As we celebrate the Independence of the USA with Fourth of July festivities, I remember hearing about a woman who, after years of hard work, finally completed the immigration process to become a U.S. citizen. She was, in fact, the only person in the federal court that day when the judge asked her to raise her right hand. She proudly did as she was asked. The judge then asked her the customary question: “Do you swear to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic?”
Her face went pale; her voice trembled as she asked in a whisper, “Oh, no, all by myself?”
She was smart enough to realize that she was not being asked to carry the responsibility of protecting the United States solely on her shoulders. No one person can do that. This is a shared burden and responsibility for all of us to do our part.
What is true of our civic duties is also true of our spiritual duties. The burden that Jesus speaks of in today’s gospel is a shared burden. Jesus doesn’t expect us to carry our burdens by ourselves.
The brilliance of Jesus’ teaching is so evident this morning. He took a symbol well known to His audience and gave it a new twist. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The word “yoke” is an agricultural term. It’s a wooden frame for joining two oxen together in the task of pulling a load. The yoke links the two as one.
We take one side of the yoke and Christ takes the other as we journey through life together. Christ lightens our burdens. We do not have to worry, like our newly naturalized citizen, that we must do it “all by ourselves.”
The yoke that Jesus invites us to take is the one that brings rest to the weary in mind and soul, the weary in spirit and heart. Our burdens can be lightened if we allow Christ to help us.
What burdens you today? What burdens are you carrying alone?
Many of us are enslaved or held hostage by our smartphones, iPads or the constant content of social media. Our electronic devices and our busyness can be addictive.
But aren’t you and I also held hostage when we cling to grudges and refuse to forgive someone who has wronged us?
I suggest you write down one burden that you want Christ to help you carry or one burden that you choose to surrender to Christ today. Take a moment to think about a heavy burden and write it on a small card. No one will see it but you alone. The burden can be as simple as one word, one in which you ask the Lord to help you carry it, or one that you totally surrender to the Lord.
It might be a physical burden, like an illness or disability; an emotional burden, like depression or a failed relationship; or a spiritual burden, such as a particular sin, for example, selfishness.
Place the card in your pocket, billfold or purse and carry it with you throughout the coming week as a reminder that you are not carrying this burden by yourself. Jesus is helping you by carrying it with you.
Today’s gospel also includes one of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” This passage is often used to comfort those who are grieving, encourage those who are struggling and give hope when all else seems to fail.
According to Greek legend, Aesop, the great storyteller, was once enjoying playing games with some children. A man walked by and asked Aesop, “Why are you wasting your time with such frivolous activity?”
Aesop responded by picking up a bow, but not the arrow, and loosening the string before placing it on the ground. Then he said, “Now answer this riddle: what does an unstrung bow imply?”
The man had no idea. Aesop explained, “If you keep a bow always bent, it will eventually break. But if you allow it to relax, it will be fit for use.”
People are like that. That is why we need to take time to rest. We all need time to relax physically and to renew ourselves emotionally and spiritually. We are at our best when we have taken time to loosen the bow.
When we are tired in mind and soul, spirit and heart, we lose our sense of humor and our ability to laugh at ourselves. We are zapped of enthusiasm for life, robbed of our appetite for living and unable to live life to the fullest.
The rest Jesus offers through Him with Him and in Him is rest for our mind and soul, our spirit and heart. It is rest that refreshes, renews and restores us to wholeness.
We can spin our wheels at work or at home, or overload ourselves with emotional baggage from failed relationships, prolonged illness and other issues. What prevents us from taking the time to rest in the presence of Christ?
Activities and busyness clutter our lives, preventing us from resting in Christ. Eventually, it will catch up with us.
St. Augustine, who spent years seeking bodily pleasure until he finally got his act together, speaks for us in his famous words, “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in God.”
Is your mind fatigued?
Is your soul weary?
Is your spirit tired?
Is your heart exhausted?
Then make time this week to respond to Jesus’ standing invitation: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest.”
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