Psalm 145:8-14:

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to all people your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his deeds. The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30:

 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.  All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.  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.

Resiliency Gives Us Hope

Matthew 11

In our reading from Matthew today, we see that God reveals Jesus’ identity to the ordinary people, the common folk, and not to the powerful elite. Jesus offers the ordinary people rest from Rome’s oppression. He says, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden. I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” This is the opposite of the Roman Empire. Rome’s yoke is oppressive, especially a heavy tax burden. But Jesus’ burden is light. His call is to love and compassion.

Peter Jenkins: A Walk Across America

In 1973 Peter Jenkins was a young man in college, unhappy with his life and unhappy with his country. He was cynical and bitter, watching the news night after night, the news about the Vietnam War and the scandals in Washington DC. He saw the entire country as corrupt and hypocritical. He was an angry young man.

One night Jenkins was talking to the college janitor, expressing his unhappiness, and his thoughts about leaving the country. He was fed up with America, and he wanted to leave. The janitor, a man named Channing, listened to him, and then he said,

“Peter, you don’t even know what you’re talking about. You haven’t seen this country. All you know is what you see on the news, and you’ve spent your whole life in a comfortable little bubble. Don’t you dare give up on America or judge its people until you actually get out there and meet them face-to-face. Go see it for yourself first.”

Peter Jenkins accepted that challenge. He walked across America, and he met all kinds of people. He found good people everywhere he went, people who showed him goodness and hospitality. And he found jobs along the way and worked and earned money to buy his food. And then people helped him when he needed help, and by the time he reached the Pacific Ocean, he was no longer cynical about America. His walk across America changed his heart and opened his heart so that he could see goodness again. His burning cynicism had been replaced by a deep, enduring appreciation for the nation. Jenkins realized that the true spirit of America was defined not by its flawed institutions, but by the quiet, everyday goodness of its people.

Gridlock

Last Thursday, driving back to Maine, it was gridlock. From 495 around Boston all the way up to Ogunquit, it was gridlock. Everyone was headed up to Maine for the holiday weekend. But you know, I saw some goodness on the interstate. Of course, there was some horrible driving too, the swooping and swerving and horn blowing. But there was some grace, too. A few drivers slowing down, giving space for lanes to merge lanes, just a few moments of courtesy out there on the highway. I felt my faith bolstered. My faith in humanity.

The Bicentennial

In 1976 the United States celebrated the bicentennial. I remember that summer day like it was yesterday. I was thirteen that July 4^th and at my grandparents’ house in Ohio with my brother Tom. The Hudson River tall ships dominated our living room tv that afternoon. On the front porch, I popped rolls of caps with a hammer, making some noise, in my own small way, to celebrate that day. (We weren’t allowed to light firecrackers or cherry bombs, and rightly so.) But I had some rolls of caps for my cap gun, (remember cap guns?) and so I unrolled the cap rolls on the porch floor concrete and hit the caps with a hammer. That was my way of making some noise.

It was a big day. For several years my grandfather had been talking about the “Bicentennial.” The 200^th birthday of our country. He told us all the stories: Lexington and Concord, the Tea Party, and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He was a good teacher. I remember it seemed like such a happy time, the Bicentennial July 4^th, it seemed like everyone in our country was celebrating together, there was a sense of optimism and hope. Or, at least, it seemed to me that way when I was 13 years old.

The Old North Bridge

When Shari and I were on our way to Springfield last week, we stopped at Lexington and Concord and we visited the Old North Bridge where that famous shot was fired, heard round the world. It’s the place where the Revolutionary War began, and it’s the place where our country began, the United States of America.

When Shari and I walked across the bridge it was a hot and quiet afternoon. Not many people were out. A Park Ranger was there to answer questions. But mostly, it was quiet. And somber. Somehow it didn’t feel like we were getting ready for a big celebration. Not as big, at least, as the Fourth of July 50 years ago.

You know, a lot can happen in fifty years. Whole lives come and go. This year, I celebrated the Fourth of July yesterday while in my second marriage, with my beautiful Shari, and her daughter, Lilah, and Lilah’s husband, Jim. They came over to our house. When I married Shari, I also gained two new daughters, Lilah and Sophie, God’s gracious gifts to me, my second family. My own kids, Eli and Eva, are all grown up. Eli is in Providence and Eva is in Salt Lake City, and we celebrated on the phone together, and remembered fireworks and cookouts gone by. In fifty years a lot can happen. And yet, it seems like yesterday, too, that I was a kid watching the tall ships on tv in my grandparents living room, watching their bright colored flags and billowing sails on the square rigger masts, coming majestically up the Hudson River. And it seemed, at least to my 13-year-old mind, like America was happier then. More unified then. But now I’m not so sure about that. Because now, I know more.

I know more now.

I know more now about what was going on in 1976. I know more now about the Vietnam War ending the year before. I know more now about Watergate and Nixon’s resignation. I know more now about the Civil Rights movement. I know more now about how our country was divided in 1976, when I was 13 years old. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that there have always been divisions in our country. That’s my point, really. There have always been divisions. Only 85 years after the Revolutionary War, the Civil War between the North and the South exploded. It’s easy to look back and think that times were somehow better back then. And that’s human nature. We tend to recall the past in a better light than it really was. There have always been divisions in the United States. America at the Bicentennial celebration was just as divided as things are now. Perhaps the difference today is that the divisions are more institutionalized. Today, our country faces a whole new set of problems, as we celebrate 250 years.

But we are resilient

But somehow, we muddle through. As a country, so far, at least, the United States has been resilient. We’ve managed to remain a country. We’ve come back from some very difficult times. That’s a good word, you know? Resiliency. Resiliency is the ability to bounce back from hard times. Resiliency is what gives us hope. In whatever our situation is. After a major loss, a fire, a death, something horrible happens. We can bounce back. Maybe it’s not a bounce. Maybe it’s a long, long haul. But we can come back. And we can come back into a new life. And so, the fact that it is possible to bounce back, the fact that there is resiliency, that human beings are resilient, it means that there is hope, it means that we are not doomed, that human beings do bounce back from hard times, and this hope prevents us from sinking into cynicism.

Cynicism

Cynicism is a view based on mistrust. And cynicism is a view that makes people unhappy. Cynicism leads to depression. It’s the opposite of hope. A cynic believes that people are motivated only by self-interest. So, for example, a cynic would think that even someone like the Good Samaritan has an angle. For a cynic, there is no such thing as genuinely helping people. Everyone is trying to sell something. Everyone is only out to get ahead for themselves. It’s a dog-eat-dog world. No one can be trusted. A cynic has no faith in the goodness of humanity. A cynic trusts no one. And because of this lack of trust, cynics see other people as enemies. And so, suspicion becomes a way of life.

The Christian view.

But for Christians, we are called to something beyond cynicism. The Gospel message is a positive message. And the Gospel message is much older than America. The Gospel message is timeless. God is good and God loves us. God created the world, and God created us. We are created in God’s image, and because of this, we are loved. Christians are a people of hope, not despair. The Christian life is a life of love and trust. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the Christian view. This is the opposite of a cynical world view. It is a timeless and eternal view.

Guard against cynicism

We must guard ourselves against falling into cynicism and despair, no matter how bad things are in the world, no matter how much division there is, no matter how much hatred there is, no matter how much mistrust there is, no matter what the news reports are, no matter how many wars are being fought, no matter all the ways human beings create suffering. We are called to rise above worldly and cynical views. Christians aspire to a higher calling, to the timeless values of the Gospel message, that we are a redeemed people, and as such, we can open our hearts to helping others. We are not a people of darkness and despair, but we are Easter sunrise people. The Gospel is not a cynical message. It is the Good News.

“Come to me, all who are weary”

So when you get tired and weary, remember what Jesus says. “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” We can go to God for rest and rest our minds and hearts in God’s timeless goodness, as handed down to us through generations. On this weekend when we celebrate 250 years, let’s be grateful to worship in freedom, and grateful we can rest our minds in God’s timeless goodness, the Good News, the Easter morning sunrise news. Amen? Amen.