Swallowsrest

Pentecost 6 – 2026
Matthew 11:15-19, 25-30
Marian Free

In the name of God Source of all Being, Eternal Word, Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn to him:
Come unto me all that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. St Matthew 11:28.”

Those of us who were brought up with the Book of Common Prayer will have heard these and verses of scripture Sunday after Sunday in our worship. Coming as they do between the Absolution and the Prayer of Thanksgiving, they are verses that assure us that forgiveness is real, that our shortcomings have been overlooked and our misdeeds put behind us. These words have been seared into our memory, and they assure us (should we need assurance) that in Christ we are forgiven and set free. No wonder they were called comfortable words. Their repetition week after week after week, means that they are phrases to which we can hold on, words that we can pull out of our memory when the going gets tough or if doubt threatens to grasp hold of us.

“Come unto 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”. This comforting, wonderful, liberating saying occurs only in Matthew where it brings to a close a difficult passage in which Jesus expresses his frustration with all who are deaf and blind or resistant to his life-giving presence among them, and in which he voices his annoyance that nothing he does seems to be moving the hearts and minds of some his audience.

Jesus has concluded his instructions to the twelve and sent them on their mission while he himself continues to teach and proclaim his message. At this time John the Baptist, whose truth-telling has become a thorn in Herod’s side, is in prison. Perhaps his imprisonment has put a dent in his confidence, because he seeks assurance from Jesus that he really is the one who is to come. Jesus’ points to what he is doing as saying as evidence that yes, he is the one. “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” (Mt 11:5,6)

“Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.” These words set the tone for the remainder of the chapter.

Jesus’ response to John’s disciples leads him to reflect on the different ways in which people have responded to John and to himself. It seems that between them they are in a no-win situation. Neither have conformed to the expectations of the people who have rejected them – John’s ascetism has left them cold and Jesus’ engagement with life is regarded as unnecessarily frivolous. Those at whom Jesus takes aim are offended by both John and Jesus because neither fit the mould, neither meet their expectations of a prophet – not someone as wild and as passionate as John, but definitely someone more serious and more law-observant than Jesus. Both Jesus and John make them feel uncomfortable. John’s asceticism shows up their love of a good life, and his strict adherence to the law exposes their failure to observe to its every detail. Jesus’ engagement with all comers – tax-collectors, prostitutes, sinners – exposes their pettiness and their focus on the letter rather than the spirit of the law and his enjoyment of life demonstrates that it is possible to be both godly and to enjoy God-given pleasures. John is too holy and Jesus is not holy enough.

Jesus is frustrated not people’s indifference to and rejection of him, their misunderstanding of what it means to be a part of the kingdom, and perhaps most of all by their antagonism to him and to what he represents.

He is frustrated, angry even, but all is not lost. It is true that those who should have recognised him – the wise and educated – have been blind and deaf to his message and his deeds, but those who have no expectations, no prior conceptions are able to see and hear clearly. The knowledge and learning which should have led the priests, the scribes and the Pharisees to recognise Jesus are the very things which prevent them from seeing who he really is. Relying on their own interpretation of ancient documents and of the law, they cannot see beyond their own fixed ideas. On the other hand, those whose knowledge is based on experience can see clearly that Jesus has been sent by God.

These are the “infants” whose innocence allows them to be open and receptive. It is presumably these whom Jesus addresses when he invites the weary and heavy laden to come to him. It is the poor, the uneducated, the marginalised whose burdens Jesus wants to lift. He wants them to know that faith in him, membership in the kingdom is not onerous, does not depend on exacting adherence to laws and practices, and does not demand the sort of self-denial that is soul destroying and destructive. Those who follow Jesus will not have burdens imposed, but burdens lifted. They will not be bound to regulations that limit and define them but set free to live life as fully as they can. They will not be forced to follow mindless rituals, but liberated to worship God in body, mind and soul.

Those who have made up their own minds about what to believe and how to practice their faith are unable to hear Jesus and to recognise him for who he is. They have become so dependent on their intellect, their concept of right and wrong, their confidence that they know what God wants that they have come to believe that the burdens they carry (knowledge, piety, certainty) are evidence of their faithfulness. They cannot believe that letting go will free them to be truly dependent on and nourished by God. They simply cannot understand that God wants nothing of them!

It is the innocent, the trusting, those who are willing to admit that they need help, who know and welcome Jesus. They will readily lay their burdens down and trust in the one who makes no demands and imposes no rules, asking only that they love – him and one another.

These comfortable words have a sting. They are also uncomfortable words for they ask us to lay down our burdens of certainty, and self-reliance, and pride, to let go of the desire to please God or impress others, and to suspend our need to know. Being truly set free comes at the cost of leaving behind all those things that allowed us to feel secure, and truly believing that our only security comes from God through Jesus.

What are the burdens that you are carrying? Burdens that allow you to feel good about yourself, burdens you willingly bear believing that in doing so you please God, burdens that you you impose on yourself because you don’t believe God loves you as you are. If you are burdened by these or any other burdens isn’t it time to accept Jesus invitation to lay down our burdens and to accept his easy yoke?