Come all you who labor and are burdened
– I will give you rest. This is what Jesus tells us today, which is a very
comforting message indeed. I know many
people who are burdened with a lot of things in their lives – with guilt or
anger or resentment - with so many things that are weighing them down. Yet, Jesus goes on to say that we should take
his yoke upon our shoulders. When I
think of a yoke, I think of that wooden crosspiece that is fastened around the
neck of an ox or another animal that allows it to pull a wagon or a plow. I don’t see a yoke as something that is
comfortable or something that we would willingly assume in our lives. But, Jesus is telling us that his yoke is
different, that it reflects the humility and meekness of his heart. Through Christ’s yoke, we will find
rest.
It is hard to give up our burdens
because we become accustomed to them, we get used to carry them around with
us. Even though they are burdens, it is
difficult shedding them. Yet, we need to take that first step in releasing them
and in assuming Christ’s yoke instead.
This is not an easy thing to do, that is for sure. Yet, Christ will show us the way. We can just sit back and complain about the
way we see things, about all that is burdening us and weighing us down. But what proactively can we do about it? What can we do to get Jesus to become
integrated more fully into our lives and to help us to develop and grow along
our journey of faith?
No comments:
Post a Comment