14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus then goes on to show how: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn
from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls” (verse 29). Looks like we have a problem here! Is Jesus
calling on those who are carrying heavy loads to come and add a yoke
to their burden? Doesn’t that sound like adding affliction to the
afflicted? No; Jesus is asking us to cast away our burdens and take on
his yoke. This is because, unlike the burdens we bear, his yoke is easy
and his burden light.
So then, what is this yoke of Christ? The yoke of Christ can be seen as
the sum of our Christian responsibilities and duties. Servants were said
to be under the yoke of their masters (1 Timothy 6:1) and subjects under
the yoke of their rulers (1 Kings 12:10). To take the yoke of Christ,
therefore, is to put ourselves in a relationship with Christ as his servants
and subjects, and to conduct ourselves accordingly.
We should never forget that we are yoked with Christ. To this end, it
helps to start each day with a prayer like this: “Lord, help me to
remember that there is no problem I am going to face today that you
and I together cannot handle.” This is how the yoke becomes easy and
the burden light.