We have just celebrated our nation’s independence with the usual fanfare, which reminds us of our freedom, our human rights and dignity, our prosperity, our American dream, power and worldly influence. This annual holiday makes us feel good about our country and ourselves, doesn’t it?
Then Jesus pulls the rug out from underneath us, reminding us that life is difficult. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”
Jesus is offering us his yoke, but what makes his yoke so inviting to accept? The mental image I have of a yoke is something heavy and confining, worn around an animal’s neck, for the sake of pulling a wagon or a plow. That doesn’t sound so inviting. No thanks, Jesus, I have enough to deal with in life so why should I bother adding your cumbersome yoke to the load I am already carrying?
Jesus knows that getting through the day, any day, can be overwhelming at times. Every one of us can easily come up with personal examples of how life can be a heavy burden at times from dealing with the loss of a relationship or a job to someone’s declining health. Those who try to move on by themselves may find the effort of taking each step forward almost unbearable. The tragedy of suicide is a constant reminder that some give up trying.
If a task is too overwhelming for a single ox to do, a farmer would use another ox to share the burden. A yoke can be a double harness, much like the golden arches of McDonald’s.
When Jesus invites us to take his yoke and learn from him, he is offering to share our burden with us. Like two oxen working side by side, Jesus is willing to walk beside us and help us as we travel through life. With him alongside, we need not face the burdens of life alone. Are we willing to take his yoke and learn from him how to truly experience the fullness of life?
Year ago, Joan Baez sang a pop tune in which she urged us “to put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee.” Putting our hand in somebody else’s hand is a gesture of trust. As children we often did that with our parents, trusting them to lead the way so we would not get lost. Sooner or later, we outgrew the need to literally be led by the hand. And some of us, as we outgrew the need to be led by our parents, wanted to think of ourselves as being independent, not just from them but also from God. Once we let go of them, we set out to prove to the world and to ourselves that we could succeed on our own.
Let’s not fool ourselves. All we really ended up doing is exchanging a child’s dependence on people for an adult’s dependence on things of the flesh, for example: money, addictions, clout or prestige.Â
Being a true disciple of Jesus means forgoing some of what the American way of life proposes such as unlimited wealth, unbounded opportunity, and the freedom to indulge my every desire and instinct. Popular culture says this is the American dream but Paul and Jesus suggests that the American way of life isn’t so life giving after all.
Paul saw the inherent danger in this way of life. He cautioned his readers, “if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” By flesh, he is referring to human life without God. Paul contends that living according to the flesh is no life at all. Instead it is pretense that we can live on our own terms without God, convinced that we can give ourselves life. Living in the spirit, on the other hand, recognizes our utter dependence on God.
In sum, Paul is asserting that we cannot belong to Christ unless we desire his Spirit to be in us. This Spirit has the potential to transform our lives but first we must shift our focus from the pursuit of the American dream, which ends when we take our last breath to the pursuit of the Christian dream, which lasts for all eternity. The gift of the spirit moves us to enjoy carrying out the will of God, even though at times we fail to do so.
That’s why Jesus praises the Father for revealing to the little ones that which is hidden from the wise and the learned, namely those who see themselves as self sufficient and less likely to accept anyone’s help, even help from Jesus. On the other hand, children have no problem with being dependent on others. From tying shoelaces to doing homework, they look for help when they need it and so should we.
We need to keep in mind that Jesus is there to give us a helping hand in dealing with the burdens of life, by replacing our childish pride for a childlike humility. This gospel is really one of great encouragement when you stop to think about it.Heavy burdens aren’t what God desires for us.
While Jesus never promises us a burden free life, he does assure us that our burden will be lighter when we seek to learn from him how to live a life filled with spirit, love and joy so, “put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee.” Do that and you will look at life differently.