My yoke is easy, my burden is light
Jesus used images that were familiar to the people of his time. In today’s scripture he uses the yoke as a metaphor for what he offers and what a life lived in Christ entails. A yoke is a cross piece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and is attached to a plough that they both pull. The yoke is a very practical and effective piece of equipment.
By connecting the two animals, it provides a balance to the efforts of each animal. Each animal will work together, produce together, walk the same path, and the strong one will aid the weaker or more tired one. The yoke is a great aid for tilling the field and assuring the fullness of the harvest. However, the yoke was a heavy piece that took some effort to properly set up and to carry. It was used to control the animals but may have been heavy, possibly painful, even dangerous, to their welfare.
Jesus contrasts this forced, heavy yoke to his own yoke, that is light and easy to carry.
He understands that life for many people is often strenuous, difficult, and tiresome. We can be laden down with so many things: fear of what the future may bring, loss of a sense of purpose, weariness from years of working, and seemingly endless obligations. But the heaviest weight, the most burdensome yoke we may carry is not seeing real meaning in our life. This is why Jesus offers us His yoke.
On a plane, the flight attendant says, ‘Put on your own oxygen mask first, before helping others. There is a sense of this here. We need to be at peace with ourselves, secure in our faith, and what we are about, before we can truly reach out and help others. This is the yoke or mantle Christ gives us. It offers us a path forward. Unlike the animal yoke, this yoke does not constrain us, rather it frees us. It is not difficult or hard to bear; it is easy, as Jesus himself tells us.
Fr Ron
Parish Moderator
