Perhaps things didn’t work out at your job, or your school essay got a lower grade than you expected. Maybe your friend or spouse didn’t eat much of the meal you made for them. We’ve all been there, right? How did you feel? How did you react?
This was the position that Jesus found himself in in Matthew 11. He was preaching, teaching, and performing healing miracles in Galilee, but despite this, people were not repenting.
Our scripture reading this week is Matthew 11:25-30:
Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer: “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”
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.
“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.”
What do you notice in this passage?
I noticed the word “Abruptly”. When finding himself in this situation, Jesus abruptly turned to God in prayer. And how did Jesus pray? What did he say to God?
He didn’t complain or ask for a different result than he was getting, but he thanked and praised his Father.
Jesus would have learned about prayer by praying the Psalms. His thanking God reminds me of Psalm 100:4: Enter his gates with thanksgiving, or in the MSG translation, Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Saying “Thank you” is not a command of what attitude we should pray with, it is actually a phrase that gives us entrance to the kingdom! And I have found that if I enter this way, usually my spirits lift and I'm ready to give life another try.
There are many more things to think and pray about in Matthew 11:25-30. I invite you to read it again, in whatever translation(s) you prefer, before Sunday.
This week we welcome Conor Wilkerson to Cambie Village Church. Conor is a graduate of Regent College, and will share his reflection on this passage with us.
Image of dejected man by jcomp on Freepik
Overlooking the Sea of Galilee, my photo 2014
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