“Finding Rest”

Matthew 11:28-30

Rev. Deborah Church Worley

June 14, 2020

White Rock Presbyterian Church/PSF Joint service

“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)

Humor me, if you will, with a brief review of some of what has happened in our lives in the past not-quite-six months:

On Tuesday, December 31st, “the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease ([which we now know as] COVID-19) was first reported…in Wuhan, China.” (1)

On Monday, January 20th, the first case was confirmed in the United States. (2)

On Sunday, February 23rd, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-yr-old African American, was shot and killed while out jogging. (3)

On Wednesday, March 11th, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. (4)

Also on March 11th, the first four cases of COVID-19 in New Mexico were reported. (5)

On Friday, March 13th, Breonna Taylor, a 26-yr-old African American, was shot and killed in the middle of the night by police officers who had entered her apartment using a battering ram. (6)

On Monday, March 16th, all public schools in New Mexico were closed in an attempt to minimize the spread of the coronavirus.

On Monday, March 23rd, the NM Department of Health issued a public health order, mandating that “all New Mexicans [with the exception of essential workers] must immediately heed the directive to stay home.” (7)

On Tuesday, April 28th, “the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States passed one million,” with over three million cases confirmed worldwide. (8)

On Monday, May 25th, George Floyd, “a 46-year-old [African American] father [who had been] arrested for suspected use of a counterfeit $20 bill, died after a law enforcement [officer] kneeled with his full body weight upon Floyd’s neck for…8 minutes [and 46 seconds].” (9)

As of yesterday, June 20th, “there have been demonstrations in at least 1700 places so far, large and small, across all 50 states”(10), as well as in cities around the world, “to honor [George] Floyd, to stand against racism [both individual and systemic], and to demand justice for [countless] others killed [unjustly] by the police.” (11)

As of this morning [June 21], there have been almost nine million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, and over 465,000 deaths (12), with over 122,000 of those being Americans, with no vaccine as of yet and no known cure.

For several months now–although it sure seems like longer–we have been dealing with the sudden and wide-reaching pandemic of COVID-19. We are now also confronting the centuries-old and deep-reaching pandemic of systemic, and enduring racism…

And of course, these realities come on top of other legitimate challenges that were already present in our lives–challenges such as non-COVID-19-related health concerns like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease; depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses, domestic violence, addiction, and economic insecurity.

Just to name a few.

The hard things in our lives and in our world are real, and they are many, and they are not going away.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Who among us is not weary? Who among us is not carrying a heavy burden?…if not more than one?! Who among us does not desire rest?? And healing? And wholeness? And not just for ourselves, but for our country? Indeed, for our world?…

“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,” Jesus said, “and I will give you rest.”

I don’t know about you, but the idea of resting appeals to me deeply in these times….

To hear Jesus saying, “I will give you rest,” touches a deep longing, a profound hunger in my soul, particularly in this season in which we are living…

“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,” Jesus said, “…and you will find rest for your souls.”

Is that possible? Can we find rest for our souls? Is there healing to be had? Is wholeness even possible?

I have to say, that simply imagining experiencing deep rest allows me to imagine experiencing healing… Simply imagining my soul finding rest allows me to imagine moving toward wholeness…

So how can we who are weary find rest? How can we who are all carrying heavy burdens, receive this gift, so that we might each begin to experience healing, so that we can, together, begin to move toward wholeness?

“Take my yoke upon you,” Jesus said, “…and you will find rest for your souls.”

Okay…I can d–Wait–what?? Take a yoke upon myself? Like an ox? That kind of sounds like more work! I don’t think I like the sounds of that….Especially your yoke, Jesus! You are the Son of God! the Savior of the world! I don’t think I want to add saving the world to my already-too-big list of burdens… So, thanks but no thanks….

“Take my yoke upon you,” Jesus said, “and learn from me…and you will find rest for your souls….”

But learn what? What can we learn from being yoked with Jesus?

Clearly there’s not enough time this morning to reflect on everything that we can learn…but there’s enough time, I think, to reflect on one thing, one thing that will help us find rest, and healing, and wholeness–

And that one thing is that we are not alone.

When we are yoked with Jesus, we are never alone. And there is such beauty and power in that.

It’s a simple idea, perhaps, but a profoundly beautiful and deeply powerful one. There is incredible beauty and transformative power in knowing that, no matter what happens, we are not alone, in knowing that whoever we are, and whatever happens to us, and however we respond, we are not alone. We do not have to face whatever we are facing, alone. We do not have to carry whatever we are carrying, by ourselves.

The fear of abandonment is one of our greatest fears as humans, as beings who were made for and who desperately need relationships and connection. So to know and trust in the depths of our souls that we are not alone, that someone is walking–or even just standing–with us, offers deep reassurance…. That someone doesn’t have to be able to fix anything, or solve anything; it’s just the simple fact of their committed presence that offers strength and comfort and reassurance.

Perhaps some of you have experienced the profound blessing of a that kind of relationship–whether that of a partner or family member or friend–a relationship wherein you feel completely accepted and loved, a relationship in which you have a deep assurance that that person will stand by you, no matter what…. A relationship with a person who knows you intimately–the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of you, your fears and your secrets, your hopes and your dreams, the things you’re embarrassed about and ashamed of, the ways you’ve been hurt and the ways you’ve hurt others–and still, in spite of all of that, loves you, and has stuck with you, and will not leave you….

If you have been blessed by that type of relationship, be deeply thankful, because it is an incredible and precious gift, a rare and sacred gift….

But whether you have or haven’t, whether you are or aren’t in this moment, you can be. Yoke yourself with Jesus. Reach out and take his hand. Take his yoke upon you, and in doing so you will find rest for your soul.

Because he knows you, intimately–the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of you, your fears and your secrets, your hopes and your dreams, the things you’re embarrassed about and ashamed of, the ways you’ve been hurt and the ways you’ve hurt others…He knows the things that weigh you down and cause your heart to ache and rage–and still, he loves you, and will not leave you….And in that relationship, you will find rest.

He’s speaking to you this morning, and to me, to all of us, if we will listen, if we have the ears to hear…

Hear him whispering in your spirit: I know the burdens that you bear…I know the heaviness in your soul… I see the exhaustion that you carry in your bones…l see the heartache and confusion and anger and pain… Come and walk with me, walk alongside me…and let me walk alongside you…I will not walk away. Let me stand with you…I will catch you when you fall. Come to me, my beloved child, and let me give you rest…

In this COVID-19 pandemic, Jesus is with us…and will not walk away…

In this pandemic of unmasked racism, the Holy Spirit is with us…and will not leave us…

In this season of heavy burdens and deep brokenness, God is with us…and remains with us always…

No matter our struggle, no matter our anger, no matter our hurt, no matter our exhaustion–we are not alone. I am not alone. You are not alone.

May that knowledge settle deep within your bones…May we let it take root in the depths of our beings…And in doing so, may we find rest for our souls…And in that rest, may we begin to experience healing…And in that healing, may we be able to move toward wholeness, and not just for ourselves, and not even just for all people, but for this world.

Amen.

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