Matthew 11

A True Labor Day

Posted on by Betsy

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Labor Day “is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.” We celebrate this day every first Monday of September by ceasing our work and taking time to appreciate industry, ingenuity, and the ability to provide economic support for our families and communities through our labor.

For those of us who live and work on the Outer Banks, Labor Day signals a transition from the hectic summer season to the slower paced life of OBX Fall. Don’t tell our visitors, but fall is at the absolute best time to visit the Outer Banks. Crowds are way down, traffic is much lighter, and the restaurants are still open for business. It is the closest to heaven on earth one can experience if you ask me.

Labor Day always makes me think of Jesus’ beautiful words about resting from our work:

Matthew 11 (New King James Version)

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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.

This beautiful invitation is especially poignant today as we hit the pause button on our usual obligations. We are offered the opportunity to cease from our work and set down all of our burdens, especially those that have been put upon us. Traditional thinking about yokes indicated a level of obligation to God’s law. But Jesus invites us to yoke ourselves to him like a young ox yoked to a strong bull ox. Our burdens are made lighter because he bears them with us in his gentle and humble way.

Are you burdened and heavy laden? Do you need rest not just from work but for your soul today? Yoke yourself to Jesus. His yoke is easy and light.

American Pie by Becca Ziegler

The Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Posted on by Betsy

Where do you go for real rest? Are you able to find complete and total relaxation anywhere?

I have been spending some time on the beach in the last few weeks, and my observation is that it can be hard to rest. Folks have waited an entire year for this one week of vacation on the Outer Banks. They drive for hours and hours to get here, unload the car, run out for groceries, plan meals, set up highchairs and beds, etc. Then the week starts and meals have to be executed, chairs, toys, and umbrellas have to be schlepped across the hot sand for a few hours each day of not sitting because the little ones want to explore. Then dinner and bath time take up the evening and it all starts again the next day.

I have been on vacations that were so busy, I needed a vacation from my vacation when I got home. Have you ever felt that way?

Maybe this is why we say “Rest In Peace” when someone dies. Death may bring the only real rest to our busy lives!

Jesus wants us to know that in him, we can find true rest. This is a kind of mental rest that we crave when we have burned out on too much worldly activity. Work, the constant pursuit of wealth, the distracting and distressing cacophony of social media, the internal pressure to do better, all take a toll on us. We can even get burned out on religion. My denomination is in the process of an historic schism, and I am here to tell you that we are all burned out with the arguing, name-calling, and lack of focus on what really matters. I confess that I am really, really tired.

Jesus calls us to rest.

In him we can re-learn what really matters and learn the “unforced rhythms of grace.” When we walk and work with Jesus, he helps to carry the burden and promises that we won’t have to bear too much.

Matthew 11 (The Message)

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

If you are tired, worn out, and burned out, go to Jesus. Get away for an hour and recover your life! Meditation on God’s promises can be like a week of “vacation” for your soul. When you sit quietly in God’s presence, he will teach you to live lightly.

The Unforced Rhythm of Grace by Michelle Robertson

Streams in the Desert

Posted on by Betsy

Have you ever been so discouraged that you began to question your faith? Have things ever hit you so hard that you suddenly felt uncertain about everything in your life? This happened to John the Baptizer when he was in jail. He began to question Jesus’ messiahship in that dark and foreboding place. When Jesus heard this, he sent a message through a friend to say that indeed, he was the Messiah, and he quoted today’s passage from Isaiah as proof.

“4 Jesus responded, “Go, report to John what you hear and see. 5 Those, who were blind, are able to see. Those who were crippled are walking. People with skin diseases are cleansed. Those who were deaf now hear. Those who were dead are raised up. The poor have good news proclaimed to them. 6 Happy are those who don’t stumble and fall because of me” (Matthew 11:4-6, Common English Bible).

 John was soothed in his dismay when he heard these familiar words from the prophet Isaiah. They were a foretelling of a future Messiah, which John realized had now arrived in Jesus. 

Isaiah 35:5-10 (Common English Bible)

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
and the ears of the deaf will be cleared.
6 Then the lame will leap like the deer,
and the tongue of the speechless will sing.
Waters will spring up in the desert,
and streams in the wilderness.

7 The burning sand will become a pool,
and the thirsty ground, fountains of water.
The jackals’ habitat, a pasture;[a]
grass will become reeds and rushes.

8 A highway will be there.
It will be called The Holy Way.
The unclean won’t travel on it,
but it will be for those walking on that way.[b]
Even fools won’t get lost on it;
9 no lion will be there,
and no predator will go up on it.
None of these will be there;
only the redeemed will walk on it.

10 The Lord’s ransomed ones will return and enter Zion with singing,
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
Happiness and joy will overwhelm them;
grief and groaning will flee away.

As we read these words, they are a reminder that God provides for our needs in the dry places. They are an assurance that God’s saving power is strong enough to ignite miracles such as sight and hearing in the blind and deaf. They bring hope. As is often the case in Isaiah’s writings, we are invited to visualize things such as streams in bleak deserts and the thirsty ground turning into a pool of clear water. These word-pictures tell of illusions turning into reality through the power of God. Indeed, the translation of the word pool in the seventh verse is translated as “mirage,” a further reminder of the illusion of water that God transforms into fountains that feed the thirsty ground.

Isaiah invites us today to travel on a highway called the “Holy Way.” It is a place for the redeemed to safely walk in righteousness and holiness in pursuit of the Lord. This causes us to ponder where we are. Are you walking the Holy Way, or have you lost your way? Are you pursuing Zion and its promises of redemption, or are you chasing after worldly things? Wealth, fame, fortune, and leisure are things that people pursue that aren’t offered on the Holy Way. What do you need to do to get back on the highway?

 We are offered “everlasting joy upon our heads” and are assured that happiness and joy will overwhelm us when we travel this way. Grief and groaning are not part of this path. 

As you meditate on these words, ask yourself this: is it time to get back on track? God always makes a way.

Walking the Highway by Sallie Williams

Forswunk

Posted on by Betsy

I came across a new word on Twitter the other day, and now I am trying to use it as much as I can. The word is forswunk. It harkens back to the 13th century and it means to be exhausted from overwork. Holy cow, people! There is a NAME FOR IT. Raise your hand if you are forswunk! The poster went on to make a marvelous joke: being ”forEswunk” is to be exhausted before you even begin. I don’t know who Susie Dent is, but this got an immediate follow from me. She is my soul sister when it comes to having fun with words.

I have been both for- and fore-swunk. The recent push to publish a book, writing these devotionals, plugging away on a huge writing assignment for Cokesbury, attending my alma mater’s Alumni Association Council meetings for several days in Pennsylvania … in addition to my usual church and family responsibilities …I am forswunk! How about you? Are you forswunk? And as Halloween approaches in two days, are you realizing how quickly Christmas follows … so now you are feeling foreswunk as well?

What can we do when forswunkness overtakes us??

Stop.

Breathe.

Reevaluate.

Prioritize.

Then take things OFF our lists.

Jesus never used the word, but he certainly understood what it was like to be exhausted by overwork. Here is his counsel for you and for me:

Matthew 11 (New Revised Standard Version)

28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 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.

Come to Jesus. Lay down your burden, lay your head in his lap, and rest. When he invites us to take his yoke rather than the heavy burden we are carrying, it is a reference to how a young ox is paired with older, stronger, more experienced ox. The older ox carries the weight of the yoke and guides the younger ox along. It is only in Jesus that we will find rest for our souls.

Are you tired? Have life, relationships, work, worries, and the troubles of the world got you down? You are not alone. Jesus longs to walk beside you and carry that load for you.

You don’t have to stay forswunk. Jesus is able! Just come.

If you are looking for a way to stave off foreswunkness as your mind turns toward the busy-ness of Christmas, consider this Advent devotional resource. It was deliberately written to encourage all of us to slow down, minimize, re-focus, and appreciate Christmas for what it is … the greatest gift we could ever receive.

Excerpt from ADVENTuring to the Manger:

I wonder what Christmas would look like if we had kept it as just a birthday party for Jesus, instead of the giftpalooza-partypalooza-spendtoomuchpalooza-shoptilyoudroppalooza that it has become. Imagine it: we would wake up, talk about how wonderful Jesus is, plan a nice meal, bake a birthday cake, have the celebration, blow out the candles, and call it a day. And it would truly be just about him. How can we make Christmas just about Jesus again?

But for today, stop, breathe, reevaluate, and prioritize. Jesus’ yoke is easy and light. Come!

Stopping to Rest by Michelle Robertson

The Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Posted on by Betsy

Do you have a fear or a phobia? I think most of us do. I am VERY claustrophobic, and the fear of being trapped in a small space absolutely wigs me out. A friend shared her fear of bridges with me recently, and told me an amazing story.

The first time that driving over a bridge was a issue for her was a trip she made with her 12 month old child. Bridges weren’t a problem until the moment that they were. She experienced her first panic attack about two minutes into a long two-lane bridge. No turning around, no turning back. Part of the physical manifestation of the attack was a feeling of numbness in her arms and legs, making her fearful of losing control of the car. She began to say the Lord’s Prayer.

She made it over the bridge and stopped at a gas station. Because of the geography of the Outer Banks, there were only two choices: go back over the bridge she had just crossed, or go ahead….to another bridge.

There was a car full of ladies at the gas station. In a moment of desperation, she approached them and explained what had just happened. She asked if one of them would kindly get in her car with her and drive over the next bridge. Their immediate response? “Of course!”

Unforced grace.

Grace. Grace upon grace upon grace. Grace freely offered by angels in t-shirts and shorts, helping a complete stranger at a gas station.

Matthew 11 is a reminder of what to do and to whom we can turn when we are tired, scared, overwhelmed, and need God to help us recover from a situation:

Matthew 11 (The Message)

27 Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly. “The Father has given me all these things to do and say. This is a unique Father-Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge. No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does. But I’m not keeping it to myself; I’m ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen.

Jesus invites us to come to him and listen as he explains God’s grace, line by line. We are called to get away from all of life’s anxiety and take a real rest. When we do, we learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

I bet there are people in your life, like those ladies at the gas station, who can help you with the things you are dealing with that are heavy and ill-fitting. You just have to ask.

I KNOW that walking with Jesus is how we live freely and lightly. You just have to walk.

Maybe he is even calling YOU to be the angel in t-shirt and shorts for someone today. You just have to listen.

Come away with Jesus, and dwell in his unforced rhythms of love, joy, peace, gratitude, and especially grace. He just might send you an angel, too.

Bridges Everywhere by Bev Mineo