Proper 9A, Zechariah 9:9-12, 145:8-14, Romans 7:21-8:6, Matthew 11:25-30 The Rev. J. Brian Ponder, Chaplain Church of the Resurrection, Starkville, Mississippi July 3, 2005 In the Name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. It's kind of funny just what some of your early interpretations can be as a child. My mom sometimes reminds me of the way I used to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as a youngster. I got it just about right … just about. My rendition went as follows: Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is butter dream. Life is butter dream. … Our Gospel reading today at one time also presented me with quite an impression. "… [M]y yoke is easy, and my burden is light." I wasn't too sure what to make of a light burden, … but the rest of it conjured up for me the image of runny eggs on a plate--yolks--when I was about that same age. It's funny how as a child you make some connections and others, well … you eventually learn. But then again, maybe sometimes it makes more sense the original way you learned it! As I'm sure you know, this week's G8 summit will consider some tough issues. British prime minister, Tony Blair, has made in particular, the issues of poverty, hunger and starvation and the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa, an uppermost concern on the meeting's agenda. You may also be aware of the Live8 concerts that took place yesterday in ten cities the world-over to bring awareness to the plight of so many in Africa and, indeed, around the world. The organizers' purpose was to again bring to the fore those often overshadowed by the great; those who are easily forgotten in our world; those on whom many have simply given up; those from whom eyes and the dollar, let alone human touch, often turn away. Unlike its counterpart, the LiveAid concert of some 20 years ago, there seems to be no massive campaign to raise monies at this time with the renewed effort to raise awareness. The goal of the concerts was simply to spark within a newer generation--a younger generation--an attentiveness to the needs of the world around them, to become attuned to the pulse of life suppressed under foot, to bring about some fathom of shared humanity and empathy for the other. And, as I understand it, Live8's organizers are simply trying to rally voices so that those in or with power will do something about poverty, AIDS, starvation and the cycles of degradation which accompany them--to open scope to the world around, rather than learn the ways of self-focus, of short- sightedness, and of "me" that seem to infiltrate our everyday lives. It's the difference between "justice" rather than "just us." As a chaplain, I especially try to keep up with current popular culture. I try to stay aware of events that are shaping our world, and yes, you can even find me watching some TV from time to time … MTVU with it's focus on the college scene; other music channels; various network and cable TV "reality" shows. It's all very interesting to say the least. Interesting … Now don't get the impression that what I'm doing all day long is watching TV or reading up on trends and listening to the radio; but there are a few shows and other things that I try to catch on a somewhat regular basis, so that I can see just what's being thrown out there to be eaten up again and again. And, surprisingly, I find myself over and over somewhat wary (at least I think surprisingly so considering my age) of a lot of the technology and access to information and images and sound bytes and situations that are being crammed down our throats, and what's more, teenagers' and young adults' throats incessantly. And it's not just one or two outlets, it seems to be just about everywhere you turn--where everything not important is played up and everything important is played down. Now with that said, I want to be clear that I'm not giving a denouncing sermon outlining the evils of pop culture and its proponents. I don't want you to think that I'm standing here ready to tell you or anyone else what to watch, or listen to, or partake in, or not for that matter. I simply want to make an observation … an observation … that someone, some group, some tiny group of folks out there decided in this world of ours to get together to reiterate something that a lot of us either missed or maybe even forgot about somewhere along the way the first time around … that we need each other. And it's a voice that has cried out counterculturally to a great deal of what our secular world buys-into these days. This voice now cries out to kids, who are to a large degree, a fallout of the "ME" generation, and it cries out to others as well. This voice is something that is extremely countercultural to the images and sound-bytes and info-clips and the you-name-its that are inundating the world around us--ideas which muddy the waters between wants, desires and authentic needs; or that tell us we have to be smart enough, or pretty enough, or man or woman enough, or do this to be popular, or isolate, or interiorize, or act out, or be something you're not, or worse, be made into something you're not, something we're not. It's a voice that echoes the cry of relief efforts following the great tsunami at the end of last year, and the response of the human spirit which saw many through the tragedy of September 11, 2001. It's a voice that I hope continues to grow stronger. And, it's a voice that we as Christians already know something about--and in which we have our own part to play … maybe not with the flair of Live8 or LiveAid or in any way other than simply being "the Church." One of the worst messages we continue to receive today--especially from "reality" TV--is that we have to be the best … that to win, we must be independent; that trust in "the other" is a weakness; that we're not in this thing-called-life together so much as we're in it to see who's going to come out on top. And this is what surprises me in this moment--that an effort like Live8 might find relevance … that amidst the cynicism of a postmodern world, the guardedness of a post-9-11 society, indeed even as we prepare to celebrate our own country's in-dependence, we hear a voice that says "Wait a minute. There's a larger picture here." The concert event itself is not what I find so spectacular--a spectacle maybe--but getting at just what it's pointing to is where we find the surprise--the call to change, to make a difference, to look outside of ourselves, to turn on end everything that's being thrown at us from day to day, especially in our American culture, to become and live into something new. And at its very core, this is the message of our lessons today, as well. Jesus says, "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." (Matthew 11:28-30, NRSV) "Come to me." "Follow me." The same words are given us--the masses--as were uttered to the disciples. Our Gospel and other lessons give us snippets of the unexpected. Zechariah foretells the entry of a great king in even greater humility--an unarmed noble, mounted not on a war-steed but on a simple donkey. Matthew will, much later, employ this image as fulfillment of scripture with Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But what we see for now in Zechariah is something unexpected--a great king whose reign is ushered in in all humbleness. And knowing this connection, we see Jesus himself as a beast of burden, yet at the same time as a warrior for peace, one who the Gospel-writer says comes to bring refreshment, renewal--to bring about something new, indeed the King of Peace. And it's in his invitation to rest and comfort and to remove all burden that Jesus uses some very discomforting, even off-putting words in his own day which shift the paradigm. If the idea of an humble Messiah weren't enough, Jesus turns on its end the notion of adherence to the law, which he sees has become an end unto itself. The Law practiced day-in and -out has become not just rote, but it has become the goal, that to which humanity strives … that which, in the end, gets in the way of true God-human relationship. And what Jesus says, is that those who are the most versed in the law, those who are the most privileged, those who are afforded the luxury of knowledge and wisdom just don't seem to get it, and that maybe they never will. Jesus' invitation, which sounds a lot like the modern-day "bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free" pits compassion and humility against all wisdom, even divine Wisdom herself. And to know this, one must be fairly familiar with a good deal of the Old Testament. In short, the prophets of old envision Wisdom as a woman to be pursued, even from youth--that pursuit of Wisdom and to know her involves a lifelong endeavor and an end, of sorts, to perfection, or perfect knowledge. And to know this … that Jesus is throwing this notion to the wind … may be somewhat unsettling here in the midst of a university town, where pursuit of knowledge is the name of the game! Think about it for a minute. … Jesus is saying "I'm doing something new here." Jesus offers God thanksgiving that in infancy we know compassion and love and empathy and interdependence and one another. In all of this we are empowered to respond to those around us; and if we're living as Jesus suggests, our own burdens will lighten, our yokes will be made easy. Under the yoke of adherence we find things to be much more cumbersome and restraining. He differentiates Wisdom from knowledge. The gist of Jesus' message is that in faith and hope and love--through the working of the Spirit--we find freedom. It's more than the freedom of doing something we love … it's the freedom of living into one's call, one's purpose, one's being. That's how Jesus can say, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Here in this passage, unlike anywhere else in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus most clearly defines just who and whose he is in calling himself the Son. We, too, are called to claim ourselves in relation to the Other. Beyond the politics at the heart of the G8 summit in Edinburgh and maybe even found in yesterday's Live8 concerts, beyond the strife of a lingering and dragging war on terrorism, beyond the battle which may be waged to fill a seat on the Supreme Court, beyond the strife within our own Church and the Anglican Communion, moving beyond the burdens of what our secular culture continues to throw us, and beyond the whatevers that threaten to divide and separate us or compromise full humanity and human dignity, Jesus invites us to renewal and refreshment. He invites us to a disquieted rest that releases our burdens and those of our fellow human beings, offering a true and deeper knowledge of the One who redeems us, and in so knowing, understanding more fully the one who created us--a restfulness which at the same time empowers us to live out our purpose in, to, for and of the world around us. … As children of a living and loving God, may we know such rest. May we be so empowered. In the most holy name of Jesus. Amen.