Pentecost 3

Pentecost 3 (Matthew 11:16-19;25-30) “Come to me.”

Jesus asked: “To what will I compare this generation?”

Every generation is beset by a common problem. That problem is separation from God. Separation from God produces a spiritual pain that envelops and enslaves the soul. That pain results in the distortion of our thoughts, emotions and wills.
As every human being is unique so every generation is unique. Every generation manifests the common problem of separation in the unique circumstances of its particular culture.

The culture Jesus grew up in was a religious culture. It was a religious culture of pride, fear, and the will to power. It was a religion of rewards and punishments. It was a culture of rigid categories that produced criticism, contempt and condemnation.
Jesus compares his generation to a group of children sitting in the marketplace. They are sitting still. Not moving. Inert. Frozen. Stagnant. They remain aloof in the pride of their own self sufficiency.

A child comes to the group and invites them to stand up and move around and join him in playing a game. That child is John the Baptist. John preached repentance from sin and preparation for the coming Messiah. John proclaimed a lament for the status quo and an urgent call for self examination and transformation.

That generation of religious leaders refused self examination. They were in fact self satisfied and self sufficient. They refused to enter into a process of transformation because they already considered themselves righteous. They listened to John but did not hear him. They remained seated, stationary, stagnant. John did every thing he could to encourage them to move even the slightest step forward. They refused.

Jesus came playing the flute. Jesus proclaimed the goodness of God and the joy of the Messianic Kingdom. Jesus came celebrating the Divine Presence in the ordinary events of life. He invited the sedentary religious leaders to stand up and join in the celebration.

As with John’s call to repentance, so it was with Jesus’ call to celebration. That generation resisted both John and Jesus. They were set in their ways. They were stuck in their programs. They were defined by their pride of position and power. They were resistant to both repentance and to celebration because they feared change.

They were like pouting petulant children trapped in their own demand to define life, other people and God. They thought they were righteous. They thought they had understanding. They thought they had God figured out. But, they lacked humility. Because they lacked humility they lacked wisdom.

Wisdom starts from the place of humility.

The great tragedy of the sin nature is pride. We can identify pride in our lives whenever we make non negotiable demands backed by a threat.

The way of wisdom is the way of Jesus Christ.

The book of Proverbs is a book about wisdom. The eighth chapter of Proverbs gives a very clear and concise summary of wisdom.

The way of wisdom is the way the co-eternal Son of God adopted when he came to earth. He surrendered every aspect of his divine prerogatives that the religion of his generation valued. He came helpless as an infant. He lived the life of the ordinary working poor. He came in the spirit of the Messianic prophecy announced by the prophet Isaiah: a bruised reed he will not break; a dimly burning wick he will not quench. He came with healing. He came with unconditional love.

This humility confused, bewildered and angered almost every one Jesus met during his three years of public ministry. This was not what anyone expected from the Messiah. The expectation was that the Messiah would support and reward the programs already developed by the righteous. The expectation was for a very material reward in terms of money and power.

The reality was not in the reward but in the relationship Jesus offered.
Jesus is very clear on both the problem confronting the human race and God’s solution to the problem.

People, all people, are lost in separation.

Religious people are lost in religion when we use religion to impose our will on other people; and, when we use our religion to place demands on God. The religion of Jesus’ generation was the religion of the loophole. People asked themselves and their leaders: what is the least I have to do to be considered righteous? What is the minimum requirement for me to avoid wrath and to gain my reward?

Secular people are lost in the pride of knowledge and the despair of superstition. Pride says “I don’t need God.” Despair says: “even if God exists he could never help me.” The secular assert: “it is all up to me and all about me.” The secular also say: “it is not my fault; some one else is to blame.”

Jesus teaches what the religious and the secular do not want to hear. Jesus teaches the personal responsibility of every individual to receive the gift our Heavenly Father offers us. The gift is a person: Jesus Christ.

Jesus angered everyone by proclaiming that he alone knows the Father.
Jesus confused everyone by offering that knowledge to all people as a gift. You can’t earn it. It is not a human right. It is a gift.

Jesus is God pouring himself out to each of us and to all of us in the person of his only begotten Son. Jesus is the real presence of the Infinite and Eternal inviting us to repent and to celebrate.

The invitation is one word: “Come”.
Are you weary? Come. Come to Jesus.
Are carrying heavy burdens? Come. Come to Jesus.
Are you feeling enslaved by your own impossible demands on life? Come . Come to Jesus.

Are you frustrated, confused, agitated by too much or too little knowledge about the world? Come. Come to Jesus.

Jesus offers rest to the weary.
Jesus offers release to the burdened.
Jesus offers renewal to the frustrated.
Jesus offers to refresh our mind, heart and will continually by his own Real Presence.

What Jesus offers is not a program, a set of laws, or a quick fix. What Jesus offers is a new life and a new way of living.
If we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior we reject all other masters. To take the yoke of Jesus is to forsake all other claims on our loyalty, our time, our priorities.

As we take that yoke of Lordship we enter into an active, dynamic, never ending journey of transformation in unconditional love.

That journey is grounded in our souls through the spirit of humility Jesus gives us. It isn’t easy. And, it doesn’t happen over night. It is the only way we can know God. It is the only way we can live the blessing God offers us.

Jesus compared his generation to sullen spiteful children who wouldn’t respond to the call to repentance or the call to worship.

To what does Jesus compare our generation?

How do we respond to the call to repentance, conversion and transformation? Do we say, “Yes Lord?” Or, do we say, “not now?” What do we say? Do we respond with humility or do we react with pride?

How do we respond to the call to worship? The call to worship is the call to the total immersion of the soul in the steadfast holy unconditional love of God. Do we say: “Yes Lord.” Or, do we look for loopholes to avoid the invitation. Do we respond with humility or do we react with pride?

The blessing God offers is in the relationship God offers in Jesus Christ. The relationship sets us free from fear, self will and pride to enjoy a new life and a new way of living in renewal and celebration as we hear the invitation of Jesus Christ in the words: “Come to me”.