Adapted from Pent 5 A
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Jesus at the end of the passage we heard from the gospel of Matthew, made reference to a yoke.
Some of you may be familiar with a yoke. We usually think of them for animals But in the past they were as often used for people. This is a Yoke it is made of wood, goes across the shoulders to carry loads. This particular yoke was used by early European settlers in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. Whether it was made here in the colony or brought with them, when they emigrated from Germany, I do not know. I find it quite beautiful in its simplicity. Elegantly formed to perform a function. Yet not without some decoration.
*yoke on my shoulders
This is too small for me. That’s because it is for a child or young woman. Their chore would have been to milk the cow in the morning and use the yoke to carry two pales/ buckets of milk back to the cottage.
Why am I showing you a yoke?
Jesus lived in an Agrarian society Or put simply a farming community. So Jesus, in his conversations used Farming illustrations, something his listeners understood and connected with. Jesus used these illustrations as metaphors. They were symbols pointing to something completely different. They were used to help the listeners understand a deeper truth.
Jesus then invites all who are burdened. In the context of the gospel writer Matthew and his community the burdens he was referring to were the religious obligations, rules & regulations imposed by the scribes & Pharisees. They placed a heavy yoke on the people. A yoke was a metaphor for being in slavery. In contrast to the yoke of Jesus which he invited people to take up. It was easy and its burden light. Jesus’s invitation is to a much broader audience than only Matthews community it is broad enough to include ourselves. This is not an invitation to an easy life but a release from the burdens imposed by layers of human construction. Of demands, judgements and expectations placed upon us, upon you, by others.
What are the burdens you would like lifted?
What is the rest you most need?
At this time many of us feel weighted down by additional layers. Extra demands/expectations.The acceleration of almost everything. A yoke that is becoming heavier. Jesus’s invitation is to take his yoke, to take up a way of being, a way of thinking, a way of living. It is the way of loving, it is a yoke of courage, compassion, and hospitality that transcends fear and boundaries. It changes priorities.
In changing yokes We are given an opportunity to identify and lay down that which weigh us down; to take rest in the midst of complicated lives. To learn through God’s gentle love, sharing and taking moments in the everyday; to find rest for our soul.