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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30
Bear one another’s burden; and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
As I look ahead to a New Year, I am thinking about our intention to be known as The Sanctuary at Central Christian Church. There are a great many wonderful synonyms for Sanctuary that can be helpful as we try to live into the name more fully. Here is a non-exhaustive list:
Refuge, haven, harbor, port in a storm, oasis, shelter, retreat, asylum, safe house, home, shelter, stronghold, holy place, defense, cover, protection…
I like Jesus’ invitation from Matthew 11:28 as the scriptural basis for the Sanctuary designation. We aim to offer rest to anyone worn out by life’s challenges. We want to be a place of safety and protection for all first and foremost.
But we can’t stop at that if we want to complete our calling as Christ’s disciples. We must also keep in mind the rest of the invitation that comes in verses 29 and 30. We must be intent on sharing what we have been taught by Christ and what his teachings mean for the way we live our lives. There is a yoke to be worn and there is a burden to be carried if we truly follow Christ, – the yoke is his example, and the burden is that of self-sacrificial love of neighbor.
There will be those who visit us who won’t stay long enough to hear or observe much in the way of our example of walking in Jesus’ footsteps, and all they may receive is a rest. We must be satisfied with that and trust that, if nothing else, we have witnessed to God’s love and providence by providing a sheltering respite from the harsh world. But for those who linger and for those who stay with us for a time, we will want to be sure to find ways to share with them Christ’s desire that we would all learn to emulate him and love as he has loved us.
Jesus’ self-sacrificial yoke and burden can seem heavy at times, but not in comparison to the many other loads that we cart around with us. Jesus would have us surrender our burdens of pride, greed, envy, competitive striving, ego, tribalism, nationalism, racism, sexism, and all other manner of false self-exceptionality that we choose to cling to. A 12-step adage sums it up this way; “Service is freedom from the burden of self.”
We will intend to be a place of safety and recuperation; so that all might become strong enough and unencumbered enough to pick up the liberating burden of care for others, just as Christ bids us each to do.
Sanctuary: a place of refuge or safety, a protective community; an oasis, a holy place, a place set apart.
Peace,
Pastor Layne