Dear Christian friends:

When you receive an invitation to a party or to a wedding you are happy. You are pleased because someone remembered you and wants you to join with them and share something good and wonderful. Most of the time we accept the invitation.

In our text we find an invitation. It is a very wonderful invitation. It is an invitation from Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Jesus wants you to come and join with Him in something very wonderful. His invitation is the best of all.

So let us attend to our text and consider

I. Who should come? Should you? Does Jesus really invite you? Perhaps you answer, "Yes, Jesus wants me I am a very good person." Perhaps you answer, "No, Jesus doesn't want me I am a very bad person." Jesus is good. Jesus is God He can't want me.

What does Jesus say here in our text? Whom does He invite? He says, "Come to Me, all you who are working hard and carrying a heavy load. Who works hard and carries a heavy load? All of us do whether we think we are good or bad. Jesus invites all people because all people work hard and carry a heavy load. You say, "No, some are lazy some do not work." True, some people are lazy and some do not work, but they still have a heavy load. Jesus does not mean those who work on the job, carpenter or printer or housewife, not that kind of work. He means people who try hard to invent reasons and excuses for their sins. He means people who try to obey all the Ten Commandments, but all the time fail, fail. He means people who are worried and afraid who have a bad conscience. He means people who are not happy and at peace in their heart. He means people who have problems who are bitter and angry and jealous or upset. Does He mean you?

Do you invent excuses and reasons? Do you try hard to do good and right, but fail, fail, fail? Are you worried and afraid about many things? Does your conscience bother you? Are you happy? Do you feel peace with God? Are you jealous, bitter, angry? Do you hate someone? Does Jesus mean you? Yes, he means you. He means me, all of us are sinners and have a heavy load.

II. What does Jesus promise to give us if we come to Him?

He says, "I will give you rest." "Rest" that means peace with God happiness love for God and true love and kindness for one another. Why? Because Jesus forgives our sins.

Jesus is the Son of God who came from heaven to earth who became our brother and accepted our sins suffered and died for us on Good Friday and on Easter He arose from death, truly alive. To the crucified, dead and then risen Jesus we come. He forgives our sins and we find rest for our souls, true rest, true peace. Now we do not need carry our burden any more. We put it on Jesus. The hymn says:

I lay my sins on Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God;
He bears them all and frees us
From the accursed load.
I bring my guilt to Jesus
To wash my crimson stains
White in His blood precious
Till not a spot remains.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 652)

"Come to Me worried sinners I will give you rest." You have never heard a more wonderful invitation and you never will hear a better one.

But Jesus invites us to more than that He says, "Take My yoke on you and learn from Me I am gentle and humble minded - then you will find rest. My yoke is easy and My load is light."

When Jesus forgives our sins He shows great love and kindness to us. We do not deserve it. That is because of God's great and wonderful love. Now the love of God is in your heart and mind; That love of God is a new burden a new responsibility. The old load was hate and pride and jealousy. That load Jesus takes away. He gives us rest from that. But He also gives you a new load the load of love. The load of humbleness. The load of mercy and kindness for other sinners to help them as God loves them and helps them. Jesus has the burden of love. That burden is also yours and mine.

We are God's children now by faith in Jesus. Jesus says, "Be ye merciful and kind even as your Father in heaven." So Jesus also invites us to serve God to work for God and live a good holy life and to show God's love and kindness to others. Through daily life and also by supporting our church world missions. He says this load is "easy and light." Sometimes it seems heavy to us. Church duties, persecution, losses for Christ's sake. We fail to pray etc.

But if we remember that Jesus is with us and helps us carry this burden of love it will seem easy. We will trust Him to lead us and support us as we carry His load of love throughout our life.

Truly a very wonderful invitation. May God help us to accept it and rejoice in it.

Amen.