All titles come to me
Every summer in recent years, I have visited the church I will engrave, saying, “Rejoice always. Pray constantly. Be grateful for everything. This is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We decided to think together focusing on the words of Jesus' invitation we read in today's text. At the same time, I wanted to examine together what it means to be followers of Jesus and to believe in Jesus. In conclusion, what I want to say today is that, as in today's text, being a Christian means responding to Jesus' invitation, going to him, learning from him, and taking rest from him. Now, let's take a look at the verses of the text one by one.
Main subject
1. “He who labors and is heavy laden”
The first thing we can find in the text is the fact that “all of us” have toiled and carried heavy burdens. It's not about "if you've got the load". You and I, our lives are inherently toil and heavy burdens. If we express this in a traditional language that is all too familiar to Koreans, wouldn't it be that life is 'go' (苦)?
What we can see here is that Jesus declared that our life is 'go'. As a doctor, Jesus accurately diagnosed the diseases we all suffer from. In a rather grandiose way, he saw through the existential situation of human beings and proclaimed it. He saw the limitations, imperfections, lack of something, and meaninglessness of human beings. More specifically, it showed that we are all working hard under the burden of 'egocentrism', 'greed', 'obsession', 'selfishness', and 'living like one's best.' .
It is very important to me that Jesus showed this fact. Because knowing that life is stagnant is a blessing in a way. If you are ill and do not know or deny it, the disease can be fatal. If you have a disease, you need to know that you have the disease, so you will have the heart to heal it. Blessed is the one who is poor in spirit and knows the toil and burden that he is going through right now.
2. “Come to me.”
We may have no choice but to despair, realizing that our lives are laborious and burdened with pain and suffering. However, through the invitation to “Come to Me,” Jesus also proclaimed the possibility that we could get out of this state of toil, burden, or “torment.” It is a declaration of the possibility of overcoming human limitations. What we have to do now is to listen to his declaration, respond to his invitation, go to the doctor, receive his prescription, and follow it.
3. “I will give you rest.”
He said that by following the prescriptions he received from the clinician, he would get ‘rest’. Rest is the lightness and coolness of going up a mountain with a heavy load and unloading it from the top of the mountain. In English, these are refreshedness, coolness, peacefulness, and tranquility. It is the feeling of liberation, release, and opening when we break the leash of desire that has been shackling our necks so far. Relief, release.
4. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.”
The prescription that Jesus gave us to help us reach this ultimate goal of rest is simple in a way. It is to take the yoke of Jesus and learn from Him.
We often refer to being a Christian as “believing in Jesus.” However, in the words of this text here, it is clearly said that it is “learning Jesus.” Rather than having the so-called “faith in Jesus,” it means that we too have “the faith of Jesus,” that is, the faith that Jesus had. To believe after Jesus, to believe with Jesus, and to believe like Jesus. Fundamentally, it is not a question of Christology, but of ‘imitatio Christi’.
Now let's take a closer look at the drugs that Jesus personally prescribed. When the text says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,” what does it mean to learn from Jesus? I'd like to take two. The first is to see and learn what Jesus showed in His body, and the second is to hear and put into practice what He taught.
Second, I think the second element of learning Jesus is putting into practice what he himself taught. What was the first thing he taught him when he began his public life? As we all know, it is to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). If we are those who want to learn from Jesus, we must also “repent” according to this teaching. However, we need to know more deeply the true meaning of the word “repentance” that Jesus asks of us here. The 'repent' that Jesus spoke of here is by no means an ethical dimension to the extent of 'repent of past mistakes and have a heart to do well in the future'. As the etymological meaning of the original word for repentance, 'metanoia', is 'a change of consciousness'. It refers to the fundamental 'altering of the structure of consciousness' that takes place deep within ourselves. More specifically, it is changing the way you see the world, ‘seeing things as they really are’. In the words of the Bible, it can also be said to be 'cleansing of heart' (Matthew 5:8) and 'to see him as he really is' (1 John 3:2).
I believe that the two things mentioned above, 'emptying oneself' and 'methanoia experience', are inextricably linked with each other. In the end, it means that this change of consciousness can only come when you empty yourself. Also, it is only when this change of consciousness comes that we will know that heaven is near. But what else is the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’? As Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God” (Matthew 6:33), the kingdom of heaven is primarily something to ‘seek’ and not to ‘enter’. Saving the kingdom of heaven means striving for the realization of a world where God's principles, such as love, justice, peace, forgiveness, and cooperation, are pervasive. Since 'the kingdom of heaven' also means 'kingdom' etymologically, I think that seeking the kingdom of heaven also includes the meaning of acquiring 'absolute freedom'. I wonder if this means that when we have a metanoia experience, we will discover that this ideal of heaven and ultimate freedom is not far from us, even within us.
5. “Then you will find ease in your heart.”
To summarize once again what we learn from Jesus, we empty ourselves in this way and have the metanoia experience that we have as a result. He emphasized once again that true rest and true freedom come when such learning is possible. I know that a few Buddhists came to this worship service today, but I wonder if heaven, rest, freedom, etc., could be expressed in terms we often hear as reaching the state of ‘nirvana’ (nirvana).
6. “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
According to theologian Paul Tillich, this invitation from Jesus to “come to me” is not a promise to give us a new “religion,” but a promise to set us free from religion itself. A religion that compels us to worship Jesus blindly, a religion that creates a doctrine about Jesus and accepts it unconditionally as if it were an immortal truth itself, a religion that encourages our selfishness and desire to receive all kinds of blessings. This is to give you rest from the suffocating life that religion gives you, which makes the burden you carry heavier. When Jesus said that my yoke is easy and my burden is light, it means that you will discover that any yoke or any burden is lighter than the feather of a feather, and in the end you will find that it is nothing compared to this exciting experience that comes from learning Jesus. This experience of rest and freedom is only thrilling because it is a free grace.
conclusion
Following Jesus, the center of being a Christian, is to live an exciting, rewarding and restful life by imitating Jesus' self-emptying in our toil and burden and transforming the consciousness he taught. Whether or not this is the case is the main point of the proof of my words today. I pray that we will all once again respond to Jesus' invitation so that we can live a Christian life that is worthwhile moment by moment, a true Christian life where you can taste rest and freedom. Thank you.
Prayer
Lord, who invited us to work and carry heavy burdens, we are about to respond to that invitation and come to you. Give us the rest that you promised us, and give us strength through that rest, so that we can add even a small amount of our strength to bring your kingdom into this world. Amen.