by Michael Charles Aubrey

This week I’m focusing on the Gospel reading. Mostly because there is something from 11:29-29 that I want to share. However, before we get to that,

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.” Matthew 11:18-19 (NRSV)

This reminds me of something I read by C.S. Lewis once regarding the size of the universe. I think it was in Miracles in the chapter titled, “A Chapter of Red Herrings”. Essentially, there are those who would say that the universe is simply too vast for the Christian God to exist. Yet, if it were significantly smaller, you’d just as easily be able to protest, “Surely a God of infinite power and creativity could do better than this“.

Essentially, there are those who aren’t really interested in having a real argument and wouldn’t be satisfied either way. We may be talking about the size of the universe or eating and drinking habits, but really the objection is rooted in something else.

“Come to me, all you that 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. Matthew 11:28-29, (NRSV)

Neil Elliot offers this perspective in The People’s Bible,

We often read these verses (“Come to me, all you that are weary …”) inscribed on park benches, as if Jesus were enjoining the crowds to take a rest. In the aftermath of John’s arrest–a pivotal event in the Gospel–Jesus rallies the poor and promises them relief. The spiritualizing translation “I am gentle and humble in heart” does no justice to the Greek phrase, used throughout the Psalms to describe the poor and oppressed. Jesus is telling the disenfranchised that he is one of them, and takes their part.

That’s pretty powerful stuff right there. Jesus is identifying with the poor and explicitly saying, “I’m one of you”. Hugh Hollowell has been blogging about the need for not only compassion and justice, but the need for relationship. Poverty isn’t so much a lack of money–it is principally a lack of friends.

If we lost our homes the question, “Where would I sleep tonight?” would get answered relatively quickly. We have friends. We have family. Those in poverty are often those who simply don’t have the same support systems that many of us are privileged with. That’s why there is a lot of talk now of giving relational tithes and friendship trips.

Because giving money can be delegated as a matter of convenience, but having a relationship with someone can never be a matter of convenience. Because giving money to “them” keeps “them” separate from “us”, but having a relationship makes “them” into “us”. And this is what Jesus does.

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