Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, New York
The
lectionary today omits the little section of today’s Gospel which Matthew calls
Jesus’ reproach of the cities.
“Then
he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been
done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you,
Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and
Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell
you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than
for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be
brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in
Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of
judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.” (Matt.11:20-24)
Let’s
be honest. We don’t much like reproach in our lives or in our scriptures. Most
would rather skip quickly to the good part, that part about the humble and
gentle Jesus who we think is going to make life easy. But we need to hear these
words of reproach as individuals and as a nation. It seems most appropriate
during this 250th anniversary that we hear it as a nation. They’re
important words. Reproach by Jesus is not rejection but the other side of care
and concern.
These are the towns where Jesus spent most of his ministry
and where he did most of his miraculous works. They know Jesus well and he
knows them. He knows their unbelief, their unwillingness to change, their
refusal to yoke themselves to him and to his gospel.
“To what shall I compare this generation?” Jesus basically
tells them that they are like a bunch of spoiled kids unhappy with whatever is
offered them. They want it their way or no way. John the Baptist came neither
eating nor drinking and they said he was possessed. Jesus came eating and
drinking and they call him a glutton and a drunkard who hangs out with the
wrong kind of people.”
I think that Jesus would say the same to us today as a
nation. Are we different from Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum? How are we responding
to Christ and his gospel?
Reflecting on this question raises a deeper and more
fundamental question. To what or whom are we yoked? To what or whom do we give
ourselves? What or who takes priority in our lives, orienting how we live and
relate to others, how we make decisions? We all harness our lives to something:
another person, work, family, success, reputation, country, political party.
Sometimes our yokes are more interior like fear, anxiety, anger, beliefs and
opinions, the losses and tragedies of our lives. Regardless, they are the
relationships and attachments that we depend on for meaning. For better or
worse, they give us our life’s direction. We’ve all got them and usually more
than one.
What yokes do you wear? As Christians, we know the right
answer should be Jesus. But is that how we live? Is it reflected by our deeds
and in our relationships, or just in our words?
If we are going to call ourselves Christians, we must yoke
ourselves to Christ. He must be the primary and determining yoke. We cannot
simply just hear the gospel and say our prayers. The gospel of Christ demands
a response. The people of these cities have seen God among them; they have
witnessed the signs. Jesus cleansed their lepers, healed their sick, cast out
their demons, forgiven their sins, calmed the sea. Still, they reject Jesus
and, before him, John the Baptist.
Sometimes we are like those little kids in the marketplace,
unhappy with whatever is offered us. We want the gospel to fit our beliefs,
desires, and agendas rather than shaping our beliefs, desires, and agendas to
fit the gospel. That is not an option for Jesus. The yoke of Christ must
reorient our lives and priorities.
It means we take seriously our life of discipleship. Our
prayer is more about intimacy with God than getting what we want. We work for
justice and the dignity of every human being. We care for the poor, feed the
hungry, and defend the oppressed. We love our enemies. We offer forgiveness.
Our faithfulness should be evident by how we live and speak. We let go of anger
and don’t live in fear.
To be yoked to anything or anyone other than Christ will
only leave us weary and burdened. Our lives will be frenzied and fragmented. This
is a disease of the soul in which we end up comparing, competing, and judging
ourselves and each other. There is no internal integrity. Our reserves run dry
and we live exhausted with nothing of substance to offer, making our relationships
superficial.
Too often we treat our weariness and medicate our burdens
with addictions, a new toy, a vacation, a nap, a day off, busyness and
perfectionism. Interior voids cannot be filled by exterior things. Often, we’re
just as weary afterwards as we were before. These are not the antidote to our
exhaustion. The antidote to our exhaustion begins with sharing the yoke of
Christ, the heart of God and the heart of humanity beating as one.
Jesus isn’t upset because the cities misbehaved, but
because they have chosen a life less than what they were created for. Jesus is
like a loving parent looking at his exhausted children, so tired we do not know
which end is up, so weary we misbehave. This is why his words of reproach soon
become words of invitation and love. “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.”
To take on the yoke of Jesus is to take on his life: to let our heart love like his. Only by living and moving as one with him, will we find rest for our souls. +Amen.
