Bloghardt's Reflector

Is that how you feel? I feel like this every day. St. Paul describes it in the Epistle. But, is that your struggle? Do you ever look down and just wonder, “How could God possibly save me?”

Dear Children of God, I know you love Christ with all your heart, desire to serve Him alone, and then you don't. You aim at being a Christian in a given situation, even if just once, for only one moment, and then find yourselves miserably failing every time.

And hell is there.. always there. The reality of the damnation that you know that you deserve. The fear of separation from God – the Father you try to fear, love, and trust above all things.

You love Him, don't you? Really love Him, with everything you've got inside you? You do that right?

But, when the rubber hits the road, often you treat those around you worse than those that hate God. If you don't think you do, take a hard look at yourself – an honest one with God's law – and you'll see how scary you are.

I see mine. Sin after sin. Weakness after weakness. And it's as if I can't .. I just can't continue..... I need rest... Lord, save me... save me from me. How can Jesus love such a person as you and me?

But, for you and me... For those who have nothing, nothing to cling to, nothing to point, who are not just wretched in word, but actually disgust themselves by what they have done, or at least should be disgusted, who truly don't do what they wanna do and only do the things that just make themselves sick to their stomach, to such people and only to such people, Christ says...

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul.

Come to Jesus, dear friends. Let Him reveal the Father to you, children of God. Take His yoke upon you, dear sinners. Find rest.. find peace.. find salvation in only Him.

“Rest. “ He speaks that word twice. The word Jesus uses for “rest” literally means “a break, a place to put your burdens down, a repose.”

Wouldn't that be nice? To rest and then rest some more. To get a break... just to get away. Or a place to put all those burdens?

Have you ever carried something heavy a good distance. You do well the first bit, and then it gets heavier and heavier.

But, when you put it down, it's as if you are free. Like you have super strength and speed... no longer do you have to carry all that dead weight, it's as if you can do anything...

Jesus describes His rest that way... some relief, some peace, some place to put your burdens.

Relief for your life. A break for your soul. Not just soul, but life too. Rest for all of you. Not just part, all. For the Greek word Jesus uses, psucha, means soul, but it also means “life.” it's all of you.

And the relief that Jesus gives you... the rest that He gives for your life and soul?

You know it. He gives you the forgiveness of your sins. He sets you free from all you have ever done. He takes your eyes off you and places them on Him. He brings an end to your always failing before God and missing the mark.

In Christ, in Christ's perfect life and innocent suffering and death. In Christ, you receive rest from your burdens, and are freed from your sins. And death, His Cross turns death itself into the gateway to His eternal rest.

He gives relief from your sins. No more fear from your sins getting you. No more hell. The peace which comes from all your sins being forgiven.

All your burdens, all the yoke of God's law and requirement, all of it borne, carried, by Him.

He takes upon Himself your sins – all the good that you want to do and all the things that you hate that you actually do and He dies and by His death gives you rest.

And not rest later, but rest now. Not a break on some future weekend on a River or repose some time later, but now... today... in the gifts of Calvary.

The Word, the Absolution, your Baptism, the Supper today gives the forgiveness of sins, won by His bearing your yoke of sin and carrying your burdens to the Cross.

Dear children of God, Come to Jesus. Take His yoke. Learn from Him – not as another Law-thing for you to do for God that you want to do and don't, but in the way of Gospel – in the way of receiving from Him.

He died. You died with Him in the waters of your baptism. He rose to new life, freed from the burdens of the Law. You are now rested from the Law too.

Don't wait for when your ticker runs out to finally get rest. Right now there is rest. In the Word. In the Water. In the Forgiveness of your sins. In the Sacrament.

Die with Jesus. Die to your sins. Die to your failures. Die to the guilt. Die to yourself. And leave all of it, in the tomb of Jesus.

And rise again... rise again to well-rested freedom. Then, free from the every burden and yoke of the Law, take upon yourself Jesus' yoke and serve others – your neighbor, your family, your friends, your co-workers, put them first, before you. Tend to their needs, carry their burdens, their yokes...as Jesus carried yours.

His burden is light... yoke easy... not because you are so good at being a Christian. You know it's quite the opposite. His yoke is easy and His burden is light because He is carrying them! Not you, Him. His life, lived out in you. Your life, now lived out in Him for others.

Stop and look at yourself – you'll see the same thing as before... all that wretchedness, burdens, failures, good that you wanna do and don't do, and “who shall save me?” stuff that St. Paul says...

But.. in Christ, in His yoke, in His burden, with Him carrying everything that you have ever done and will do on the Cross, there is true rest, a break, a Sabbath, a holiday that not even death itself can take away. So, that the Father sees none of your failures, only Christ for you.

In fact, all death will do is make you rest more real, for you will finally see and experience all His rest that right now is your only by faith, that is, by receiving His suffering-yoke and sin-bearing-burdens.

Need a break? Life gotten too hard? Need another holiday? Or perhaps a vacation from your vacation? Some relief from your burdens?

Then.. hear again Jesus and receive Him in His Body and Blood today..

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul.” In the name of Jesus. Amen.