The Easy Yoke - July 5, 2026

As you know, Teresa and I usually preach from the Revised Common Lectionary, which gives us a sequence of scriptures for the different seasons of the church year. Some of the lectionary scriptures are familiar stories that are enjoyable to retell and connect to our lives of faith. At other times, the lectionary pushes us out of our comfort zone and into passages that are perplexing, or hard to understand. That's definitely the case this week. The gospel reading from Matthew begins with Jesus addressing a crowd who have been criticizing both him and John the Baptist. He uses the image of children to shine a light on the failings of Jewish society. In a prayer to God, he reminds all who are listening that those who understand God are not the leaders or the powerful or the well-educated, but the lowly and innocent who trust in God. And then he closes his preaching with a passage of comfort: "Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." That last passage has been misunderstood over the ages. It's not a promise of an easy Christian life. As we know, living out our faith an be difficult, especially when others fail to understand or challenge our reasons for following the example of Jesus. Instead, Jesus is promising that those who follow him will be freed from onerous work that they are not well-suited for, and instead will find meaningful work that fulfills them. So how does this connect to our lives today? It's a promise of God's grace, and also a call to find ways to use our own skills and interests and passions to create a world where God's kingdom is realized and God's grace is extended to everyone. We will dig into this confusing and challenging passage, and see how it can guide us as a church. Hope you will join us in person this Sunday. First Christian Church of Lawrenceville is located in Lawrenceville, Georgia in Gwinnett County. Find out more by going to our website at https://lawrencevillechristianchurch....