KEEPING COMPANY WITH JESUS
Matthew 11:2-9, 16-19, 25-30
Rev. Paul Wrightman 6/2/24
THE GREAT SWISS PSYCHOANALYST CARL JUNG SAID
“FOLLOW YOUR LONGING AND IT WILL LEAD YOU TO GOD.”
WE CAN SEE THIS PROCESS AT WORK
IN OUR SCRIPTURE TEXT FOR TODAY.
THE IMPRISONED JOHN THE BAPTIST
WAS HEARING REPORTS ABOUT WHAT JESUS WAS ACCOMPLISHING,
AND THESE REPORTS DISTURBED HIM DEEPLY.
JOHN’S VISION OF PROPHETIC MINISTRY
EMPHASIZED JUDGMENT, PUNISHMENT, AND GETTING EVEN.
WHAT HE IS HEARING ABOUT JESUS
DOES NOT FIT THESE EXPECTATIONS.
SO JOHN WANTS JESUS TO DEFINITIVELY DECLARE HIMSELF
AND SETTLE THE ISSUE.
THE PHRASING OF THE QUESTION –
“ARE YOU THE ONE WE’VE BEEN EXPECTING,
OR ARE WE STILL WAITING?” –
SETS THE TONE FOR THE WHOLE PASSAGE.
THE BAPTIST AND HIS DISCIPLES ARE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE.
BUT WHAT EXACTLY ARE THEY LOOKING FOR,
WHAT ARE THE DEEPEST DESIRES OF THEIR HEARTS?
IF THEY CAN BRING TO CONSCIOUSNESS
THE DEEPEST DESIRES OF THEIR HEARTS,
THEY WILL BE ABLE TO ANSWER THEIR OWN QUESTION.
JESUS DOES NOT ANSWER THEIR QUESTION DIRECTLY.
INSTEAD, HE POINTS TO WHAT HE IS BRINGING ABOUT.
HE IS APPLYING ONE OF JOHN’S CRITERIA TO HIMSLEF:
“YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS.”
THE BAPTIST’S DISCIPLES ARE SIMPLY TO TELL JOHN
WHAT THEY SEE AND HEAR.
THE IMPLICATION HERE IS THAT EACH PERSON
MUST COME TO THEIR OWN CONCLUSION ABOUT WHETHER
JESUS IS THE ONE FOR WHOM THEY ARE WAITING.
JESUS’ WORKS ARE IMAGINATIVE EXAMPLES OF RESTORATION:
SOMETHING THAT WAS MISSING IS FOUND.
SOMETHING THAT WAS WOUNDED IS HEALED.
SIGHT, MOBILITY, HEARING, LIFE, AND DIGNITY ARE RETURNED
TO PEOPLE WHO HAD LOST THEM OR NEVER HAD THEM
TO BEGIN WITH.
JESUS IS DOING NOTHING LESS
THAN RESTORING GOD’S GOOD CREATION.
HE IS RECONNECTING PEOPLE WITH GOD
AND THE RESULT IS A WHOLE AND HEALED HUMAN PERSON.
BUT THIS ACTIVITY IS NOT THE KIND OF PROPHETIC MINISTRY
THAT THE BAPTIST HAD IN MIND.
IT DOES NOT HAVE THE SHARP EDGE OF JUDGMENT
THAT JOHN’S PREACHING PUSHED.
AS THE BAPTIST’S DISCIPLES LEAVE, JESUS SEARCHES THE HEARTS
OF THOSE IN THE REMAINING CROWD BY QUESTIONING THEM
ABOUT WHY THEY WERE ATTRACTED TO JOHN.
WHEN THEY WENT INTO THE DESERT OF SELF-EXAMINATION
WHERE JOHN LIVED, WHAT DROVE THEM?
WHAT WERE THEY LOOKING FOR? “WHAT DID YOU EXPECT
WHEN YOU WENT OUT TO SEE HIM IN THE WILD?”
THIS QUESTION, WHICH HE REPEATS THREE TIMES,
IS THE STRATEGY OF A SPIRITUAL TEACHER
TRING TO UNCOVER THE DEEPEST DESIRES OF THE HEART.
ONLY IF THEY UNDERSTAND THEIR DEEPEST DESIRES
WILL THEY BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO JESUS.
ONLY IF WE UNDERSTAND OUR DEEPEST DESIRES
WILL WE BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO JESUS.
“WHAT DID YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU WENT OUT TO SEE HIM
IN THE WILD? A WEEKEND CAMPER?”
OR, AS MORE TRADITIONAL TRANSLATIONS PUT IT:
“A REED SHAKEN BY THE WIND?”
WERE THEY – ARE WE – LOOKING FOR SOMEONE
WHO WAS THE PLAYTHING OF EVERY INFLUENCE,
AT THE WHIM OF SWIRLING OUTER FORCES?
THE ASSUMED ANSWER IS NO.
JESUS LAUNCHES A SECOND PROBE INTO THEIR DESIRES.
IF IT WASN’T A REED SHAKEN BY THE WIND, A WEEKEND CAMPER,
THEN WHAT WAS IT?
LOOKING INTO THE HEART TO SEE WHAT DRIVES US
IS NO EASY TASK.
FINDING OUR ROOT DESIRE IS A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY.
A GUIDE IS ESSENTIAL AND, IN THIS TEXT, JESUS IS THE GUIDE.
ONE OF THE DUTIES OF A GOOD SPIRITUAL GUIDE
IS TO PUSH THE QUESTION AND NOT ALLOW US
TO SETTLE FOR SURFACE ANSWERS.
“WHAT THEN? A SHEIK IN SILK PAJAMAS?
NOT IN THE WILDERNESS, NOT BY A LONG SHOT;”
OR, MORE TRADITIONALLY, “SOMEONE DRESSED IN SOFT ROBES?
LOOK, THOSE WHO WEAR SOFT ROBES LIVE IN ROYAL PALACES.”
DID YOU GO INTO THE DESERT
FOR POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE AND GLITZ?
ARE YOU A ROYAL WATCHER?
IF SO, YOU’RE IN THE WRONG PLACE.
“WHAT THEN?”
THIS IS THE THIRD PROBE AND, HONORING THE LAW OF THREES,
THIS ONE REACHES ITS TARGET.
“A PROPHET? THAT’S RIGHT, A PROPHET!”
THE REAL LONGING IS TO CONNECT WITH A REAL PROPHET,
A GOD-GROUNDED PERSON WHO CANNOT BE PUSHED AROUND
AND WHO CONFRONTS THE ABUSES OF PEOPLE
WHO LIVE IN PALACES.
THEY WANTED – WE WANT – A PROPHET WHO COULD NOT ONLY
CRITICIZE SIN, BUT WHO COULD POINT TO REDEMPTION.
THEY MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN IT,
BUT WHAT JESUS DOES IS WHAT THEY WANT.
WE MAY NOT KNOW IT, BUT WHAT JESUS DOES IS WHAT WE WANT.
THEY WANTED THEIR SIGHT RESTORED, THEIR LEGS MOVING,
THEIR EARS OPEN, THEIR LIFE FLOWING, THEIR POVERTY ENRICHED.
IN OTHER WORDS, THEY WANT WHOLENESS AND RENEWAL,
AND SO DO WE.
THE DEEPEST DESIRE OF THE HEART IS TO BE CONNECTED TO GOD.
PEOPLE HAVE STRAYED FROM THIS RELATIONSHIP AND,
CONSEQUENTLY, LIVE IN EXILE FROM THEIR TRUE SELVES.
BUT THEY SEARCH FOR WHAT THEY HAVE LOST.
THEREFORE, WHAT THEY WENT OUT TO SEE
WAS THE POSSIBILITY OF RECONNECTING,
OF RESTORING WHAT THEY HAD LOST,
OF REINHABITATING THE ORIGINAL GARDEN
IN THE FIERCENESS OF THE DESERT.
(PAUSE)
IMAGINE IN YOUR MIND’S EYE THE CROWD SURROUNDING JESUS,
AND IMAGINE THAT CROWD,
AS IT UNDOUBTEDLY WOULD HAVE BEEN,
AS DIVIDED INTO TWO UNEQUAL PARTS.
BY FAR THE LARGEST PART,
THE PART WHOM JESUS HAS JUST FINISHED ADDRESSING,
WOULD HAVE BEEN THE “PEOPLE OF THE LAND,”
THE POOR, THE ILL, THE WOMEN AND THE CHILDREN,
ALL THOSE CONSIDERED TO BE “UNCLEAN”
FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER,
ALL THOSE REJECTED BY THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT
FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER.
JESUS NOW TURNS TO THIS SMALL GROUP OF MEN
REPRESENTING THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT,
PHARISEES AND SCRIBES, CALLS THEM “THIS GENERATION,”
AND LAMENTS THE FACT THAT NOTHING CAN PLEASE THEM.
THEY RESPOND NEGATIVELY TO EVERY INVITATION.
THEY ALLOW THEIR IMAGINED POSITIONS OF PRIVILEGE
TO KEEP THEM FROM GETTING IN TOUCH
WITH THEIR DEEPEST LONGINGS.
THEY CAN’T RECOGNIZE HEALTH AND WHOLENESS
EVEN WHEN IT IS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM,
SPEAKING TO THEM, PLEADING WITH THEM.
JESUS COMPARES THESE MALE REPRESENTATIVES
OF THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT TO LITTLE CHILDREN,
SPOILED LITTLE CHILDREN WHOM NOTHING CAN SATISFY.
HE SAYS BLUNTLY THAT JOHN THE BAPTIST CAME FASTING,
AND THEY WRITE HIM OFF AS CRAZY.
HE, JESUS, COMES FEASTING, AND THEY WRITE HIM OFF AS “A LUSH,
A FRIEND OF THE RIFFRAFF.”
BUT NOW LOOKING AT BOTH SIDES OF THE DIVIDED CROWD,
THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENT,
JESUS INVITES THEM ALL TO RECONNECT WITH THE LIVING GOD.
I REALLY LIKE THE WAY EUGENE PETERSON RENDERS
THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF OUR SCRIPTURE READING,
BUT FOR THE SAKE OF FAMILIARITY I’LL QUOTE IT TO YOU
IN THE MORE TRADITIONAL VERSION:
“COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO 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.”
(Matthew 11:28-30, NRSV)
THE KEY PHRASE HERE IS JESUS SAYING
“TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU,”
THE POSITIVE MEANING OF WHICH EUGENE PETERSON
CAPTURES IN HIS RENDERING AS “I WON’T LAY ANYTHING
HEAVY OR ILL-FITTING ON YOU.”
IN JESUS’ DAY, AS IN TRADITIONAL AGRARIAN CULTURES
IN OUR OWN TIME, YOKES WERE HAND-MADE
AND HAND-TAILORED TO MEET THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
OF EACH INDIVIDUAL ANIMAL.
WHEN HIS HEARERS HEARD JESUS USING THE WORD “YOKE,”
THEY WOULD HAVE IMMEDIATELY REMEMBERED
THE VERY PERSONAL DESIGN OF THIS IMPLEMENT.
THEY WOULD HAVE HEARD JESUS’ STATEMENT
“COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY
AND 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. . .”
AS A VERY PERSONAL INVITATION FROM JESUS
TO PUT ON THE “YOKE” OF A VERY PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
ON PENTECOST SUNDAY A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO,
WE TALKED ABOUT THE TRINITY, AND CAME UP WITH THREE
PREPOSITIONS WHICH DESCRIBE HOW EACH
PERSON OF THE TRINITY MEETS US:
GOD THE FATHER IS “ABOVE” US;
GOD THE SON IS “WITH” US;
GOD THE SPIRIT IS “WITHIN” US.
ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS IS THAT JESUS
BRINGS THE LOVE OF GOD THE FATHER
DOWN TO EARTH, SO TO SPEAK,
MAKING GOD THE FATHER ACCESSIBLE.
AND THE SPIRIT, BEING THE SPIRIT OF JESUS,
MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR JESUS TO LIVE “WITHIN.”
IN THIS LIGHT, THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF THE TRINITY –
GOD BECOMING PROGRESSIVELY MORE “CONCRETE,”
FROM “ABOVE,” TO “WITH,” TO “WITHIN” –
IS NOTHING LESS THAT GOD’S INVITATION
TO A CLOSE, PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OF US.
AT THIS POINT I WOULD LIKE TO USE ONE OF MY
FAVORITE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM RACHEL NAOMI REMEN, M.D.,
AS A METAPHOR FOR THE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP
THAT GOD WOULD LIKE TO HAVE WITH US ALL.
AS I SHARE THIS ILLUSTRATION WITH YOU,
PLEASE HEAR “THE DOCTOR,” IN THIS CASE DR. REMEN,
AS A METAPHOR FOR GOD,
AND “PATIENT” AS A METAPHOR FOR OURSELVES.
DR. REMEN WRITES:
“FOR EACH OF US, THERE ARE CONDITIONS OF HEALING
THAT ARE AS UNIQUE AS A FINGERPRINT.
SOME TIME AGO A YOUNG MAN WAS REFERRED TO ME
BY AN IMAGERY-TRAINING PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE WITH CANCER.
DESPITE A DIAGNOSIS OF MALIGNANT MELANOMA,
HE HAD BEEN SO POORLY MOTIVATED THAT ONLY A MONTH
AFTER COMPLETING THE INTENSIVE TRAINING,
HE COULD NOT REMEMBER TO DO HIS DAILY IMAGERY MEDITIATION.
JIM WAS AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER AT A MAJOR AIRPORT.
HE WAS A RESERVED AND QUIET MAN WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN SHY
UNTIL YOU NOTICED THE STEADINESS IN HIS EYES.
HE TOLD ME WITH EMBARRASSMENT THAT HE WAS THE ONLY ONE
IN THE IMAGERY CLASS WHO COULDN’T STICK TO THE PROGRAM.
HE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY.
WE TALKED FOR A WHILE ABOUT HIS PLANS FOR HIS LIFE
AND HIS REACTION TO HIS DIAGNOSIS.
HE CERTAINLY CARED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT GETTING WELL.
HE ENJOYED HIS WORK, LOVED HIS FAMILY,
LOOKED FORWARD TO RAISING HIS LITTLE BOY.
NOT MUCH SELF-DESTRUCTION THERE.
SO I ASKED HIM TO TELL ME ABOUT HIS IMAGERY.
BY WAY OF AN ANSWER HE UNFOLDED A DRAWING OF A SHARK.
THE SHARK’S MOUTH WAS HUGE AND OPEN
AND FILLED WITH SHARP, POINTED TEETH.
FOR FIFTEEN MINUTES THREE TIMES A DAY HE WAS TO IMAGINE
THOUSANDS OF TINY SHARKS HUNTING THROUGH HIS BODY,
SAVAGELY ATTACKING AND DESTROYING
ANY CANCER CELL THEY FOUND.
IT WAS A FAIRLY TRADITIONAL PATTERN
OF IMMUNE SYSTEM IMAGERY,
RECOMMENDED BY MANY SELF-HELP BOOKS
AND USED BY COUNTLESS PEOPLE.
I ASKED HIM WHAT SEEMED TO PREVENT HIM
FROM DOING THE MEDITATION.
WITH A SIGH, HE SAID HE FOUND IT . . . BORING.
THE TRAINING HAD GONE BADLY FOR HIM FROM THE START.
ON THE FIRST DAY, THE CLASS HAD BEEN ASKED
TO FIND AN IMAGE FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.
IN THE FOLLOWING DISCUSSION, HE HAD DISCOVERED
THAT HE HAD NOT GOTTEN THE “RIGHT” SORT OF IMAGE.
THE WHOLE CLASS AND THE PSYCHOLOGIST/LEADER
HAD WORKED WITH HIM UNTIL HE CAME UP WITH THIS SHARK.
I LOOKED AT THE DRAWING ON HIS LAP.
THE CONTRAST BETWEEN IT
AND THIS RESERVED MAN WAS STRIKING.
CURIOUS, I ASKED WHAT HIS FIRST IMAGE HAD BEEN.
LOOKING AWAY, HE MUMBLED, “NOT VICIOUS ENOUGH.”
IT HAD BEEN A CATFISH.
I WAS INTRIGUED.
I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT CATFISH, HAD NEVER EVEN SEEN ONE,
AND NO ONE HAD EVER TALKED ABOUT THEM
IN THIS HEALING ROLE BEFORE.
WITH GROWING ENTHUSIASM HE DESCRIBED
WHAT CATFISH DO IN AN AQUARIUM.
UNLIKE OTHER MORE AGGRESSIVE AND COMPETITIVE FISH,
THEY ARE BOTTOM FEEDERS, SIFTING THE SAND
THROUGH THEIR GILLS, EVALUATING CONSTANTLY,
SORTING WASTE FROM WHAT IS NOT WASTE, EATING
WHAT NO LONGER SUPPORTS THE LIFE OF THE AQUARIUM.
THEY NEVER SLEEP.
THEY ARE ABLE TO MAKE MANY RAPID AND ACCURATE DECISIONS.
AS AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER,
HE ADMIRED THEIR ABILITY TO DO THIS.
I ASKED HIM TO DESCRIBE A CATFISH FOR ME IN A FEW WORDS.
HE CAME UP WITH SUCH WORDS AS “DISCERNING, VIGILANT,
IMPECCABLE, THOROUGH, STEADFAST, AND TRUSTWORTHY.”
“NOT BAD,” I THOUGHT.
WE TALKED FOR A WHILE ABOUT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.
HE HAD NOT KNOWN THAT THE DNA OF EACH OF OUR
BILLIONS OF CELLS CARRIES A HIGHLY INDIVIDUAL SIGNATURE,
A SORT OF PERSONAL DESIGNER LOGO.
OUR IMMUNE CELLS CAN RECOGNIZE OUR OWN DNA LOGO
AND WILL CONSUME ANY CELL THAT DOES NOT CARRY IT.
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IS THE DEFENDER OF OUR IDENTITY
ON THE CELLULAR LEVEL, PATROLLING THE SELF/NOT SELF
BOUNDARY CONSTANTLY, DISCERNING WHAT IS SELF
FROM WHAT IS OTHER, NEVER SLEEPING.
CANCER CELLS HAVE LOST THEIR DNA LOGO. THE HEALTHY
IMMUNE STSTEM ATTACKS THEM AND DESTOYS THEM.
IN FACT, JIM’S UNCONSCIOUS MIND HAD OFFERED HIM
A PARTICULARLY ACCURATE IMAGE FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.
BUT JIM STILL SEEMED DOUBTFUL.
THE TEACHER AND THE CLASS HAD TALKED OF THE IMPORTANCE OF
AN AGGRESSIVE “FIGHTING SPIRIT” AND OF THE
“KILLER MOTIVATION” OF EFFECTIVE CANCER-FIGHTING IMAGERY.
HE FLUSHED AGAIN.
“IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE?” I ASKED HIM.
NODDING, HE TOLD ME THAT CATFISH GREW BIG WHERE
HE HAD BEEN RAISED, AND AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR
THEY WOULD “WALK” ACROSS THE ROADS.
WHEN HE WAS A CHILD THIS HAD STRUCK HIM
AS A SORT OF MIRACLE AND HE NEVER TIRED OF WATCHING THEM.
HE HAD KEPT SEVERAL AS PETS.
“JIM,” I SAID, “WHAT IS A PET?”
HE LOOKED SURPRISED.
“WHY, A PET IS SOMETHING THAT LOVES YOU,
NO MATTER WHAT,” HE REPLIED.
SO I ASKED HIM TO SUMMARIZE HIS OWN IMAGERY.
CLOSING HIS EYES, HE SPOKE OF MILLIONS OF CATFISH
THAT NEVER SLEPT, MOVING THROUGH HIS BODY,
VIGILANT, UNTIRING, DEDICATED, AND DISCRIMINATING,
PATIENTLY EXAMINING EVERY CELL, PASSING BY THE ONES
THAT WERE HEALTHY, EATING THE ONES THAT WERE CANCEROUS,
MOTIVATED BY A PET’S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND DEVOTION.
THEY CARED WHETHER HE LIVED OR DIED.
HE WAS AS SPECIAL AND UNIQUE TO THEM AS HE WAS TO HIS DOG.
HE OPENED HIS EYES.
“THIS MAY SOUND SILLY, BUT I FEEL SORT OF GRATEFUL
TO THEM FOR THEIR CARE,” HE SAID.
THIS IMAGERY TOUCHED HIM DEEPLY
AND IT WAS NOT HARD FOR HIM TO REMEMBER.
NOR WAS IT BORING.
HE DID THIS MEDITATION DAILY FOR A YEAR.
YEARS LATER, AFTER A FULL RECOVERY,
HE CONTINUES THIS PRACTICE A FEW TIMES A WEEK.
HE SAYS IT REMINDS HIM THAT, ON THE DEEPEST LEVEL,
HIS BODY IS ON HIS SIDE.” (End Quote)
IF DR. RACHEL NAOMI REMEN, AN IMPERFECT HUMAN BEING,
CAN PULL OFF BEING SUCH AN INCREDIBLE
COUNSELOR AND FRIEND,
JUST IMAGINE GOD IN THE SAME ROLE –
GOD ABOVE, GOD WITH, GOD WITHIN.
AND THIS IS PRECISELY THE ROLE
THAT GOD WOULD LIKE TO PLAY IN EACH OF OUR LIVES.
TO REPEAT JESUS’ INVITATION,
THIS TIME IN THE WORDS OF EUGENE PETERSON:
“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.”
AMEN.