Rest for the Weary

Collect for the Third Sunday in Lent

Almighty God, you know that I have no power in myself to help myself: Keep me both outwardly in my body and inwardly in my soul, that I may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ the Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Rest for the Weary (Matthew 11:2-12:50)

Jesus isn't pulling any punches in these chapters filled with teaching, healing, and run-ins with the authorities. He compares his opponents to whiny “children sitting in the marketplaces” (11:16); he pronounces woes upon the cities that witnessed his “deeds of power” and yet “did not repent” (11:20); he flouts the laws prohibiting work on the sabbath (12:1-14); and he calls the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” (12:34) and worse. But amid all the vitriol are some equally significant moments of mercy, like the restoration of a man's withered hand (12:13-14) and a demoniac's senses (12:22).

I think there's an important insight bound up in the contrasts found in this eighty-verse emotional roller coaster. On one hand, we are reminded that Jesus is nothing if not demanding. With his words he warns repeatedly of the coming “day of judgment” (11:22, 12:36), and with his actions he calls his followers to join him in sacrificial solidarity with all who are needy, ailing, or marginalized (11:5, 11:19, 11:25, 12:13-14, 12:22). There's no doubt about it: the Lord expects great things from us.

AND there is tender reassurance here too, a reminder that God mercifully equips us for the work ahead. We saw at the beginning of Chapter 10 how Jesus gave his disciples authority to do their healing work in the Judean countryside. Now at the end of chapter 11 he promises us all a still greater gift: “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” (11:28-30).

We hear these words so often that I think it's easy to overlook their counter-intuitive implication. But it seems like the message is this: the rest and refreshment goes (or rather comes) hand in hand with our willingness to shoulder, as it were, the responsibility God places upon us. It is in taking up the work of the gospel that we receive the rest our souls so long for. How exactly does that work? Beats me. My guess is that it helps us reevaluate the weight we were originally carrying.

Kyle Oliver

Seminarian studying at Virginia Theological Seminary

St. Francis House Episcopal Student Center, Madison