Summer Preaching Series July 26-27, 2025
“Too Much” Matthew 11:28-30
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” Jesus
Strong words always have backstories. There is a history to why people say things or ask things or declare things.
But I don’t know the story behind the reason why someone asked me to preach these words from Jesus, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” They are wonderful words and a great invitation, but why did they choose that verse?
Here are some guesses – educated ones. What burdens you? What makes you weary? How about life? The yoke, the burden that you carry is too much. You find yourself responsible for people older than you (parents or grandparents) and people younger than you (your kids and students). And it gets heavy. Maybe money, especially the lack of it, is your burden. At work you find yourself spread too thin, yet the demands do not cease. Every week we have a long prayer listat Ascension. When physical, emotional or mental health struggles, so do you. At times it is just too much!!
This weariness can come to the mind and heart and soul. When we had our John Philip Sousa band concert the week before the July 4th weekend, I got to welcome a number of our guests to that special event. One of them, once a Lutheran, who had lost her son when he was young, told me that she had lost her faith. She told me that she was weary. She is not alone. Too many who once sat in pews do so no longer. No faith. No connection to Christ. No connection to His church.
Weary? Burdened? There are so many sins that can take over the soul. Sins are a burden. They rob us of joy and peace and freedom. This past week I spent my time in New Orleans. Hot. Humid. But I spent most of my time indoors – at the hotel, the Superdome, the Convention Center, or eating New Orleans food. 11 of our youth joined 20,000 others for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod National Youth Gathering.
The city was packed. Lots of tourists. I asked some of the hotel staff if this was a normal week. “Yes, we have conventions and gatherings, all summer long. Last week we hosted the Swingers Convention.” I’m glad they didn’t have it on the same weekend as ours!!
I imagine, if those on that weekend have a conscience, some left weary and burdened with guilt and remorse and wondering how they have left all decency behind. Sin does that. For them. For us. You drink too much and too often? There is a weariness and a burden to that. You live with a materialistic heart, desiring one more thing, spending money on stuff fueled by the envy or jealousy of others? There is no peace in the soul with that.
And then the weariness gets worse. We live with regret. We feel guilty over our weakness and stupidity and lack of self-control. We want something, we take it, we break God’s commands, and we wonder if we can be forgiven and if we can ever come back to where we should be. Too much!!
You have too much guilt? You have too many sins? Too many failures? Do you have too much asked of you every day by others, and you don’t have an ounce left to give them? Then listen to Jesus:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.
The theme for the youth gathering was “Endure”. It was based on these verses from Hebrews, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (12:1-3)
Aren’t those perfect verses for youth? You ever want to quit? Give up? Throw in the towel? Sure. It doesn’t matter what age you are, every one of us can lack tenacity, endurance and perseverance. But when you are 14 and 15 and 16 and 17 and 18 you are just being formed as to who you are going to be in life. Those ages are some of the most important years we will ever go through.
During those years everything is questioned. Some will say, “You believe in the Bible? Come on, only dumb people believe in the Bible.” “Moral values? Come on, we’re in 2025 and not in the dark ages.” “Do what you want. Sex? Drinking? Drugs? They are even legal.” “Going to church? Why would you do that?” A lot of you and a lot of our youth are on social media many hours during the day. Some of what they hear and that you hear are lies, some from the lips of the devil himself. How do they handle it? How will you handle it? Quit? Give up the faith? No longer come to worship?
No. We endure. We persist. We grow more certain in our faith. But we don’t do it alone. We need each other in life and in faith. We are a church – a body of believers. In Hebrews that chapter I read begins, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…” What does that mean? A great cloud of witnesses? It is a term to talk about those believers who were before us. The chapter before this one is known as the chapter of the heroes of faith. Hebrews 11 mentions folks like Moses, Abraham, David. Heroes of faith. I bet you have some people whohave inspired you to endure and persevere. A friend. A parent. A grandparent. Someone at work. A neighbor. A fellow member of your church. They cheer you on. They hold you when you’re broken. They have wisdom that blesses you.
But you have someone else that gives you more than just them. Jesus!! Jesus speaks to all of us who have too much worry, too many burdens, too much sin and He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” The writer to Hebrews must have known this open invitation of Jesus, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”
I know that life can be too much. Sin can be too much. Guilt can be too much. But Jesus is just enough for all of that and for much more. We sing a song around here and the lyrics say, “Your grace is enough, your grace is enough, your grace is enough for me.” Can’t you just picture Jesus, with the marks of the nails still in His hands, extending them to you and offering this invitation, “Come to me!!”
Paul, thinking of everything that gets in our path would offer his great words, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)
I don’t know the backstory of the person who asked me to preach of this verse from Jesus. But I know mine. I know a few of yours. But I know that what is too much for us isn’t too much for Jesus. He endured the cross for us. He suffered for our forgiveness and wholeness. He defeated death and hell and the devil and sin. All who have faith in Him are the children of God.
When we arrived in New Orleans last Friday, the 18th, we went on a swamp tour that promised we would see lots of alligators. They kept their promise. I had a favorite alligator on that tour, he is Amos. 12 feet long. He controls that area of the swamp. That is until be did battle with another 12-footer – who is named appropriately, Scarface. They were fighting over a girl. (That always happens doesn’t it?) Amos, climbed into our boat and we got to see him up close. In that fight he had lost his right eye. He had been through much but still was ruling that bend in the swamp and visiting folks like us.
How many burdens do you carry? Too much? Maybe. But Jesus invites you into His arms. He invites your eyes to look at Him. Our great God is always enough. Amen!!
