Sermon by The Rev Dr Sue Carter, 7/9/2023
“Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.”
“Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.”
Those of us – who are people of a certain age – will likely remember those words from a celebration of Holy Communion in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.
The words of Jesus are from the Gospel of Matthew, the one we just heard. But the sentence just read is a bit more contemporary: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
In reading through all of today’s lessons from the Old and New Testaments, including the psalms, that was the sentence that really grabbed me. It took hold of me – maybe you, too.
Let me explain why it struck me.
These last several years – actually almost three-and-a-half – have been something of a blur. So much has been turned upside down. Have you found yourself asking about a certain date or event: “Now, was that before Covid or during it, or since Covid?”
It feels as though we are constructing a new timeline, one that is based on a chronology dictated by the course of a disease. The introduction of the virus has seemingly disrupted where we are in time. The markers are pre-, during, and post-Covid, though the evidence is pretty clear that we are not out of the woods as far as Covid. In fact, is it possible that we may never be quite finished with what was an epidemic.
That baptism, that graduation, that passing of a loved one. Was it pre-, during, or post-Covid. For many of us, it is a fog. In thinking about what I wanted to share with you today, my thoughts kept drifting back to that verse from Matthew in the 1928 prayer book.
The words travail, heavy laden, and refresh stood right out.
Language, especially the English language, fascinates me. As a former professor of journalism, and an historian, what we say and the words used to express our thoughts carry great meaning. In the older expression of Matthew’s gospel, we hear Jesus talking about travail.
That’s not a word we commonly use today. It’s understandable why newer translations employ “weary” instead of “travail.” Who today says: “I travailed all day and, boy, was that ever a heavy laden I had to bear.” And yet, I believe that travail gives a wider expression to our experiences of the past few Covid years.
Travail, you see, is related to the word travel. The Oxford Dictionary explains that travel is a variant of travail. Think about it. Journeys in the past – take the Middle Ages for example – were difficult and arduous voyages. They were often fraught with challenges, and even danger. There was toil and torment to get from place to another. Travail.
The journey we have been on the last three-and-a-half years has been one of challenges and difficulties thrust upon us by Covid. We have dealt with limitations and uncertainties. Perhaps loss of employment, and even loss of loved ones.
It has been an unbelievable journey; one we hope to never repeat.
Our travels – that journey – was full of travail.
Are we weary? You bet.
Have we become dispirited at times? Quite right.
Do we pray this journey, this travel, these travails will end? Absolutely.
Perhaps that is why I was drawn to the very last sentences of today’s lessons. Jesus knows, indeed fully grasps, what we are experiencing. Not only does he identify the issue – “we are weary from carrying the heavy burdens” in our case of Covid. He offers a cure, a balm for all we have endured and are continuing to deal with.
He continues: “I will give you rest.” Then he adds, join me, follow me. It’s not hard. If you do, “you will find rest for your souls.” Compared to the burdens we all have shouldered – together or separately – the burden Jesus proposes is light.
I’m not sure I would even think of it as a burden, but as someone who shares my backpack – who takes if off my weary shoulders and walks along with me. We have traveled through so much since March of 2020. Our travels have been overridden by travails. Our journey may not be over.
We have been given a wonderful offer, though, that will lighten our burden.
Join Jesus. Pick up the yoke. Learn from him. There we will find rest.
We will find our much needed rest.
Amen.