SUNDAY 14

3-9 July

Matthew 11: 16-19, 25-30 (Sermon 2: “Diversions or Rest?”)

Romans 7: 15-25a

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

Psalm 45: 10-17

or Song of Solomon 2: 8-13 (Sermon 1: “The God of Lovers”)

PREPARATION

Jesus says: “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy-laden,

and I will give you rest.”

We have come together in the name of Jesus the Christ

to worship the God who loves us

and sing with the Spirit who fills us.

It is good that we are here.

It is good that we are here by Christ’s invitation.

for his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

Jesus says: “Come to me, all who are battling on under heavy load,

and I will give you rest.”

Let any who are feeling at odds with life, come, and find reconciliation.

Let any who are sad, come, and find comfort for your aching hearts.

Let any who feel worn and weary, come, and find rest for your souls.

Let any who are afraid, come, and find faith and renewed courage.

Let any who feel ashamed, come, and find unadulterated forgiveness.

Let any who are feel unwanted, come, and find hospitality that is divine.

Let all who are feeling happy, come and have you happiness blessed.

Let all who wish to renew their vows, come and trust the Spirit of truth and joy.

Let all who love the Lord come, and let and let your lover overflow in praise.

PRAYER OF APPROACH

Holy Friend, bless us as we come, ready or unready, strong in faith or weak.

Without you our worship is nothing and we are nothing. With your blessing we are the heirs to the wealth of your love and our worship is larger than words and songs can ever express. Holy Friend, bless us again, that this hour may openly celebrate that glory which, though veiled, will be present throughout all the busyness of this new week.

Through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen!

ADORATION

Beautiful is the land and sea, the forests and gardens, and the stars of the midnight sky,

but infinitely more beautiful are you, God of creation.

Beautiful is the smile of a friend, the chuckle of a tiny baby, the laughter of a loved one,

but infinitely more beautiful are you, God of perfect joy.

Beautiful is the song of a magpie, the harmonies of a chorus, the rich texture of orchestra,

but infinitely more beautiful are you, God of angelic choirs.

Beautiful is the love-hug of a child, the sacrifice of parents, the enduring love of life partners, but infinitely more beautiful are you, God in Christ crucified.

Beautiful is the listening ear of a sister, the care of a counsellor, the love of a pastor,

but infinitely more beautiful are you, God our Spirit Friend.

Father we adore you, lay our lives before you, how we love you.

Jesus we adore you, lay our lives before you, how we love you.

Spirit we adore you, lay our lives before you, how we love you.

[ from “Sing Alleluia” 35. Music “Trinity” by `Terrye Coelho].

CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE

Jesus said: “Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Now is an opportune moment in which to unburden ourselves in the Presence of the great love of God.

Let us pray.

God our Saviour, we repent that we have laboured long and wasted much energy on things which are worthless in your eternal scheme.

We repent those occasions when we have chosen to only do those things for you that suited our inclinations, and have therefore wearied ourselves on matters that are second best.

We repent the times when we have toiled at your hard and unpleasant tasks like slaves rather than your children, and have worn ourselves down with resentment.

We repent the situations when on top of the disciplines of faith we have added the weight of needless worry and exhausted ourselves much too soon.

We repent the burdensome pride that sometimes makes us cling to tawdry self-justifications rather than admitting our sin and accepting your love.

We repent those events where we have not even made any effort at being Christian, but slipped into the corrupt ways of the world and loaded ourselves with a ballast of evil.

God of Jesus, we who are the heavy laden come to you for rescue and relief. Please pity the folly of our choices, and forgive us for the evil in which we have participated.

As we accept the invitation of Christ, release from our shoulders the burden of shame that is beyond our power to remit.

Restore our dishevelled spirits, and strengthen our faith in your abundant love.

Return to us an awareness of the beauty of your ways, and enable us to walk in that beauty without looking back.

Through Christ Jesus our Redeemer.

Amen

FORGIVENESS

The remarkable thing is, my sisters and brothers, that we are forgiven! Through Christ all things become young again. Our Brother Jesus says: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Thanks be to God!

Amen!

PRAYER FOR CHILDREN

Thank you, dear God-

That when we are get very tired

from trying to do our very best

we can come to you for rest.

That when we have worries

like an ants’ nest in our chest

we can come to you for rest.

That when we have been tempted

and done stuff we detest

we can come to you for rest.

Thank you, dear God,

that no trouble is too hard for you

and no burden is too heavy for you.

Through Jesus our Brother and Saviour.

Amen!

PSALM Song of Solomon 2: 8-13

I hear the voice of my true love!

Look, here he comes

leaping across mountains

and bounding down the hills.

My true lover is like a gazelle,

and fleet as a young stag.

See, how he stands at our wall

and looks for me through windows.

My true love calls out to me:

“Come out, darling, my beautiful one,

for look, the winter is past

and the rains have ended.

The wild flowers are in bloom

and the time for birdsongs is here,

and the voice of the dove

is heard again in our land.

The fig trees are fruiting,

and the vines are in blossom.

Come with me my darling,

come away with me.”

© B.D. Prewer 2001

An Aussie version follows--

LOVE SONG

Song of Solomon: 2: 8-13

Isn’t that the voice of my lover?

There, look, see him coming,

leaping from crag to crag

and bounding down the hillside.

My true love moves as easily as a roo,

and as lovefully as a dancing brolga.

See how he vaults over our stone wall,

hoping to glimpse me through windows.

Now his voice reaches me clearly:

Come on out, my lovely darling,

see how the winter has gone away

and the season of chill rain is over.

Wild flowers are scenting the bushland,

the joy-time for songbirds has come,

and the voice of the mating doves

are once more heard in our land.

The wattles trees are ablaze with gold,

lorikeets a feeding on the gum blossom.

Come out and join me, my darling,

Put on your shoes, come walk with me.

© B.D. Prewer 2000

MISMATCH

Matt 11: 28-30

The oldtimer chuckled

remembering bullocks

harnessed to pull a plough;

one powerful beast

and one weak runt

together yoked somehow.

The small one strained

and did its best

to make a useful team,

the big one bore

without complaint

the weight of that crossbeam.

The oldtimer said

that’s how it was

with him and his best Mate,

he did his bit

as best he could

but Christ took all the weight.

© B.D. Prewer 1992

COLLECT

Most awesome Friend, in you there is always incomparable rest for the tired and wounded human spirit. Teach us to come to you without reserve, and to take the will of Christ upon us with joy and gratitude, that we may indeed discover for ourselves that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. In the liberty of the Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, all praise and glory be to you our God, for ever!

Amen!

SERMON 1: THE GOD OF LOVERS

Song of Solomon 2: 8-13

Love poetry? How is it that a collection of extremely sensual love poems ended up in the Bible?

The book that is called either “Song of Solomon” or “Song of Songs” does not mention God even once. It is all about a young man and a young woman, who are delightfully and hopelessly in love. It was among the last few books that were included in the Jewish Scriptures. From there, along with the other OT books, is was adopted by the early Christians and placed in their Scriptures.

Why? Why was it that love poems of great beauty (yet in places so erotic that some verses are not considered appropriate for reading publicly in church) were included in the Bible and passed on to us?

It is my belief that any Book that ended up as Holy Scripture, did not get there by some quirk or accident. I believe that it is there by the providence of God. It is there to help us, to affirm some truth, to guide us in the knowledge of God’s ways. Or to use an older word; they are there for our “edification”.

Let me read the passage from Chapter 2 again as presented in the RSV. In it we hear the young woman’s delight in her much-loved man:

The voice of my beloved!

Behold he comes,

leaping over the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

My beloved is like a gazelle

or a young stag.

Behold, there he stands

behind our wall,

gazing in through the windows,

looking through the lattices.

Isn’t that just great? I revel in this delight from a woman as she admires the athletic, muscular beauty of her man with whom she is deeply in love and who, she well knows, is impatient to see her again? [Romantic? Sure! I hope you women still feel that way about your guys and tell them so. We fellas may act tough, but we like a bit of romance too!]

Then she records what he has come to ask of her:

My beloved speaks and says to me:

“Arise my love, my fair one,

and come away with me,

for lo, the winter is past,

the rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of singing has come

and the voice of the turtledove

is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs,

and the vines are in blossom;

they give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my fair one,

and come away with me.”

There is enough beauty in that passage to warm the hearts those of us who long past the age of youth and its wonderful enthusiasm! [All you busy husbands; you may not be able to produce that kind of poetry but a bit of romance does not go amiss in any marriage, even after 40 years! Tell her how you really feel.]

I repeat: It is by the wise providence of God that poems like these speak to us from the passages of the holy book which we call the Bible.

HOW IS IT TO BE INTERPRETED?

What then is it about the Song of Songs that has value? What does it teach us?

There are among scholars a few who think it has to do with ancient ritual marriage ceremonies between kings and a fertility goddess. They have a right to their opinion but it is not widely accepted.

More common is the allegorical approach. By the second century AD some Hebrew writers, who doubted whether God would have inspired a profane book about sensuality, began teaching the poems as an allegory of God’s love towards his people Israel.

Within Christianity a similar thing happened. From about the time of the famous scholar Origen of Alexandria, in the fourth century, it became common for the poems to be seen as an allegory describing the love of Christ and his bride the church. Many Christians still read them this way today.

Scholastically it is hard to make a credible case for allegory being their true meaning, and the main reason why they are in the Bible. Neither pre Christ nor in the first Christian century is there a scintilla of evidence to support this allegorical approach... Not one New Testament writer employs the Song of Songs in this fashion.

GOD’S GOOD GIFT OF SENSUAL LOVE

Most Christian scholars today accept them for what they are: beautiful love poems.

Why then are they in the Holy Scriptures? I said earlier that I believed the books in the Bible are there because of the providence of God. In this case I believe they are in the Bible to clearly affirm the essential goodness of our sexual nature. Sexuality is a good thing.

Sensual love is not an unworthy, profane, dirty thing, but a wholesome gift. It is God given and God blessed. In Genesis the belief is affirmed that God looked upon all that was created and saw it as good. This includes male and female. man and woman, delight in the sensual beauties and their expression.

“And God blessed them and said: “Be fruitful and multiply...........And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.”

Now let us hear another of the poems. Again feel the celebration of sensual beauty that is expressed in Chapter 4 of Song of Songs. Remember this is a rural setting in an age far removed from ours, and the poet uses rural images which may sound a trifle odd in our bustling, urbanised age. Then goats and sheep were precious and much loved, often the subject of poetry. This time it is the man speaking to the woman.

Behold, you are beautiful, my love,

behold you are beautiful!

Your eyes are doves

behind your veil.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

moving down the slopes of Giliad.

Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes

that have come up from the washing.

Your lips are like a scarlet thread,

and your mouth is lovely.

Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate

behind your veil.

For the sake of discretion, I break off the poem at that point. But isn’t it wonderful? It surely is a wonderful contrast to the course, meaningless triviality of much of what happens between numerous men and women today. Compare the lovers in the Song of Songs with the words of the bloke who picks up a woman in a pub and beguiles her with: “Hey babe! How about coming back to my flat for a cup of coffee?”

The love of the Song of Songs is a beautiful thing. It expresses the wonder of the chemistry between man and woman with the beauty which God intended. Our sexuality is basically a wonderful gift from God. Like all gifts it can be corrupted and debased. But the bottom line is its status as a good gift from a loving God.

AGAINST THE IDEA THAT SEX IS COURSE AND EVIL

We need to openly fight the opposing view; the attitude that sexuality is a nasty thing.

The fruit that Adam and Eve are caught eating in the garden and Eden, is not an allegory for sexual intercourse. Sadly however, there has been perverse stream in Christianity that has treated it so. These misguided people have taught that all sexual expression is evil. That godliness cannot be achieved without total sexual abstinence.

What follows now in my sermon I do not say lightly or semi-humorously. It affects very dear and precious people.

THOSE SAD AND BEWILDERED CHRTISTIANS.

There have been emotionally tortured Christians, right up to this present time, some of them known to me as their pastor, who believed they were in a no-win situation; a “catch 22”. They believed that as married people they were commanded to multiply, but to do this they had to engage in sexual intercourse, which in their thinking was a sinful thing.

There are some very sorry cases in the contemporary world where sexual congruence in marriage is avoided by using the method of artificial insemination. (Yes! It really happens!) Thus they multiply without recourse to what they falsely believe is sin. Although a lesser “sin” apparently has to be committed to even work this modern miracle. I find this grotesquely sad.

It may be wrong of me, and I am wary of making generalisations, but I suspect that one of the

unspoken motivations of any church hierarchy that insists on unmarried clergy, is a deep fear of sexuality as evil. This pernicious fear has shown itself again and again in the long story of the church, from the time of Paul until today.

It seems to me that if one has this fear of sensuality, and in particular sexuality, then the only recourse in dealing with the Song of Songs is to make it a holy allegory of the relationship between the church and Jesus Christ.

I do not think it is a meaningless co-incidence that the great Christian scholar Origen, who gave the allegorical interpretation a mighty push into the foreground against some spirited opponents, was a man who had himself castrated so that he could better serve and honour God.

Today we speak of “hang ups”. Well, far too many Christians have had suffered hang ups about the essential sexual nature that we have been given by God.

In saying this I do not wish to undervalue the love and devotion of those who feel that in renouncing sexuality, along with renouncing possessions and freedom, they have placed themselves at the service of Jesus Christ. Their devotion puts mine to shame. But this does not mean that those who marry and enjoy it are lesser Christians.

THANK GOD FOR SUCH SCRIPTURE

In contrast to the degraded view of sexuality unfortunately held by some neurotic minds within the Christian church, stands the pure, naked beauty (I chose the word “naked” carefully!) of the Song of Songs.

I thank God for the Song of Songs. I believe it is there (near the physical centre of our Bible) as an affirmation of the delightful thing that God did when we were created male and female.

I thank God the Bible holds nothing back, but tells it as it is.

I thank God that through the use of superb poetry it reflects something of the beauty of the God who saw to it that we were created male and female.

I thank God that it puts to shame much of the crass, ephemeral sexuality of our era.

I thank God that by providence the Song of Songs still speaks to us from Holy Scripture.

I will never forget one setting when today’s poem was recited at a wedding. The man and woman both came from the bruising and grief of previous failed marriages, a bitter season of their experience which was like a long, cold, wet winter. Now a spring had arisen... They were both somewhat anxious about making another commitment, yet were determined to overcome their fears and find a future in this new springtime.

The man, a fellow who scorned trivial sentimentality, spoke the poem, taking both hands of the bride and looking into her eyes:

“Arise my love, my fair one,

and come away’

for lo, the winter is past,

the rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of singing has come

and the voice of the turtledove

is heard in our land.

The fig tree uts forth its figs,

and the vines are in blossom;

they give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my fait one

and come away.”

Thank God for the Bible. Thank God for the Song of Songs. Thank God for love, both human and divine.

SERMON 2: DIVERSION OR REST?

Matthew 11:28-30

Come unto me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of 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.

There is a plethora of ways to find diversion in the 21^st century, but where do we find rest? A place where we can let go of all tensions and become quiet and at peace?

I am preparing this sermon against the background an excerpt from the music of Gustav Mahler. It is the haunting Largetto from his symphony No 5. Much of the profound longing of the human spirit seems concentrated here. Concentrated in much the same way that we find in exquisite passages from Mozart, or in the deeper longings of Franz Schubert or the tempestuous hungers of that troubled soul Beethoven.

There is a deep, deep, deep hunger in the human soul for a resolution of our doubts and conflicts, for a relief from the weight of unanswered questions, for a lifting from our shoulders the burden of unfulfilled vows and purest longings. For some it is a desire find rest from the burden of being itself; a rest from the weight being an ethical creature, living in a largely unconscious universe, spending our days among amoral forces.

Where do we find rest? Many today ask, “But is this all there is? Is this as good as it gets? Surely there must be more to life than this?”

DIVERSIONS

Most of us, at some stage, settle for diversions. The multifaceted diversions of the contemporary world tempt us in many directions. There are so many available that a hungry or a lost soul can spend all its days trying them out, running from one to another, without ever exhausting the possibilities, yet also never arriving at a moment of “Eureka!”

Diversions vary from crude, old fashioned ones such as grabbing for riches or playing power games, running through multiple partners for sex, or delving into the sordid world of gratuitous violence.

Other are a nee breed. Dazzlingly diversionary-- pop-music, nightclub and drug culture that devours so many of our young folk. Or the casino glitz that entraps people of all ages, and all classes. Or the internet diversions: pseudo-relationships, cyber space sex and adultery; or porn on demand.

I am certain that this world has previously not offered so many diversions in which a human soul can become utterly lost.

That includes religious diversions. Never before have so many religions and sects been available. Religion has become another consumer product. Gurus abound on TV, or rolling book after book off the presses, running seminars and workshops, having their agents call at your door, advertising on television.

As a result, restless souls can spend their whole life, going from one diversion to another, without finding rest...

ONE WINSOME VOICE

Thankfully, into this diversionary world, one old, yet ever new, winsome voice of sheer sanity still speaks. It does not shout or bribe or seduce. Yet it remains a voice to be reckoned with.

Come unto me, all you who labour and are heavy lad en, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of 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.

Jesus offers us rest. Rest for our total being, Recuperation for our frayed psche. He offers us a place where we can lay down our burdens, satisfy the deepest longings of the human spirit.

To those who have tried to taste every diversion this world offers, yet remain empty, speaking their plaintive complaimnt “there must be more to life than this,” Jesus of Nazareth says. “Yes there is. Come unto me and sample it.”

What he calls us to discover and trust is the hidden, deep sacred Reality that impinges on our lives. He invites us to find that blessed Reality which is around us though we see it not, beside us though we touch it not, within us though we know it not. Jesus asks us to enjoy that holy Reality which cannot be probed by scientific investigation, nor captured in a mathematical equation, nor encapsulated in a theological creed, yet can be loved and trusted even by a little child.

To those who come to him, Jesus offers the secret of the “kingdom of God." The good news of God’s ruling presence in all and through all yet above all. A kingdom of overflowing love, where sinners are recovered, rebels are forgiven, lepers are embraced, and where the lost find themselves truly at home.

Come unto me, all you who labour and are heavy lad en, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of 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.

There is no need to be afraid. When Jesus invites us to come, it is not to come like a fearful 19^th century schoolboy, to shiver before the Master wielding strap or cane. Fear? No. Awe? Yes! For God is awesome beyond all else in heaven and earth. Yet we come like children little kids into the warm arms of Abba. In those arms we rest our tired little lives in the One Holy Source that preceeded the ‘big bang” and who will be there for us when this universe is no more.

Jesus does not invite us to take up a new religion. nor to burden ourselves with more arduous ethical duties. He asks us to return the true roots of selfhood... to return and find ourselves totally at home.

THERE IS A YOKE

There is of course the yoke of Jesus. With Christ, we ar e yoked ibn the service of God’s other children.

Some years ago, while driving in rural Serbia, I saw two dairy cows yoked and hauling a small wagon. Evidently, for poorer rural workers, the cows provided both milk for the family and transport. It is a rare sight to see that in modern Australia. But I reckon it is still helpful metaphor for faith.

Jesus offers us his yoke. He wanted to free the common people from the heavy yokes they wore and the burdens they carried. Why then did he s till employ the image of yoke? Isn’t the yoke a metaphor of bondage?

Not so. Paradox lies at the heart of Christian experience. Last week in the Gospel reading and the sermon, we were in the realm of such paradox. “He who saves his life will lose it. And he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”

.Paradoxically, by taking Christ yoke upon our shoulders, we become free. His yoke is the nearest thing to pure liberty that we shall ever experience in this life.

Make me a captive, Lord,

and then I shall be free

force me to render up my sword

and I shall; conqueror be.

My will is not my own

till I have made it thine.

If it would reach a monarch’s throne

it must its crown resign.

There is no absolute freedom in this scheme of things. We always have to chose some kind of overseer. The question is which master (or mistresses) will we have. Those devious power-freaks who are out to either beguile us or bully us into allegiance? Or perhaps attempting to serve many and being pulled this way or that without any peace or rest ?

In the Epistle reading for today Paul pin points the problem that all human beings face.

“The good that I want to do, I fail to do. The evil I do not want to do, that I end up doing.

O wretched man! Who shall rescue from this body of death? Thank God, Jesus Christ my Lord will!”

Without Christ’s saving love, we become inevitably yoked (enslaved) to all kinds of delusions and bondages. Yet Jesus wants us to have life, and to have it in full abundance. His yoke is liberty.

TIME TO CHOOSE

Diversions will never put us in touch with our true selves. But God in Christ can and will, if we accept the invitation.

It is possible that today there are some among you who have either never taken the plunge and accepted the yoke of Jesus, or others who once did so but have since surrendered it for the diverse masters of this world with all their tawdry promises.

That makes me sad. Sad because I know that the yoke of Christ Jesus will enable you to find your true selves. The yoke of Jesus will bestow on your more liberty than anything else in all creation. The yoke will bring joy and peace and increasing mastery over sins that may infect you.

Maybe today is the time for you to get real and get into Christ’s yoke? How about it, sister? How about it brother?

The winsome voice of the Lord Jesus speaks to us all:

THANKSGIVING

Wonderful is God our Creator and Redeemer,