Scriptures: Psalm 145:8-15; Zechariah 9:9-12; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19,25-30
Reflection by Nancy Jo Bleier, Worship Leader
7/5/26 Reflection Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Morning Prayer
Today I want to respectfully acknowledge that we are meeting in Sheet’ká Ḵwáan on Lingít Aaní, also known as Sitka, Alaska. We acknowledge that the Lingít Peoples have been stewards of the land on which we worship, work and reside since time immemorial, and we are grateful for that stewardship and incredible care.
In the verses before our Gospel reading John the Baptist is in prison so he sends his disciples to find out what Jesus is doing. Jesus says for them to tell John: “The blind see, the lame walk, leapers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the wretched of the earth learn that God is on their side.” So they go back to report to John about Jesus.
The verses we read today (Matt. 11: 16-19, 25-30) Jesus is talking to a crowd about John. Explaining he is a prophet and John has been preparing the way for the Messiah. I am going to continue our gospel readings from two more translations.
From The Message translation, Jesus asks “Are you listening to me? Really listening? How can I account for this generation? The people have been like spoiled children whining to their parents, ‘We wanted to skip rope, and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk, but you were always too busy.’ John came fasting and they called him crazy. I came feasting and they called me a boozer, a friend of the misfits. Opinion polls don’t count for much do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
In the missing verses that our lectionary insert does not give us, Jesus goes on to be furious with all the places he has been preaching that they are not interested in his words. And maybe this is what is happening with the crowd he’s talking to as he breaks into saying a prayer. “Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You’ve concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that’s the way you like to work.”
He goes on to talk to the people and explains that this Father-Son relationship is being intimate and knowing each other. Jesus says he’ll share this with anyone who listens.
He asks “Are You tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
From the First Nations Version: An Indigenous Bible Translation of the New Testament I read:
“My Father has put everything into my hands,” he said with a solemn voice. “Only the Father knows the Son and only the Son knows the Father. No one can know the Father in his fullness unless the Son makes him known.”
“Come close to my side, you whose hearts are on the ground, you who pushed down and worn out, and I will refresh you. Follow my teachings and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest from your troubled thoughts. Walk side by side with me and I will share in your heavy load and make it light.”
Wow, I like how all of these translations we have heard sound. They make me feel taken care of, being wanted, loved and maybe with a little hope thrown in.
Forward Day by Day’s author, Tina Francis offered this for 7/5/2026: “I’ve tried to quit hope—swore it off in whispered prayers I never finished. But it keeps finding me: through cracked windows, under locked doors. Hope has teeth. It doesn’t knock. It barges in, unshowered, humming a half-forgotten song. And God, thankfully, doesn’t mock us for holding on too long. God says: Return. I will restore what was lost. Twice over. Maybe not on your timeline. Maybe not how you imagined. But restorative somehow. Hope is not a mood. It’s a calling. Not optimism, but fidelity. You don’t have to feel confident for it to be true. You just have to limp your way toward it.”
This week I pondered the Statue of Liberty that my Swedish ancestors came through and the sonnet Emma Lazarus wrote in 1883:
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Let’s end with “A Prayer for Our Nation” by James Martin, SJ, Jesuit priest.
Loving God,
on our 250th
anniversary
as a nation,
help us to be
just,
loving,
merciful,
grateful,
compassionate,
and, above all,
kind.
Help our nation mirror
the kind of people
we want to be.
And help us to avoid
envy,
cruelty,
violence,
boasting,
prejudice,
nationalism,
scapegoating,
and malice towards anyone
Help us to be loving,
As you are, Loving God. Amen.
Nancy Jo Bleier, Worship Leader