Getting off the Bench
Sermon by Jon Mittelstadt preached on July 5, 2026 at St. Paul’s, Year A, Proper 9.
Today’s gospel lesson, from Matthew chapter 11, starts out with some challenging words. Jesus asks, “to what will I compare this generation?” And Jesus’ answer is that they are like children sitting in the marketplaces. Jesus is talking to both his disciples and to a crowd of people and he refers to “their generation”, but of course he is also speaking to us and to our generation. Why does Jesus compare our generation to “children in a marketplace”? Marketplaces in biblical times were often located near city gates and they were often busy and noisy: there was buying and selling of produce, fish, livestock, fabrics, and there was haggling over prices and hiring of day laborers. They were often a center of other business as well: exchanging news, preaching, public debates, and legal proceedings. The markets were busy places. But children are not typically the ones engaged in all these activities. Children are mostly by-standers to all this commerce and activity. To use a sports metaphor, we could say that the children are “on the bench” — they are not the ones “in the game”. Jesus further emphasises this point by telling us that these children are sitting. These children could be helping the adults or playing a game, but instead they are just sitting there, like a “bump on a log”, as my grandmother liked to say.
Why do I find these words of Jesus a challenge to us? Because: they challenge us to ask ourselves, as followers of Jesus, in what ways are we sitting “on the bench”? In what ways are we not doing all the Jesus things that we could be doing? Jesus goes on to say, we played the flute for you and you did not dance”. I hear Jesus encouraging us to get up, get out and do something. (Not right now). I hear Jesus encouraging us to join the dance. To dance is to listen to the music, to feel the music, to move to the music — the music Jesus is playing for us. Jesus goes on to say, We sang a funeral song for you, and you did not mourn. In biblical times, dancing was common at weddings, and funeral songs were common during funeral processions. Weddings and funerals were both community events; so much so that if a funeral procession passed you by on the street, you were expected to join that procession whether you knew the deceased or not. Jesus sings funeral songs for us and plays the flute for us. In these words, I hear Jesus calling us to deeply comfort one another in times of grief, and truly celebrate with one another in times of joy.
This sports metaphor, of “getting off the bench” and “getting in the game” reminds me of a children’s book, called the Dog Poop Initiative. Do you know this book? Someone might say that I should not use a children’s book in a sermon for adults — I don’t know who would say that, but someone might. But we can learn a lot from children’s books, right? Also, if someone does complain, I would remind them that Jesus already compared us to children in a marketplace, so I feel I’m on solid ground here to discuss this book. This book is based on a true story. It says there are 3 kinds of people in the world: the Poopers, the Pointers and the Scoopers. (Tell the story of the book) The moral of the book is: be scoopers and not poopers.
I missed our Discernment Day here at St. Paul’s last weekend.Tia and I were out of town, but Mother Hannah’s email about the meeting was exciting. It included listening well to our neighbors, and listening to where the Holy Spirit is leading us to best serve the people around us. This discernment process we are doing, it seems to me, is right in line with what Jesus is challenging us to do in today’s gospel lesson. Now, here at St. Pauls, we are not poopers, thank God. So, in the context of this book, discernment for us might be finding new and joyful ways to be Scoopers. Today’s gospel lesson also calls us to something spiritually deeper: Jesus is Lord of the Dance. Are there new and joyful ways we can listen to and feel the music of the Lord and join in his dance?
Today’s gospel lesson ends with some of the most comforting and grace-filled words in all of the Bible. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (take a deep breath). 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.” A yoke is a crossbeam fastened across the neck of an animal or more than one animal, used to pull a cart or a plow. We can take a deep breath (take a deep breath) and rest in comfort knowing that Jesus’ yoke is easy and that Jesus is gentle and humble in heart. A yoke fastened on more than one animal allows the animals to pull together. When each of us individually takes up the yoke of Jesus, then we all pull together as a community — and that truly is a joyful dance.
It is not a coincidence, in today’s gospel lesson, that Jesus follows up those challenging words at the beginning with such beautiful words of comfort. Jesus says “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (take a deep breath). 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.” When we hold these words of comfort close to our heart, we find the courage, and the joy, we need to discern the ways God is calling us to dance here at St. Paul’s. We don’t have the answers yet, it is a process, but we are not afraid. Instead, we rest in the knowledge that Jesus is gentle and humble in heart. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Savior. For his comfort is secure, his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. Amen.