Sermon: Sunday, July 3, 2011: Proper 9, Year A. "The Yoke is the Easy Solution"

Reverend Peter K. Ackerman
St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church
Proper 9, Year A
July 3, 2011

Bill Figtzhugh is an author of fiction who usually includes mystery, adventure and large doses of humor in his books to good effect. One I particularly enjoy has as the protagonist; a Hollywood hot shot ad executive named Dan Steele who vast amounts of money on himself faster than it comes in and has become a success by skirting the edge of legality and morality. Dan is not all bad, however, especially when it comes to family. When his twin brother, a Roman Catholic priest comes back to town after contacting a serious illness while serving oversees, and with no insurance to speak of, Dan, creative thinker that he is, comes up with an idea. Dan decides to temporarily exchange identities with this priest-brother so that his sibling can receive the health care he requires under Dan’s excellent medical insurance policy

Of course this means that for a brief period, Dan must dress up in his brother’s clerical outfit so that this illegal act is not discovered by the insurance company (hence the book’s title…”Cross Dressing”). Of course problems do ensue. First there appears a former employee whose million dollar idea had been stolen by Dan and who is now out for murderous revenge on his once boss. Second, in the midst of this development Dan’s brother, the priest, dies in the hospital. To avoid being killed, and so he is not charged with fraud from the Insurance company, Dan fully immerses himself into his brother’s clergy identity in order to escape from his past errors. Thus the protagonist definitely has the burden of problems that he caused by his past decisions, but at the same time there is a solution to his difficulties right in front of him.

Our New Testament readings this morning remind us that there are problems that come forth from our humanity, but there is also a solution. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, this morning comes right out and owns what any of us can. He is human. Because of this, he is sinner. I am human. Because of this I am a sinner. You are human and thus you are sinners.

Paul, wonderful pastor that he is, does not just state the obvious problem about humanity falling into sin, but directs us to the solution, which is our relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul remarks in this letter that sin is anything that directs us from being centered in God and becoming self-serving instead of God serving. Think of it, according to Paul, sin is not just stealing, or committing a crime, but it is also in not caring for creation and for not loving your neighbor.

Thinking of sin in those terms really opens up the examples of how we serve ourselves instead of God. For instance, as we enter onto the ramp of one of the freeways around here, there are the times when the driver of a car realizes that he has to move over to get into the correct lane. The driver is one lane over from you and he does the correct thing; he signals and tries to move over into the correct lane, in front of you. What might you do? Might you not let them in, speed up a bit, and pass them up letting the driver continue to fend with their problem? Through this example we can recognize one of those ordinary events where we make a choice to serve ourselves and our needs or put God first, by loving our neighbor.

As Paul says, it is hopeless if we are going to be a people who only rely on serving our needs. Again, he gives us the antidote for the problem by reminding us that we can correct our course towards the road of the heavenly kingdom through Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who welcomes us in the Gospel this morning with the reminder “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Think about that. Jesus invites us always to live out our baptismal relationship with him. Jesus did not just die on a cross, he did not just rise from the dead, he did not just ascend into heaven, but he also opened up the path, the choice and the ability to lead us away from sin and to eternal life.

The added imagery this morning is that we are not left to our own devices. Jesus is willing and available to link up with us today. Like oxen sharing a yoke around our neck with his, Jesus is there to partner with us if we are merely willing to submit ourselves to that kind of Godly servanthood.

With Jesus, his burden is light. This means that in following Christ we can do so as who we are right now, today, in this moment. Being yoked with Christ does not mean that you have to carry a huge black leather bible around with you everywhere you go…you can if you want to, though! Following Christ does not mean that you have to sidle up to one political ideology, and following Christ does not mean you have to take a particular stand on a social issue. Following Christ means that we will be guided through OUR experiences, and through OUR lives, and through OUR worldviews and be shown how, with those, with us, we can serve God and not ourselves. Change may come upon us, certainly, but that will happen in God’s time in God’s way.

In the plot of the novel I shared with you there are the typical twists and turns and yet in all of this Dan Steele the sharp ad executive never quite loses some of the larceny aspects of his personality, but he does discover that a change comes over him as he continues to wear a clergy collar, and he begins to find some redemption in his life and he begins to no longer live to serve himself and his desires.

Today, Jesus Christ invites us to grasp our baptism life in a palpable way. We do not have to wear clergy collars around our necks (well…okay, two of us here do), we do not have to wear big crosses, we do not have to thump big heavy bibles in public. What we are invited to do is easy. Jesus invites us (to paraphrase The Message: modern day bible translation) "to walk with him, and to work with him. You do not have to actually physically wear anything special, and he won’t lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you." Perhaps today is the day, my brothers and sisters for you to take take the next step, and if need be, to allow Him to relieve you of your burdens. Sin may be the problem, but Jesus offers the solution. His yoke is easy, my friends, and his burden is light.

Amen.