Life: The Divine Adventure

Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Growing up I loved to play baseball.  One summer when I was about 12 or 13 I was old enough to play in the Babe Ruth League, a step up from Little League.  I knew I could make the team and wanted the chance to show my stuff.  But for whatever reason, the coach was gracious enough that we didn’t even need to try out.  Everyone made the team without having to earn it.  This would have been good news for me if the sport had been soccer or something, but baseball…I was good at baseball and I wanted to earn my spot on the team!

Feeling the need to earn our spot on God’s team is a common mistake many religious people make.  In today’s Gospel Jesus confronts this idea and shows the religious leaders of his time that God is not interested in patting people on the back who think they’re better than others or who think they’ve earned a reward. 

Jesus begins by calling out the religious leaders of his generation for their rejection of God’s messengers.  They saw John the Baptist who was disciplined and fasted and lived a strenuous life in the wilderness.  And they criticized him for being too strict.  For not having enough fun.  Then they saw Jesus who certainly had a deep, genuine spirituality in his private life—but in his public ministry he ate and drank at banquets and hung out with tax collectors and sinners.  And those same people who criticized John for being too strict, criticized Jesus for not being strict enough.  For being too lenient.  For having too much fun.

Then we read how Jesus offers a prayer to God, thanking the Father for hiding things from the wise and intelligent and revealing them to infants.  That really means “little ones” the unsophisticated, the unimpressive.  This verse helps us understand that life is not some test we need to learn the right answers to.  It’s not a contest we have to win or prove that we’re good enough, smart enough, or holy enough.  Rather, life is a gift, a divine adventure, not something we need to worry about not doing right or feel fearful and anxious about. 

Life is a beautiful mystery, a divine adventure where we get to explore and learn and grow and get to know God more deeply.  Life is a divine adventure where we get to grow in goodness, wisdom, and holiness—not because we have to in order to prove ourselves, but because manifesting God’s goodness and love in the world is what life’s all about.

After I preached this sermon at Calumet last Sunday, one of the people I got to know at camp that week shared with me an excellent quote from Alan Watts: “The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”  I think that summarizes so well what Jesus was saying in this part of the Gospel. 

There’s a wonderful freedom in trusting God so much that we don’t have to have it all figured out before we can start experiencing God’s presence and love.  Rather than stressing out about the need to earn God’s favor or figure it all out, we can simply enjoy the process of being alive, of participating in the mystery of existence, and following wherever the Spirit leads.  We get to journey with Jesus as we learn more, grow more, and deepen our relationship with the Creator of the universe.

A lot of people get the impression that following Jesus needs to be something hard that we earn.  Whether it’s through doing enough good things, through believing strongly enough, or through solving the mystery by being wise and intelligent enough.  And it’s true that Jesus says following him may lead to difficult things and facing tough truths.  We’ll be called to serve others.  We’ll be called to make sacrifices.  We may even be called to suffer for doing what’s right.  But Jesus also tells us that when we encounter these trials, he will be with us and that even the toughest times have a place in the whole.

After describing to his disciples how difficult a life of following him will be, Jesus then tells them all this that we read in the Gospel this morning.  And he closes with one of the most wonderful passages in the Bible.  He says, “Come to me, all you who 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.”

If we had any question left about whether or not we need to do something difficult to earn God’s love, Jesus puts an end to that here.  It is not a heavy burden to be in relationship with God.  It is light and gives rest to our souls.  Being in relationship with God is not about having to work hard or earn anything.  God’s love is simple, gentle, restful, and free.  We don’t have to earn God’s love.  God’s love is given to us as a free gift.  That’s the Good News in a nutshell.

Following Jesus may be challenging at times, but it’s not overcoming challenges that make us worthy of God’s love.  Remember, life is not an exam we need to pass or gain the right answers to.  Life is a divine adventure where we get to learn and grow and play and enjoy getting to know God more deeply.  Life is not an endurance test to see if we’re worthy of becoming God’s children or earning God’s love.  Life is a divine adventure where we get to explore what it means to already be beloved children of God.  Life is a divine adventure where we get to live in relationship with the Creator of the universe who loves us unconditionally and experience the free gift of God’s goodness and grace.  It doesn’t matter if we’re good enough; it doesn’t matter if we’ve earned it. 

Now those of us who think we’re worthy of making the park and rec baseball team may still have a little problem with this whole idea.  Or better yet—those of who think we’re worthy of making God’s team may still have a little problem with this idea.  But true confessions…after the very first practice with my Babe Ruth League team, I realized that just about everybody on the team was better than me!  Good thing getting a spot on the team wasn’t something I had to earn!  And good thing getting a spot on God’s team isn’t something we have to earn!  The good news is that instead of having to work tirelessly to earn our spot, we get to spend our time engaging in the divine adventure it is to be alive.  In exploring the mystery of it all.  In praising God and sharing God’s goodness and grace with others, working with God for the benefit of our neighbors and the world.  Thanks be to God for this amazing gift, for God’s amazing love for us, and for this life that truly is a divine adventure!  

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.  +

Pastor Brian Rajcok | July 12, 2026 | 7th Sunday after Pentecost