Come, Take, Learn, Rest

A sermon on Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Friends, we need to lean into this invitation from Jesus. “Come to me...and I will give you rest.” We live in a world where it’s very hard to find rest. All around us, there is constant war. Social problems. Economic problems. Disease. Anger. Violence. Hatred. Indifference.

But it’s not just what’s outside us. It’s what’s inside us, too. We are “heavy laden”—we carry around so many burdens, so much baggage. Guilt. Shame. Fear. Worry. Pride. Disappointment. Heartbreak. The loss of someone we love. So much presses down on us. Our souls are sick and restless.

We labor. We struggle. We try to get by. We try hard to make life a bit better. Eating right and exercising helps a little. Being with family and friends can help, too. Still, for so many of us, our souls are sick and restless.

The sickness and restlessness of the soul can show up in many different ways. Broken relationships. Addictions. Quiet hopelessness. A loss of meaning or direction in life. Faded joy. I think that’s why so many people are constantly looking at their smartphones. We’ll do anything to avoid looking squarely at the fact that our souls are sick and restless.

What can we do about it? Jesus says, “Come.” We run around, doing this thing or that thing, trying to find something, anything, that will give rest to our souls, something that will give life meaning and hope and joy. Jesus says, “I’m here. Come to me. I will give you rest.”

Who can come to him? Who is the invitation for? Is Jesus inviting people who have their lives together? People who have been living as model Christians? People who have pleased God with their prayer life and by how well they have loved their neighbors?

No. He invites all. People who are burned out by life. People who are carrying heavy burdens. People whose faith is weak, barely alive. People who’ve made mistakes. People whose hearts are scarred. People who feel like their lives are a great disappointment to God. All who are weary. All who are carrying heavy burdens. All who want rest for their souls. “Come to me,” says Jesus, “all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The rest he gives is not a reward for being righteous—it is a gift.

But giving us the gift of rest is not the only thing Jesus wants. He also wants us to do something: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

In all of the Gospels, Jesus speaks about what his own heart is like only here. Gentle and lowly. Let that image of Jesus as gentle and lowly in heart be a cornerstone of your faith. Jesus is not harsh and judgmental. He is not easily frustrated with you. He is not constantly waiting to punish you and strike you down. He is the most compassionate and the most understanding man in the world. Our sinfulness and weakness have zero power to turn away his love.

Take my yoke upon you. What is a yoke? A yoke is a wooden board or cross piece tied over the necks of two cows or oxen. On a farm, the yoke would be attached to a plow behind them, so the two animals can pull together and till the soil. As a carpenter, Jesus may have made many yokes in his life.

Paradoxically, Jesus is saying “when you come to me, I will give you rest, but I will also make you work.” What does that mean? How can working be rest?

When you come to Jesus, and learn from him, you become yoked together with him. He pulls the load with you. Jesus doesn’t take away the load, but you don’t have to pull it alone. He pulls it with you.

Jesus goes on to say, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” I think we could replace “easy” here with the phrase “well-fitting.” In Jesus’ time, when they made a yoke, first they measured the neck of the cow or ox. After making the yoke, they tried it onto the animal’s neck. Then they carefully adjusted the yoke so that it would fit well and not rub against the animal’s neck. It was tailor-made.

Think about that: Jesus offers you a yoke that is tailor-made for you. He knows everything about you, and he has prepared a yoke especially for you. Which means that taking Christ’s yoke upon yourself, and living the way he wants you to live, is not a long, constant, agonizing struggle.

Jesus isn’t saying life won’t be hard. We still have a cross to carry. Jesus promised that we will face trials. He calls us to fight battles and bear hardships and endure suffering. Jesus isn’t saying that those things won’t happen. He’s saying that the comfort of being with him, the comfort of being yoked together with him, are greater than all the hard things we have to face in life.

So, what are we meant to do? It’s simple. We are to come to Jesus. We are to take his yoke. We are to learn from him. And we are to find rest for our souls.

We are to come to Jesus. That means spending time in prayer with him. Not just speaking to him, but opening your heart to whatever he might want to say to you. It means coming to Jesus here in the Eucharist, with faith that he is really present here.

We are to take his yoke. That means understanding that Jesus has in mind specific things he wants you to do. He wants you and me to partner with him in the work of the Kingdom. He has tailor-made a yoke just for you. So when we wake up in the morning, let us say, “I praise you, Lord, this day. I give myself to you this day. I ask you to help me this day. I want to partner with you in the work you want to do today. Teach me if someone is carrying burdens that I can help carry, with your strength. Guide me to someone who doesn’t know where to turn for rest, someone who needs the rest that only you can bring.”

We are to learn from him. Think of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening attentively to his every word. We are meant to sit at his feet, too, as we go into his Word—daily, even just a little. We need to spend time not just reading the Word but pondering it and letting it speak to our situation. We need to listen to every sermon—even the boring ones!—with the understanding that they are a chance for Christ to speak into our lives.

And finally, we are to find rest for our souls. Not in distractions, not in scrolling through our smartphones, not in shallow entertainment—but in Jesus. Gentle and lowly in heart. The one who knows us, with all our failings and weakness and sin, the who died on the cross to bring us rest—not just rest in this hard, burdensome world—but unending rest and joy and delight in his presence in heaven.

So come to Jesus today and find rest for your soul. And then go out in peace to share his invitation with everyone who longs for rest.