Dear Readers and Listeners
Our watchword for this week, following the Second Sunday after Trinity, is taken from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 11 verse 28, “Christ said: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” (NRSVB). In this Chapter we are taught of John the Baptist’s imprisonment. John’s disciples came to Jesus asking if he is the Messiah, or if they should be waiting and expecting someone else. Jesus did not rebuke John’s disciples, but told them to tell John what they have experienced. Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah and his depiction of the work of the Messiah, “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed by healing and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the good news, the Gospel, preached to them,” according to Isaiah 35 verses 5 and 6 and Isaiah 61 verse 1, (Amplified Bible). Jesus then told the people who came to listen to his teaching about John the Baptist, who amongst the Prophets is the most eminent, the one who came to call make straight the paths, the one who is like Elijah. Notwithstanding John the Baptist’s great stature amongst the prophets, his birth being foretold by the angel to his father while he was serving in the temple, his preaching being foretold by the prophets of old, and the blessed baptism that he gave to Jesus Christ; God has chosen to reveal Himself also to the unlearned and the unskilled and has hidden his presence from the wise and the learned.
Jesus marvelled that the people came to hear John and his powerful ministry in the desert and did not heed his words, but denounced him for the solitary life he led in the wilderness, while he preached and baptized, and called on people to repent. Now, that Jesus, the Messiah has come, and is teaching, preaching and living amongst the people, enjoying their company and partaking of their meals, they also denounce him. They are rejecting his words and miracles and do not believe that he has been sent by God, to be the Saviour of the World. The learned Scribes and Scholars, the Pharisees and Sadducees, the Priests and High Priest, are those who search the Scriptures and have to teach the people, but even they are not reading and interpreting the Word of God correctly. They are leading the people astray, for they denounce Jesus Christ, being the Son of God. Jesus tells his listeners that they must not be dismayed, for God has opened the minds of those yearning to find truth and has revealed his Son to them, for they have believed. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and his teachings will bring rest and peace, for he opens the eyes of the spiritually blind and shows them the presence of God, that gives unspeakable peace amidst the storms of life. He calls on his followers to cast their burdens upon him, for he cares!
Our watchword for this Sunday is taken from Psalm 13 verse 6, “I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me,” (Amplified Bible). In this psalm of David, he calls on the Lord and begs God to reveal his face to him, and not to hide from him. David is suffering great sorrow and his enemy is delighting in his pitiful state. John the Baptist, as he was put to prison for being a prophet of the Lord, speaking truth, was seeking God’s face. He sent to Jesus for he wanted to hear the Lord’s confirmation of his faith. Jesus not only affirmed John’s question by telling him that He is the Messiah, he also affirmed John the Baptist, in the presence of all the people as the greatest prophet to live among humans. God’s presence was revealed to John in the testimony that his disciples came to deliver to him while he was in prison. The affirmation of John’s prophetic ministry by Jesus, must have sustained John as he awaited death in prison. King David, likewise, found himself not being able to see God’s presence, while he was sorely oppressed by foes. He prayed to God to consider him and to open his eyes to the mysteries of God. God answered him and brought him to the place where he could sing to the Lord.
In the teachings of the Apostle James he advises the congregations to come to God in their suffering and in their times of joy, “Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any among you cheerful? They should sing songs of praise,” James 5 verse 13, (NRSVB). God hears our prayers and our songs and dwells with and among us. The heroes of faith teach us, through the narrative of scripture, to come to God in each and every situation of our lives, for he is the one who makes his presence known to us through his words and deeds. He is the one that lifts us from our sorrow and suffering, putting our feet on a large place, giving us safety and comforting us, so that we can burst forth in joyful song, He cares for us and carries our burdens.
Father, we come to you and bring our doubts and fears and roll our anxiety and perplexities onto you. We thank you that you are ever present in our lives. Open our eyes Lord, so that we can see Jesus, and thus find peace and rest, Amen.