. Gratitude 00:03:31.210 --> 00:03:33.310 that can hold together both the blessings of 00:03:33.310 --> 00:03:36.389 freedom and the struggles that our lives still 00:03:36.389 --> 00:03:40.349 experience. Yes, life is hard, but gratitude 00:03:40.349 --> 00:03:42.810 says I am thankful to be part of this story. 00:03:43.110 --> 00:03:45.349 And I am called to live faithfully within it 00:03:45.349 --> 00:03:48.949 however God allows me that opportunity. And from 00:03:48.949 --> 00:03:52.050 that place, we can give honor where it is due. 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:55.759 For those who have had courage and sacrifice 00:03:55.759 --> 00:03:58.659 in our armed forces But also acknowledging that 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:01.500 there are countless others that in our society 00:04:01.500 --> 00:04:04.180 in our cities and states throughout our nation 00:04:04.180 --> 00:04:07.580 There are those who quietly and faithfully carry 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:11.379 out their tasks so that our nation can be who 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:16.079 it is And you know this nation is carried along 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.180 by millions of unseen acts every single day generations 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:24.029 where The blessings of God are lived out by those 00:04:24.029 --> 00:04:28.449 who have given so much. So today, we give thanks 00:04:28.449 --> 00:04:33.009 not as much about pride, because it's not about 00:04:33.009 --> 00:04:36.689 trying to lift us above others, as if somehow 00:04:36.689 --> 00:04:39.350 we're inherently better than other people, but 00:04:39.350 --> 00:04:42.310 rather with gratitude that opens our heart to 00:04:42.310 --> 00:04:46.889 what God has been doing among us. To see that 00:04:46.889 --> 00:04:50.370 we're thinking about that opening line If we 00:04:50.370 --> 00:04:53.050 were really seeing this from God's perspective, 00:04:54.129 --> 00:04:56.850 we might have to say, and I'm humbled to be an 00:04:56.850 --> 00:05:00.569 American. It doesn't flow quite as well. And 00:05:00.569 --> 00:05:03.029 nobody waves a flag when you're saying how humble 00:05:03.029 --> 00:05:06.990 you are. But humility though, that is what helps 00:05:06.990 --> 00:05:11.189 us receive life as a gift rather than an achievement. 00:05:11.870 --> 00:05:14.990 In the same posture, this is something throughout 00:05:14.990 --> 00:05:17.959 American history. There have been seasons where 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:21.139 life was defined by relentless labor and the 00:05:21.139 --> 00:05:24.120 pressure to perform. Where people were just treated 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:27.980 like what their worth was in output, productivity. 00:05:29.300 --> 00:05:32.040 This isn't just the things that we sometimes 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:35.860 tell ourselves is so difficult. Where we constantly 00:05:35.860 --> 00:05:39.480 say, oh, that email could have just been a text 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:42.439 and that meeting could have been an email. But 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:45.420 those who had to be in factories and coal mines 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:49.050 and... on farmlands and ranches and those who 00:05:49.050 --> 00:05:51.470 struggled at times rather than experiencing the 00:05:51.470 --> 00:05:55.610 nature and joy that we have. There are societies 00:05:55.610 --> 00:05:59.689 where we recognize that times when order and 00:05:59.689 --> 00:06:02.930 stability was being created, but it oftentimes 00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:06.189 would not be for all people. And so this is not 00:06:06.189 --> 00:06:08.990 about trying to say whether we have ever intended 00:06:08.990 --> 00:06:11.529 to do what is wrong, but rather to acknowledge 00:06:11.529 --> 00:06:15.180 that humans typically mess things up when our 00:06:15.180 --> 00:06:19.480 pride is involved. And that's why humility matters 00:06:19.480 --> 00:06:23.180 so much in our scriptures for today. There's 00:06:23.180 --> 00:06:26.680 a quote for you. Humility must always be the 00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:31.160 portion of any man who receives a claim earned 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:34.800 in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.899 of his friends. Eisenhower spoke these words 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:41.420 during the Guildhall speech in London in 1945. 00:06:41.930 --> 00:06:45.089 As supreme allied commander, he had just overseen 00:06:45.089 --> 00:06:48.230 the defeat of Nazi Germany. Having sent millions 00:06:48.230 --> 00:06:52.029 of men into combat, he used this moment of monumental 00:06:52.029 --> 00:06:56.009 victory to reflect solemnly on the devastating 00:06:56.009 --> 00:06:59.589 cost of war, rejecting personal pride in favor 00:06:59.589 --> 00:07:22.279 of the sacrifices of his troops. Sorry y 'all 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:25.459 Abraham Lincoln known for guiding the nation 00:07:25.459 --> 00:07:27.819 through the Civil War promoting generals who 00:07:27.819 --> 00:07:31.680 had criticized him and in even admitting when 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:34.540 the military strategies had failed There's a 00:07:34.540 --> 00:07:37.240 quote associated with him I have been driven 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:39.699 many times upon my knees by the overwhelming 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:43.699 conviction that I had nowhere else to go My own 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:46.959 wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:51.500 for the day That posture of humility is not only 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:54.920 helpful for understanding civic life But it also 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:57.199 parallels something deeper that we need to think 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:01.279 about with our gospel reading Not because Christ 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:04.959 came to make us American that is not what the 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:07.839 cross is about But rather because the freedom 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:10.459 that we experience here can help us understand 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:13.819 something about how God works Because the freedom 00:08:13.819 --> 00:08:17.100 that allows us to hear to receive and to respond 00:08:17.100 --> 00:08:20.319 to Christ It's about something not being forced. 00:08:21.220 --> 00:08:24.120 Faith cannot be forced. It must be received. 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:27.879 It must be opened by God Himself. And that is 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:30.639 where Jesus is beginning. He's speaking into 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.539 a world that was deeply religious, deeply serious 00:08:33.539 --> 00:08:36.700 about God. But they were often missing what God 00:08:36.700 --> 00:08:40.399 was actually doing right in front of them. Instead 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:42.820 of receiving what God was giving, many had become 00:08:42.820 --> 00:08:46.759 focused on trying to maintain control. protecting 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:49.980 their own interpretations, guarding traditions, 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:53.220 and building systems that made their life feel 00:08:53.220 --> 00:08:57.299 secure, but also allowed them to resist ever 00:08:57.299 --> 00:09:00.860 being corrected. And that showed up in very real 00:09:00.860 --> 00:09:04.980 ways. The Sabbath, for example, it was meant 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:08.600 as a gift of rest and trusting in God that He 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:11.559 would take care of you for this one day of the 00:09:11.559 --> 00:09:15.370 week. But over time, it became surrounded by 00:09:15.370 --> 00:09:19.250 detailed expectations. What counted as work? 00:09:19.750 --> 00:09:22.570 How far were you allowed to walk? What could 00:09:22.570 --> 00:09:24.590 you or could you not do? Could you help your 00:09:24.590 --> 00:09:28.090 friend who was injured? Or would that be considered 00:09:28.090 --> 00:09:30.590 work? You'd have to hope he lives until the next 00:09:30.590 --> 00:09:33.809 day. Could you walk to see your family, or were 00:09:33.809 --> 00:09:36.870 they just a few feet too far away? And that would 00:09:36.870 --> 00:09:39.450 be considered breaking the Sabbath. Could you 00:09:39.450 --> 00:09:43.159 light a fire? at a time when maybe you'd be at 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:46.639 risk of freezing to death. Something meant to 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:50.379 be a gift of freedom, freedom to rest and to 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:52.600 know God, slowly began to feel like something 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:55.519 that you had to manage correctly just to prove 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:59.120 yourself to other people. Or the purity laws 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:02.440 at the time. They were meant to shape people 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:04.879 that they would show themselves as belonging 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:08.600 to God, but they could be interpreted as ways 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:11.809 to keep a distance. from those who are struggling 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:16.470 or treated as unclean. You could say, I don't 00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:19.750 trust you, so therefore, I'm going to keep my 00:10:19.750 --> 00:10:22.909 distance from you. And instead of finding a way 00:10:22.909 --> 00:10:27.029 to form a community that was merciful, instead, 00:10:27.289 --> 00:10:31.250 they use this as an excuse to separate from compassion. 00:10:32.149 --> 00:10:35.830 And even devotion and giving could be about correctness 00:10:35.830 --> 00:10:40.799 and precision instead of justice. mercy and faithfulness. 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:45.019 It doesn't matter how tight things may be for 00:10:45.019 --> 00:10:48.980 you, I give more than you, so therefore, I must 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:53.659 be better in God's eyes. Over time, faith can 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:57.740 sometimes shift from a trust in God to confidence 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:01.340 in believing we are right before God. And even 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:04.700 now, there are echoes of this in our own world. 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:09.000 Whether in work or society, people will oftentimes 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:12.379 measure what they can produce rather than the 00:11:12.379 --> 00:11:16.000 dignity of every human being. But there are categories 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.000 where we put people into a box instead of trying 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:23.519 to build a relationship with them. Because human 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.539 pride always has a way of narrowing down what 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:30.200 we see. And that's the world that Jesus speaks 00:11:30.200 --> 00:11:34.000 into. Because Jesus says the Father reveals truth 00:11:34.570 --> 00:11:37.629 Not to the ones who are assured of themselves, 00:11:38.350 --> 00:11:41.309 but to the humble. Not to those who assume that 00:11:41.309 --> 00:11:43.409 they can already see everything clearly, but 00:11:43.409 --> 00:11:47.490 to those who are willing to receive like children. 00:11:48.509 --> 00:11:52.809 You know that one person in your life who never 00:11:52.809 --> 00:11:56.830 is able to be told anything? That one person 00:11:56.830 --> 00:12:00.309 where whatever you're discussing, they know the 00:12:00.309 --> 00:12:02.370 right answer and you don't really have something 00:12:02.370 --> 00:12:06.039 you can correct them on? That one person where 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:09.259 no matter what, even if they are somehow wrong, 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:13.960 it was still all a part of their argument. See, 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:16.539 it's not ever a question of being less intelligent. 00:12:17.259 --> 00:12:22.039 It's about being willing to be taught. Something 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:25.740 that we never should outgrow. Because the real 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:28.220 barrier in our lives is not a lack of information. 00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:34.029 It's the refusal to let God form us. and it shows 00:12:34.029 --> 00:12:36.929 up so often. Sometimes we hear the Scriptures. 00:12:37.889 --> 00:12:40.309 We assume we already know what they mean, so 00:12:40.309 --> 00:12:42.610 we kind of tune ourselves out and we're trying 00:12:42.610 --> 00:12:44.769 to think through what our plans are for later 00:12:44.769 --> 00:12:48.529 that day. We stop listening until it's time that 00:12:48.529 --> 00:12:51.909 we think we can speak again. Or sometimes we 00:12:51.909 --> 00:12:54.850 filter everything through what we already believe 00:12:54.850 --> 00:12:58.669 about ourselves. Rather than letting God say, 00:12:59.129 --> 00:13:01.750 I see you how you really are, and I'm going to 00:13:01.750 --> 00:13:05.740 reshape you. And sometimes whenever we hear correction, 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:09.279 either through a person that we know or maybe 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:12.639 the occasional sermon, our first instinct is 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:15.860 to protect ourselves rather than receive what 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:20.179 we're hearing. We rarely say, I'm being prideful. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:24.120 We usually say, that just doesn't apply to me. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.659 Because if we're honest, admitting that we're 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:29.440 wrong is scary. It feels like losing something. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:32.019 We worry that if we let go of the things that 00:13:32.019 --> 00:13:35.080 we've always believed, or we admit that we've 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:38.580 failed, then somehow we will lose ourselves. 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:42.559 But Jesus, He never humbles us because He's trying 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:46.539 to shame us. He humbles us so that He can heal 00:13:46.539 --> 00:13:50.100 us. Because instead of letting us do things in 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:54.179 our way, He's bringing us back to Himself. Sometimes 00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:56.360 life moves so fast that if you don't slow down 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:58.700 long enough, then you can't actually be changed 00:13:58.700 --> 00:14:01.659 by what you hear. And all of that is another 00:14:01.659 --> 00:14:04.279 form of the same thing. The quiet assumption 00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:08.220 that we are already good enough. And that is 00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:12.580 why Jesus goes even deeper. And He says no one 00:14:12.580 --> 00:14:16.039 knows the Father except the Son. And that is 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:19.200 the turning point. Because Jesus is not just 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:21.700 trying to correct our misunderstandings about 00:14:21.700 --> 00:14:25.279 God. He's actually saying that true knowledge 00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:29.080 of God That's not something where you climb toward 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:32.580 it with learning enough and praying hard enough 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:34.799 and serving hard enough and then you finally 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:39.299 are at that point. True knowledge of God is something 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:42.840 by being brought into Christ Jesus each and every 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:48.059 day. In other words, humility is not just being 00:14:48.059 --> 00:14:51.559 open to being corrected. It is being open to 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:54.480 the relationship that we always need to have. 00:14:55.690 --> 00:15:00.389 When I was in college, my mom always wanted me 00:15:00.389 --> 00:15:02.269 to give her a call back, but she would never 00:15:02.269 --> 00:15:06.289 use an answering machine. Answering machines 00:15:06.289 --> 00:15:08.330 were these things that existed before voicemail 00:15:08.330 --> 00:15:11.690 and texts. There were tapes, these things that 00:15:11.690 --> 00:15:14.129 would scroll and you'd record on these things. 00:15:14.269 --> 00:15:16.230 Cassette tapes. I know it's weird. You could 00:15:16.230 --> 00:15:20.529 actually put verbs on there. But these answering 00:15:20.529 --> 00:15:23.649 machines, my mom would never get one because 00:15:23.649 --> 00:15:26.440 she said, I don't want you to leave a message 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:29.080 for me. I want you to keep trying until you get 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:35.600 me. Okay, Mom. Call five minutes later. But you 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:37.580 know, that's the thing about it is because it 00:15:37.580 --> 00:15:41.100 was not as much the information as much as making 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:44.419 sure that there was still the relationship. See, 00:15:44.419 --> 00:15:48.779 we don't reach God by effort either. We're brought 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:51.940 to Him by the Son who reveals the Father to us. 00:15:52.110 --> 00:15:55.250 That relationship is what we need because we're 00:15:55.250 --> 00:15:59.350 being led directly into this invitation. Jesus 00:15:59.350 --> 00:16:04.029 goes further and says, Come to me, all who labor 00:16:04.029 --> 00:16:06.590 and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 00:16:07.529 --> 00:16:10.370 And Jesus is speaking to people. They are worn 00:16:10.370 --> 00:16:14.309 down. It's not just by life, but by the weight 00:16:14.309 --> 00:16:18.649 of trying to get everything right. Because trying 00:16:18.649 --> 00:16:23.559 to act like a good Jesus follower It gets exhausting. 00:16:24.919 --> 00:16:26.820 It can sometimes feel like a lot of pressure. 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:30.120 And for those who are in his community, the ones 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:32.980 who are constantly following their rabbis, it 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:37.340 was just as exhausting then too. See, maybe many 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:41.159 of us experience these things today. Maybe you're 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:43.000 the parent who lies awake and you're wondering 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.779 if you've done enough for your children that 00:16:45.779 --> 00:16:48.620 day. Every decision feels important and you're 00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:51.600 afraid of getting it wrong. Maybe you're caring 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.940 for a spouse or a parent and their health is 00:16:54.940 --> 00:16:57.840 declining and you keep discovering that love 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:00.360 is exhausting even though you know it's beautiful. 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.460 Maybe work has become one deadline after another 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:07.220 and even when you get home, your mind is still 00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:10.700 at the office. Maybe a student who feels like 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:13.599 every grade determines the future because maybe 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:16.740 it does. Or maybe you're retired and wondering 00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:19.279 why you think that your best years are behind 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:23.299 you. Or maybe carrying grief that no one else 00:17:23.299 --> 00:17:26.140 can see. Carrying guilt that you wish you could 00:17:26.140 --> 00:17:29.859 forget. Carrying anxiety that greets you even 00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:32.799 before your alarm clock does. And perhaps the 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:35.660 heaviest burden of all is the one that we hide 00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:38.519 from everyone else. The feeling that if we could 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:41.119 just do a little better, if we could just be 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:43.599 a little stronger, if we could just have a little 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:47.039 more faith, then maybe God would finally be pleased 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:51.880 and bless us. And then he uses a word that his 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:54.500 followers would have immediately understood. 00:17:55.420 --> 00:18:01.059 Yoke. Because unlike a yoke on oxen where they're 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:04.640 plowing through the field with it, this keeping 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:07.279 them together and moving at the same pace, a 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.960 rabbi's yoke was about his teaching. To take 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:13.819 a rabbi's yoke meant, I am going to learn your 00:18:13.819 --> 00:18:16.839 way of life. I'm going to walk the way you walk. 00:18:16.920 --> 00:18:19.599 I will shape my life around your instruction." 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:24.140 And every teacher had a yoke, had expectations 00:18:24.140 --> 00:18:28.400 and teachings to follow. Every way of life carried 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:31.759 some form of burden. But some burdens were really 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:36.240 heavy. Some rabbis might interpret a high demand 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.599 coming from the law in their interpretation. 00:18:39.240 --> 00:18:41.539 And so their students would have little rest 00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:44.940 and little mercy. even while they may have seen 00:18:44.940 --> 00:18:47.819 themselves in a more forgiving light. Instead 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:50.220 of the rabbis bearing the load along with their 00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:53.680 students, they might put the weight on the students 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:58.140 alone. But then there's Jesus saying, take my 00:18:58.140 --> 00:19:01.440 yoke instead. Not because there's no weight in 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:04.480 following Jesus, but because the weight is different. 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:08.359 It is light because Jesus carries what we cannot 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:11.990 ourselves carry. Jesus strengthens us to do the 00:19:11.990 --> 00:19:15.049 things that He commands. Jesus walks with us 00:19:15.049 --> 00:19:18.670 rather than standing over us. Jesus bears the 00:19:18.670 --> 00:19:22.109 weight we were not meant to carry alone. And 00:19:22.109 --> 00:19:26.549 even in our own history, we know the times whenever 00:19:26.549 --> 00:19:31.210 life has felt more like self -reliance than it 00:19:31.210 --> 00:19:35.309 has ever been on rest. Being in a world where 00:19:35.309 --> 00:19:38.779 we may often feel alone. The times of the past 00:19:38.779 --> 00:19:41.259 where people were settling wild country sides 00:19:41.259 --> 00:19:44.500 or establishing laws and equality to free people 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:48.640 from physical suffering from past labor. History 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:52.099 has not been something where any of us is meant 00:19:52.099 --> 00:19:55.720 to do it alone. But in this life that we live, 00:19:55.839 --> 00:19:59.099 Jesus steps into that and offers something different 00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:03.720 from the world. Not isolation, but a shared life. 00:20:04.579 --> 00:20:08.000 And this is the heart of it. is that he is not 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.920 the only one who gives burden. He is not only 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:16.940 one who gives burden, but rather, he is one who 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:21.420 then takes it upon himself. So this is not about 00:20:21.420 --> 00:20:24.480 saying here is a burden for you, but rather saying 00:20:24.480 --> 00:20:27.799 this is the burden that you deserve, but I will 00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:31.880 take it on myself. Because my yoke is easy and 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:35.190 my burden is light. And even as one ox was always 00:20:35.190 --> 00:20:38.309 going to be stronger than the other, they were 00:20:38.309 --> 00:20:41.630 leading that younger ox along so that they could 00:20:41.630 --> 00:20:44.410 live the life they were meant to. And that changes 00:20:44.410 --> 00:20:47.430 everything. Because the goal is not that we become 00:20:47.430 --> 00:20:50.150 people who prove that we're carrying life well 00:20:50.150 --> 00:20:53.390 enough. The goal is that we become people who 00:20:53.390 --> 00:20:57.289 walk with Christ. Not proud people who assume 00:20:57.289 --> 00:21:00.730 that we've gotten everything right for 250 years, 00:21:01.289 --> 00:21:04.730 but grateful people who recognize that we have 00:21:04.730 --> 00:21:07.210 been given freedoms, opportunities, and mercy 00:21:07.210 --> 00:21:10.930 that go beyond anything we deserve. And each 00:21:10.930 --> 00:21:14.750 generation is meant to come again and again to 00:21:14.750 --> 00:21:18.170 learn, to grow, and to live more faithfully than 00:21:18.170 --> 00:21:21.390 the one before. So we don't treat the past as 00:21:21.390 --> 00:21:25.690 something that we should be repeating, but rather, 00:21:26.250 --> 00:21:28.950 we look to say what is it that we're called to 00:21:28.950 --> 00:21:33.599 do with it right now. We live in the present 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:37.359 where Christ is still teaching, still correcting, 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:42.420 still forgiving, and still guiding. And for all 00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:44.259 the places where we know that we haven't lived 00:21:44.259 --> 00:21:47.180 the way that we should have, His forgiveness 00:21:47.180 --> 00:21:51.119 does not erase the future. It opens it. Because 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:53.880 Jesus is not asking us to carry the weight alone. 00:21:54.740 --> 00:21:58.160 He's calling us to follow Him. And because He 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:02.539 is not standing at the finish line, with his 00:22:02.539 --> 00:22:05.880 arms crossed saying, are you finally going to 00:22:05.880 --> 00:22:09.779 get here? Are you finally going to make it? He 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:13.319 comes alongside us for that burden. He places 00:22:13.319 --> 00:22:16.039 his shoulder under that weight. He walks with 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:18.680 us. And when we stumble, he doesn't walk away. 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:22.720 He steadies us, forgives us, and keeps leading 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:25.500 us forward. And that's why his yoke is easy and 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:28.599 his burden is light. Not because life suddenly 00:22:28.599 --> 00:22:32.009 becomes simple. But because we never carry it 00:22:32.009 --> 00:22:35.730 by ourselves ever again and perhaps that is true 00:22:35.730 --> 00:22:39.910 of our lives as Americans as well We don't celebrate 00:22:39.910 --> 00:22:42.269 because we have to say we've gotten everything 00:22:42.269 --> 00:22:45.309 right We celebrate with gratitude because God 00:22:45.309 --> 00:22:48.890 has given us blessings and opportunities To call 00:22:48.890 --> 00:22:52.009 that he has called us to love him and to love 00:22:52.009 --> 00:22:55.250 our neighbors more faithfully Every new day is 00:22:55.250 --> 00:22:57.730 another opportunity where we repent for where 00:22:57.730 --> 00:23:01.470 we failed Rejoice for where God has been gracious, 00:23:02.049 --> 00:23:05.730 and we keep walking with Christ into the future 00:23:05.730 --> 00:23:09.470 He's prepared for us. So may we be grateful to 00:23:09.470 --> 00:23:13.190 God, the one who leads us into that future that 00:23:13.190 --> 00:23:16.849 is not about us, but about the Savior who has 00:23:16.849 --> 00:23:20.289 given us everything in His sacrifice. Amen.